Michael Boateng
Poverty in USA
Dear US Government,
Poverty is a downplayed issue in America. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting
poorer. We are also seeing a sharp disappearance of the middle class. There are situations in which people
are stuck in a cycle of poverty and the chances of getting out are slim. There have been programs put in
place that are either defective or lack efficiency. However, it seems that a blind eye has been taken to
them and the pros have been overrated than the cons. I understand that the government has taken strides
into helping impoverished areas of US. Medicare, SNAP, WIC and rental assistance are some of the vast
programs for those who are in poverty in the US. Unfortunately so, there are flaws in these programs that
have not been addressed or admitted by the government. The first step to solving a problem is admitting
that there is one.
The issue I would like to bring at hand is that poverty exists because of the income disparity in
America and the programs that are in place only rise to a cycle of dependency. “The U.S. Economic
Policy Institute reports in a recent study that one percent of this nation holds 35 percent of its wealth”
(Kiley pg 1). With percentages like this there is no wonder why some Americans are food and housing
insecure. A reason why this disparity is prevalent is due to the culture of America. The idea of coming
from nothing and grinding until you have made a billion, “The American Dream.” What is left out is that
some Americans chances of ever reaching any success near that level are hindered by their current
demographic. The problem with this system is that it doesn’t think upstream, we blame people for their
misfortunes, and we say if they worked harder they would be successful. This is not always the case; even
with Medicare there are still unequal distributions in care. If a family is poor they still may not qualify for
Medicare. This can lead to families living paycheck to paycheck without any assistance from the
