Poverty Is A Social Good - 1641 Words

As you drive away from the city of Malibu all that can be seen are beautiful houses, well dressed people and expensive cars. Breathe in the fresh air and see every establishment, be it a restaurant or even a small cafà ©, filled to the brim with happy people leaving food uneaten on gold-trimmed plates without a care in the world. Drive further away from this secluded bubble and enter Los Angeles, or more specifically downtown Los Angeles and you will be faced with a stark contrast: homeless adults and even children begging for money on the sidewalk alongside decrepit houses with graffiti on their walls. The reality is that there is an enormous number of people who live in one of the richest nations in the world that are struggling to get by†¦show more content†¦Poverty is a chronic condition which is deep-rooted in America, despite it being one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Currently, many people still fall below the poverty line; â€Å"as of 2014, 14.9 percent of Americans or almost 47 million people fell below this line; the rate for children even higher† (US Department of Commerce). â€Å"Individuals or families are considered â€Å"poor† if their annual pretax cash income falls below a dollar amount, or poverty threshold that is recalculated each year. This is simply the estimated minimum level of income needed to secure the necessities of life† (Institute for Research on Poverty) and due to a variety of factors. In comparison to other developed countries, America’s market system puts a heavier emphasis on stimulating economic growth rather than ensuring income equality or collective well-being. From an economic standpoint, although America has a mixed system of capitalist and free market, it is still organized such that a small elite control most of the capital used to produce wealth, leaving the majority of the population to fight over the latter. Even middle classmen worry about the possibility of falling into poverty as companies continue to lay off workers in favor of cheaper labor or decrease wages in an effort to increase its’ competitive advantage as increasingly high values are put on competition and efficiency. With a