Poverty cycle in the U.S.

Jaedyn Ahn

Poverty cycle is a phenomenon where poor families become impoverished for at least three generations. This cycle starts when a child is born into a poor finally with zero or limited resources to create opportunities for advancement,

This may worsen relative poverty in a region/country. . The main cause of the poverty cycle, however, is the lack of opportunities, as evidenced by the prevalent existence of poverty cycle in underdeveloped countries

Statistics: in the US, the 2021 poverty line was set appt $12, 880, or about $35 29 per day, 9.2 % of problems globally live in extreme poverty defined by surviving on $1 90 per day. In 2020, the official poverty rate in the U.S. was 11.4%, translating to 37.2 million people.

There are many ways for the poverty cycle to start. Having unequal economic conditions, such as income inequality, may lead to a poverty cycle. This is because uneven wealth allocation can cause the rich to continually prosper while the poor remain trapped in a poverty cycle. High unemployment can also initiate the poverty cycle as unemployed workers will receive less income and thus less disposable income to spend on to buy essential items.

Temporary yet planned conditions such as epidemics, natural disasters (earthquakes or droughts) and war can cause poverty in parts of the country Poverty cycles may cause poverty traps, which are created when economic systems that require a significant amount of capital to earn enough to break free from poverty.

Furthermore, since underdeveloped countries rely on the primary sector for their output, climate change can make the poverty trap more persistent This is because climate change can threaten agriculture, reduce crop yield and climate livestock’s leading to decreased levels of security for farmers and people selling animals. This was worsened during Covid-19, where governments increased the economic device and the pandemic increased the poverty rate in the US. Among children, there was an increase in poverty rate from 18.7% to 21.4%.

For families who are in the poverty cycle to break the cycle, governments need to help its citizens to attain housing and homeownership, by improving housing quality can improve health and safe houses allow families with a means to build wealth, and create financial stability

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To resolve the issue of falling into the poverty cycle, governments around the world can invest in a child focused poverty program to stop the poverty cycle from continuing for generations. Additionally, governments can also improve access to healthcare as an increase of healthcare for impoverished individuals can help them avoid major medical expenses helping them to have more money to save For example, there is an organization that is already trying to help to reduce poverty, such as cooperative for education where it was developed to bring textbooks, computer and reading programs to impoverished Guatemalan children to help them study. For instance, food finder is an organization that picks up and delivers surplus food to food insecure groups of the community. Food comes from government restaurants, manufacturers and more.

How to break the cycle of poverty: Impact on global growth. Maryville Online. (2022, August 30). Retrieved March 2, 2023, from https://online.maryville.edu/blog/how-to-break-the-cycle-ofpoverty/#:~:text=The%20Cycle%20of%20Poverty%20and%20Socioeconomic%20Issues&text=These%2 0challenges%20can%20include%20poor,quality%2C%20and%20reduced%20healthcare%20access