A Dicourse on Povery
It is the common misconception that poverty is the fault of individuals, as we can see by the passing of various new laws and acts (for example the 1996 welfare reform act). But it is the imperfection of our social structure that is to blame. These flaws allow the perpetuation of poverty. This unending cycle is a stark contrast to the American ideal that everyone has the opportunity to succeed in our society. A debate that illustrates this argument is centered on a concept known as the "culture of poverty" (Lewis, 1965). The question then becomes what is the culture of poverty? The term culture of poverty is from the work of Oscar Lewis. Lewis as well as others argue that there are certain cultural characteristics among the poor in industrial capitalist societies. Furthermore, Lewis and others agree that poor people in such societies display characteristics and values that are not held by the non-poor in those same societies. "These characteristics are: the absence of childhood as a specially prolonged and protected stage in the life-cycle, early initiation into sex, free unions or consensual marriages, a relatively high incidents of abandonment of wives and children, a tend toward female or mother-c
Census Bureau 1995) Conversely, persons in nonpoverty areas are more apt to work year-around, full-time; 43% verses 30%. industrialist, ruling elite, and landholders. Census Bureau 1995) Poverty area householders are less educated. The poor do not have these same opportunities; therefore, they must find a way to survive in the whole of society, thus the culture of poverty. The wage slave and poor live from hand-to-mouth, usually renting or accepting government assistance for housing and have few if any major material possessions. It is for these reasons that poverty contributes to the single-parent householder problem. La Vida: A Puerto Rican Family in the Culture of Poverty. The Truly Disadvantaged: The Inner City, the Underclass, and Public Policy. The resources and services are just not available. What then has caused the cycle of poverty to exist? Poverty is an economic problem and the roots of the problem can be traced back to unequal distribution of wealth. The key issue of the Moynihan Report is not the statistics, but rather it's conclusions.
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Acceptance Essays
