As our nation and the rest of the world continues into the new century and millenium, there are many problems that we will have to encounter. Among the many is the case of poverty. The word "poverty" in the common dictionary is defined as "the state of being poor" or "lack of means providing material needs or comforts". But Poverty in America is not due to a lack of material resources. The United States, has for many years, been able to produce more than its people needs. Robert Adams, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, pointed out " During and after World War II it was commonly said that we could feed the whole world." However, the large amount of goods available in the United States is produced by employing only part of the work force; Nancy Folbre warns in A Field Guide to the U.S. Economy, "the unemployment rate, moves like a roller coaster , going up when economic growth slows, and back down again when the econimc growth increases, but overall the roller coaster has been heading up." However, unemployment is just one example of the several exponents that can cause poverty. New technolgies, economic growth, human welfare, corporate takeovers, government intervention in the labor market, and inadequate government assistance are some factors that can also lead to poverty. The issue of poverty also has its share of opposing viewpoints. In our media-intensive culture it is not difficult to find different opinions. As John Stuart Mill once said " The only way in which a human being can make some approach to knowing the whole of a subject is by hearing what can be said about by persons of every variety of opinion...". In this scenario, it is liberal versus conservative where the liberals believe poverty is not due to the idividuals own fault, rather the goverment's, whereas conservatives believe it is the idividuals fault.
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