What is 'poverty'

Poverty
Poverty is a state or situation in which a person or a group of people don't have enough money or the basic things they need to live. Poverty means that a person doesn't make enough money from their job to meet their basic needs. People and families who are poor may not have a good place to live, clean water, healthy food, or medical care. Each country can use its own set of rules to figure out how many people are poor.

Recognizing Poverty
The U.S. Census Bureau figures out the poverty rate, which shows how many people in the U.S. live in poverty. The United States poverty line is set by the Department of Health and Human Services. People who don't make this much money are thought to be poor (HHS).

When figuring out who is poor, the U.S. Census Bureau does not count the following people:

• People who live in institutions

• The people who live in military housing

• People living in college dormitories

• People who are younger than 15

Different kinds of poverty
U.S. poverty
Every year, the Census Bureau updates its data on the poverty line. The table below shows the poverty lines for 2020. The number of people younger than 18.5 who live in a home is shown in each column.

• In 2020, a family of four with two children under 18 will need to make $26,246 to stay out of poverty (highlighted in red).
• In 2020, the poverty level for two people over 65 with no children under 18 is $15,644 per year. (blue-highlighted).
• When more children under 18 live in a home, it is clear that the poverty threshold income level goes up.

The number of children under 18 in a household and the criteria for poverty is important because they help decide how government aid, like food assistance and medical care, is given. "Pretax income," or income before taxes are taken out, is how the Internal Revenue Service figures out how many people live in poverty (IRS).

Global poverty
Since the Industrial Revolution, poverty has gone down in wealthy countries. As production went up, prices went down, making goods more affordable. At the same time, innovations in agriculture increased crop yields and food production.

Still, many individuals worldwide struggle to make ends meet. The World Bank says that about 10 percent of the world's population, or 711 million people, will live in severe poverty in 2021. This means that they had to live on less than $1.90 per day.

Included among the common features of persons living in extreme poverty are:

• No or minimal schooling
• Under age 18
• Employment in agriculture and farming

Poverty rates are essential data for global investors to monitor, as high poverty rates are often an indicator of more serious underlying problems inside a country.

Poverty and youngsters
Children suffer a lot from living in poverty. Most children who grow up in poverty have serious health problems that keep coming back. Babies born into poverty have a higher chance of having a low birth weight, which can cause both physical and mental problems.

In some poor countries, babies are nine times more likely to die in their first month if they are born into poverty than in a rich country. Those who make it through may have trouble hearing and seeing.

Children who live in poverty are more likely to be sick, and miss school and their homes are more likely to be stressed. Children are affected by homelessness more than adults because they often don't have access to health care or enough food, leading to health problems.

Reasons for poverty
Many people still lack access to quality education, healthcare, power, clean water, and other essential amenities. This is frequently due to their social background, gender, race, or location. Those who can escape poverty typically make only short-term gains. Economic shocks, a lack of food security, and climate change may cause them to lose all of their progress and return to poverty.

It is difficult to escape poverty, and it is frequently passed down from one generation to the next. Typically, poverty results in drug and alcohol misuse, limited access to education, substandard housing and living circumstances, and an increase in disease. As inequality worsens, poverty is likely to exacerbate tensions in society. When people are poor, these issues frequently lead to an increase in the crime rate.

What causes people to be poor?
Poverty is often affected by a person's race, gender, socioeconomic status, and where they live. Others may fall into poverty because of bad economic conditions, natural disasters, rising living costs, drug addiction, depression, or issues with their mental health.

Why is it important that people are poor?
Poverty is more than just not having enough money and productive resources to make a living. Its symptoms include:

• Hunger and malnutrition.
• Limited access to education and other basic services.
• Social prejudice and exclusion.
• Not being able to take part in making decisions.

What happens when people are poor?
Poverty is linked to bad things like bad housing, being homeless, not getting enough to eat, not having access to health care, living in dangerous neighbourhoods, and having schools that don't have enough money. All of these things hurt the children of our country.

Why is it so important to get rid of poverty?
Poverty is linked to several health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, death of babies, mental illness, malnutrition, lead poisoning, asthma, and dental problems.

Why is escaping poverty so difficult?
Poverty is not merely a lack of financial resources; it is also a lack of hope. Destitute people frequently feel helpless to alter their circumstances. They may feel isolated from the remainder of society. To escape poverty, you must have a plan for your finances, a positive mindset, and the willingness to ask for assistance.

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