Velazquez1
Marcos Velazquez
Dr. Spielvogal
CAS 138T
4 April 2016
Advocacy Paper Rough Draft
Poverty is one of the worlds most troubling endemics and is responsible for tens of
thousands deaths a year. The percentage of the U.S. population under the poverty line has
steadily been rising since the turn of the century (as shown in the graph below).7 In 2000, 11.3
percent of the U.S. population was under the poverty line. That percentage peaked just ten years
later in 2010 at 15.1 percent.7 The U.S. census reported that in 2014 puts the United States
official poverty rate at 14.8 percent, which equates to 46.7 million people living in poverty.5 The
same study shows that the poverty rate for children under age the of 18 was higher than the
national average by 6.3 percent (21.1 percent). However, the the poverty rate for people aged 18
to 64 was placed at 13.5 percent, while the rate for people aged 65 and older was 4.8 percent
lower than national average pacing it at 10 percent.5
Percentage of U.S. Population Under the Poverty Line
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Needless to say, poverty has been steadily increasing since 2000 and after peaking in
2010 hasn’t dropped significantly, solidifying its importance. In an effort to combat poverty the
United States government has taken several steps towards poverty reduction, including the
“American Recovery & Reinvestment Act.” This act reinstates and boosts previous poverty
prevention/alleviation programs like, food stamps, neighborhood stabilization, unemployment
insurance, etc.6 However, this approach may lower some aspects of poverty, but in turn heightens
other aspects such as free-riding, which in turn only make matters worse. My approach to this
problem is simple and effective; raise the minimum wage.
Poverty and Mortality Rates
In the year 2000, it is estimated that around 650,000 deaths were caused by poverty
related issues.9 Poverty is known to be associated with negative heath affects on a persons
wellbeing for a variety of reasons. Some of said reasons being those in poverty tend live in
unsanitary/higher polluted areas, work physically demanding jobs, and live in unstable
neighborhoods. These tendencies in combination with an inability to afford health care increases
the chances of an untimely death and or health complications. Dr. Sandro Galea of the University
of Columbia states that socioeconomic status (poverty) argues for a “broader public health
conceptualization of the causes of mortality and an expansive policy approach that considers
how social factors can be addressed to improve the health of populations.”9 He suggests that we
take a deeper look into overall mortality rates in the United States and in doing so we can
attribute a large number portion of these to be correlated with conditions of poverty. A study
conducted by the Washington State Department of Health linked poverty to rates of infant
mortality rates (as shown on the graph below).2 The study concluded that the higher the level of
poverty the higher the rate of infant mortality.
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Poverty and Infant Mortality Rates
Poverty and the Economy
Not only has poverty been linked to health problems and mortality rates, but is also
shown to have negative impacts on a nations economy as well. Studies show that poverty has a
direct correlation to crime and unemployment rates. In an article written by Criminologist
Maurice Ward, he suggests that, when poverty and crime combined together it leaves people
with two choices: “either take part in criminal activities or try to find legal but quite limited
sources of income – when there are any available at all.”14 He goes on to mention that poverty
also has direct ties to other factors such as violence, and drug trafficking. In addition, crime
caused by poverty than leads to more negative effects on local economies. As crime rates rise in
an area in which poverty levels are high, business declines more and more, in turn criminal
activities increase turning the local economy dependent on the movement of to be illegal goods
which is never a good. As far as unemployment and poverty being linked together, there is huge
amounts of evidence supporting this claim. Today unemployment rates sit at about 5.5 percent in
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the United States. The problem of unemployment “leads to financial crisis and reduces the
overall purchasing capacity of a nation.” This then in turn results in poverty, which is then
followed by debt.
Poverty Rates and Unemployment
Attempted Solutions
The United States government has many approaches to help combat poverty. Methods
such as unemployment insurance, Medicaid, food stamps, and other poverty alleviation actions.
In 2009 President Barrack Obama singed into action the American Recovery & Reinvestment
Act. The act increased funding for several traditional poverty combatant tactics. Some of the
highlighted more important parts of the act include $20 billion towards the SNAP previously
known as food stamps; $3.5 billion towards homeless prevention and neighborhood
reconstruction programs; along with increasing the amount of unemployment insurance. At a
first glance one could say these programs have worked lowering the national poverty rate slightly
since 2009. Furthermore, the great recession of 2008 seems to be behind us. However, poverty is
still prevalent in the United States and at an unfavorable rate at that. President Obama’s act also
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brings to life another problem, free-riding. Although unemployment insurance, and food stamps
help alleviate poverty for, they cause others to free-ride on the government and collect
unemployment checks, while not working. This leads to a huge problem, in which our
government gets taken advantage of at the expense of the tax payers and our national debt.
