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 Pete Lee
  Pittsburgh Standard

Although poverty and hunger are problems which we tend to associate with Third World countries, it’s hard to believe that in a nation as bountiful and abundant as America, there are 37 million Americans living below that official poverty line, which makes up like 12.6% of our population out of a total 32 million. Poverty not only affects the one person who suffers it, but all those who he or she comes into contact with.

President Lyndon Johnson, who started the War on Poverty in 1964, declared that "Poverty has many roots, but the tap root is ignorance."

The most common mistake in thinking about the causes of poverty is to generalize based on one group among the poor. Not everybody who is poor receives welfare and not everybody who is poor is unemployed. American families come home everyday with the fear of not having enough money to put food on their tables.

Millions of working Americans struggle daily to find sufficient food, health care, and housing for their families. Many of our parents who immigrated here broke their backs for us. It’s unfortunate because unlike the War on Terror, today’s War on Poverty receives little public notice and is not in the news headlines.

There are two major theories for why poverty exists: cultural or behavioral and structural or economic. Cultural or behavioral theories state the only real cause of poverty is the behavior, values, and culture of the poor. Structural or economic theories argue that the main cause of poverty is a lack of equal opportunities for all Americans. The truth is that poverty is caused by both cultural or behavioral and structural or economic problems.

The biggest difference between our two main political parties lies in their views toward the poor. Republicans accuse the poor for lacking the inner resources to seize opportunities while Democrats believe that poverty is the consequence of socioeconomic forces beyond their control.

Class division prevents the benefits of economic growth from spreading equally. The widening gap between the upper and lower class will continue to grow as long as wage inequality rises. The poor are also isolated in impoverished areas of American cities where access to employment opportunities is scarce.

Physical isolation makes it difficult for the poor to find and hold reliable jobs with the lack of social networks integrating inner city neighborhoods with employment opportunities.

Poverty threatens the common good of our nation. It is the right for every American to fight their way out of poverty. Problems such as unequal opportunities, physical isolation, and economic segregation cause many of these social problems which increase poverty and keep poor people poor.

In order to solve poverty, our entire nation must unite and fight for the general will of all. The media can help by spreading a conscious awareness of this growing crisis. America can also demonstrate its leadership in the world by fixing its own problems at home. Ending poverty is not something we do for others but something we do for all of
us.

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