In a survey that was given in 2001 about 1 in every 10 people in the UnitedStates lived in Poverty. Also, in a survey given in 2001, the Americancitizens were questioned what the cause of living in poverty was. TheResults were as followed: About half the Americans said the poor are notdoing enough to help themselves out of poverty, and the other half saidthat circumstances beyond their control caused them to be poor.
Low-incomeAmericans which is, those who were making less than twice the federalpoverty level, or about $34,000 per year for a family of four were onlyslightly more likely than other Americans to feel it is due tocircumstances. But when asked about specific causes of poverty, low-incomeAmericans were significantly more likely than other Americans to name drugabuse, medical bills, too few jobs or too many being part-time or low-wagejobs, too many single-parent families, and too many immigrants. When askedwhat is the No. 1 cause of poverty, low-income Americans were much morelikely to name drug abuse, and the poorest Americans , those who wereliving below the federal poverty level , were nearly twice as likely asmiddle- and upper-income Americans to rank drug abuse extremely high. Thenon-poor were more likely to say that the No. 1 cause of poverty is poor-quality public schools, but, both groups are equally likely to name schoolsas a major cause.
Although, many of these families are living in poverty,The Government has created an immense amount of welfare programs which aretargeted towards many of the problems low income families are faced withfor example: < WIC is a program which helps single and low income families buy the necessities for a young child such as diapers, milk and an assortment of other supplies that is needed to raise a young child. < Medical is for those who can't afford to get medical insurance for themselves or their families, < Head Start is there for those families who are unable to send their children to pre-school but would like to start their children off on the right foot. The Government has also established many tax credits which help families ofall incomes such as: < The Child Tax Credit was created to give each family that applies for the tax return up to $1000 per dependant child under the age of 17. < Earned Tax Credit-is a special tax benefit for low to moderate-income workers.
It reduces their tax burden, supplements wages, and makes work more attractive than public benefits. The credit can mean up to $2,604 for workers raising one child in their home, or up to $4,300 for workers raising more than one child. Although children must meet residency requirements, a child does not have to be claimed as a dependent to qualify a worker for the Earned Income Credit. Even workers without children can qualify for up to $390. < Child and dependent care credits - is a tax benefit that helps families pay for childcare that they need to work or look for work.
It also helps workers pay for the care of a spouse or adult dependent who is incapable of self-care. These programs are just a few of the many that are out there for those who are in need. The programs that I have just mentioned have helped and are still helping many of the United States families that are living in poverty. Without these programs the poverty level would be much worse than it currently is. Therefore, sense there are so many programs that have already been established it doesn’t make any sense what so ever for the government to poor more money than what is already being given to these programs because these programs are all ready sufficient because if they weren’t they wouldn’t be helping as many people as they are. < Poverty rates from 1999 to 2000 improved by 11.
3% < In 2000 several minority groups set record low poverty rates, while others tied their record lows. < The poverty rates fell for those families with no workers due to family members getting jobs. < In 2 years between 1999 and 2000 California alone improved their poverty rate by 2.5% Now as I said before our poverty programs are sufficient because .