Proposed Solution
In 1938 President Franklin D. Roosevelt passed the federal minimum wage standard in
attempt to lift the United State out of the great depression. Fast forward Several years later and
the minimum wage standard was still working well. In the late 1960s a full-time worker earning
the minimum wage would be able to lift a small family from poverty.4 Had the minimum wage
back then been indexed to inflation, it would be around $10.00 today, compared to the current
federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Recently members of congress along with president
Obama have called for an increase in the national minimum wage rate, but have found little
success due to a increasingly polarized congress.6 However, states like Washington, New York,
New Jersey, and others have already taken action. This approach has the potential to solve a
verity of problems associated with poverty, such as unemployment, free-riding, healthcare, etc.
The has become increasingly larger over time, yet the minimum wage hasn’t adjusted. A study
conducted in Iowa illustrated that the wage needed to support one’s self and or family should be
around $15 (as shown in the graph below).16 Not only is this higher than the purposed minimum
wage increase, but it also takes into account raising a family.
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Estimated Hourly Wage Needed
Conclusion
Poverty will never be completely eradicated in the United States, or for that matter
anywhere. As long as organized society exist there will always be those who cannot sufficiently
support themselves. The United States government needs to realize that by giving more and more
money towards programs like SNAP, and unemployment insurance only causes adverse negative
effects. Raising the minimum wage appeals to those people who figure that collecting food
stamps and unemployment insurance is more attractive than working for $7.25 an hour. Raising
the minimum wage will boost the economy, decrease unemployment and poverty rates, while
decreasing free-rider problem.
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Endnotes
1. Boushey, Heather. "Debate Club." 13 March 2012. usnews. 1 April 2016
<http://www.usnews.com/debate-club/is-obama-turning-the-economy-around/obamasamerican-recovery-and-reinvestment-act-has-been-a-success>.
2. "Communities Count." February 2013. communitiescount. 1 April 2016
<http://www.communitiescount.org/index.php?page=infant-mortality>.
3. Economywatch. "Unemployment and Poverty." 13 October 2010. economywatch. 28
March 2016 <http://www.economywatch.com/unemployment/poverty.html>.
4. Galea, Sandro. "Public Health Now." 5 July 2011. MailmanColumbia. 29 March 2016
<https://www.mailman.columbia.edu/public-health-now/news/how-many-us-deaths-arecaused-poverty-lack-education-and-other-social-factors>.
5. "Poverty." 16 September 2015. Census. 19 March 2016
<https://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/about/overview/>.
6. "Poverty." 2009. whitehouse. 30 March 2016
<https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/poverty>.
7. "Prices & Access." 2014. statista. 2 April 2016
<http://www.statista.com/statistics/200463/us-poverty-rate-since-1990/>.
8. "Public Data." 16 January 2016. Google. 23 March 2016
<https://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=z1ebjpgk2654c1_&met_y=unemploym
ent_rate&idim=country:US&fdim_y=seasonality:S&hl=en&dl=en>.
9. "Public Health Now." 5 July 2011. Columbia University: Mailman School of Public
Health. 29 March 2016 <https://www.mailman.columbia.edu/public-healthnow/news/how-many-us-deaths-are-caused-poverty-lack-education-and-other-socialfactors>.
10. "Science News." 18 June 2011. sciencedaily. 30 March 2016
<https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110616193627.htm>.
11. "Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates." 2011. Census. 24 March 2016
<https://www.census.gov/did/www/saipe/data/visualization/unemployment/?reload>.
12. "The Iowa Policy Project." 2011. iowapolicyproject. 23 March 2016
<http://www.iowapolicyproject.org/EconomicOpportunity.html>.
13. Vallas, Rebecca. "Center for American Progress." 17 September 2014. americanprogress.
26 March 2016
<https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/poverty/news/2014/09/17/97287/the-top-10solutions-to-cut-poverty-and-grow-the-middle-class/>.
14. Ward, Maurice. National Dialog Network. 1 February 2015. 27 March 2016
<http://www.nationaldialoguenetwork.org/poverty-and-crime/>.
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15. Watson, Debra. "World Socialist Web Site." 13 July 2011. wsws. 30 March 2016
<https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2011/07/pove-j13.html>.
16. Williams, Richard. "Poverty Explained." 23 May 2012. Economywatch. 29 March 2016
<http://www.economywatch.com/explainingpoverty/povertyexplained.html>.
17.