Working+Draft

 = __ The Unspeakable Truths of Poverty in the Inner-Cities of America __ = Imagine visiting a city that you have been anticipating to see for years. Walking down the streets of the city you see people living in makeshift homes, hear babies crying, and smell revolting odors from the shanty public housing buildings. How do you feel about this city now? Poverty is a major issue around the world and our nation. It has affected millions of citizens in every city in the United States. Living right outside of Philadelphia I visit the city and observe poverty everywhere I turn. Many Americans do not know the extremities and sadness of poverty in the inner cities of America. There are various explanations and hypotheses for the reasons behind poverty more commonly found in the cities of America. Various factors include limited amount of education, low-paying incomes, and racial discrimination to name just a few. Poverty is more commonly found in the inner cities of America due to the continuous cycle of limited availability and quality of education leading to low-paying incomes. I am writing for the American public. Poverty is a social issue that affects everybody throughout the nation. Many are unaware of why poverty is more commonly found in the inner cities and do not know what to do about it. I want to be able to inform the common citizens with information about poverty in the cities of America and what can be done about it. My major goal is to raise awareness of poverty in America and to rid of America’s ignorance of one of the largest social issues. The first person I would like to acknowledge is Mr. Martin for guiding me through the individual steps of my senior project and report. He contributed different ideas for my project on inner-city poverty, such as a fundraiser, posters to raise awareness, and documenting my time at a soup kitchen. Dr. Valenza also offered her guidance and wisdom on various credible and scholarly sources. I was having a difficult time discovering in-depth sources about poverty in the inner cities and Dr. Valenza introduced me to databases and websites that were very helpful for me. I would also like to acknowledge my dad, my mentor, for directing me in this process. He helped me conjure creative ideas for my project that would help me raise awareness as well as contribute to society. Lastly, I would like to thank my peers for revising and editing my work. Without the contributions of each of these individuals I would not be as confident in my project and report as I am. Thank you. First, one of the main causes of poverty found in the inner cities are the social conditions. The social conditions in such areas of poverty-include crime, dilapidated housing, drug use and related violence, problems related to out-of-wedlock births, and chronic unemployment, which may simply reflect the large numbers of poor minorities who end up living there… (Lynn and McGeary 2). These problems are either directly or indirectly caused by illegal drugs, violent crime, dropping out of school, unemployment, welfare dependence, pregnancy among the teenage children of welfare recipients, and a disproportionate number of families headed by single women (Lynn and McGeary 11). Generally speaking, teenage mothers are more likely to be poor and are less likely to finish high school. In more cases than not, the fathers are either nonsupportive or absent ("African American Employment and Income: Poverty" 1). The study showed that there was no single cause for joblessness in young black men. Instead, factors such as crime, drug and alcohol abuse, and performance on the job played major roles ( "African American Employment and Income: Poverty" 1). Second, r acial and gender discrimination is another main cause of inner city poverty. Black families overall had a poverty rate that was nearly four times the rate for whites ( "Poverty and the African-American Community" 1). Employment, unemployment and income all have an impact on the level of poverty that exists in the African **-** American community ( "Poverty and the African-American Community" 1). “Government statistics on poverty show that, in total numbers, there are nearly as many blacks in poverty in 1990 as there were thirty years ago” ( "Poverty and the African-American Community" 2). Generally speaking, teenage mothers are more likely to be poor and are less likely to finish high school. Deborah Weinstein, a division director for the fund, had said, "The study shows that in the first recession since the [1996 Welfare Reform Act] took effect, black children who have the fewest protections are falling into extreme poverty in record numbers," it was reported April 30 ("Welfare and Poverty: Black Children Face Record Deep Poverty" 1). The inner-city poor do lack human capital to a profound degree in comparison with other groups. They are segregated and detached from the labor market. Demand for their skills at manual labor has declined. They face discrimination in employment and housing (Teitz and Chapple 58). Third, racial and income segregation is another main cause of inner city poverty. The poorest are also typically marginalized from society and have little representation or voice in public and political debates, making it even harder to escape poverty (Shah 2). There was considerable evidence that some of the country's poorest families had been driven deep er into poverty with the gradual elimination of public benefits ("Welfare and Poverty: Black Children Face Record Deep Poverty" 2). Fourth, s hifts in the economy affect the poor more harshly than the middle/upper class. Increasing funding for social services would aid millions of struggling Americans, perhaps even helping them out of poverty by providing for their basic needs ("National High School Debate Topic: Poverty and Social Services" 1). There are eight major explanations or hypotheses: structural shifts in the economy, inadequate human capital, racial and gender discrimination, adverse cultural and behavioral factors, racial and income segregation, impacts of migration, lack of endogenous growth, and adverse consequences of public policy (Teitz and Chapple 1). Fifth, m inorities are substantially more affected with poverty in the inner cities than the majority. Children of poverty risk long-lasting damage to their brains, which ultimately limits their ability to transcend their impoverished backgrounds, thereby creating a permanent underclass in the U.S. ("National High School Debate Topic: Poverty and Social Services" 12). The study, presented by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, stated “many young children growing up in very poor families with low social status experience unhealthy levels of stress hormones, which impair their neutral development” ("National High School Debate Topic: Poverty and Social Services" 12). There was considerable evidence that some of the country's poorest families had been driven deep er into poverty with the gradual elimination of public benefits ("Welfare and Poverty: Black Children Face Record Deep Poverty" 2).