Pettigrew 1

Reilly Jo Pettigrew
D. Watkins
TR 10:30
April 22, 2015
Land of the free, home of the broke
If you live in Oklahoma, there is a ninety percent chance you came from a, small town.
Most of the time, if you are from a small town your parents drug you to church when you were
younger and my parents did just that. For the most part, I loved going to church as a kid. I have
always been outgoing and involved myself in everything I could possibly get into. Our youth
group was of decent proportion and our youth pastor was always finding some kind of
community service to do. It was not until the summer before my freshman year of high school
that Mr. Bledsoe and his wife came to us with this organization called World Vision. We all
looked into it and after feeling inspired, a few of the older group members decided to join. In
doing so, they journeyed off to Africa for a week to help the sick and poor children there. As for
myself, I too aspired to go, but my parents said I was too young and would have to wait until I
got older like those that went. I was not thrilled of the decision, but I understood where my
parents were coming from. However, I would not allow that to keep me from wanting to help
people, so a few days went by and I decided that every homeless person I saw I would just give
them money. After my attempts, I learned this was not all I had hoped, for I watched the two
homeless men I gave money to make unnecessary purchases with what I had given. After doing
some research, I learned just how many kids in Oklahoma go without eating and that broke my
heart. After this, I went back to Mrs. Bledsoe and asked if we could make bagged lunches with
bottled water to take to kids in need around the area. Enthused with the idea, one morning we all
got together and made countless lunches. Between our town and the town next to us, we
completely ran out. What an amazing feeling it was knowing that kids that wouldnt have gotten

Pettigrew 2

a meal otherwise, since they were not in school at the time, had a good lunch and a bottle of
water provided to them. It is sad to think that this is going on all over America. Knowing that
more than forty-five million people in the wealthiest country are living in poverty, and that more
than one-third of those people are children, is extremely unbelievable. The price it takes to live in
America in todays world has gone off the charts, but that is one of the reasons behind why so
many people, including children, are living in poverty today.
The child poverty rate in 2013 was around 19.9% dropping from 21.8% in 2012. In one
year, the child poverty rate dropped 1.9%, but the number of poor people in America is the
highest it has been in the 52 years America has kept track of poverty. Even though the percentage
of people living in poverty was around 22.4% the first year poverty was ever charted. Almost
twenty million Americans live in extreme poverty, which means the familys income is under
half of the poverty line. Out of the forty-five million people living in poverty, almost twenty
million live in extreme poverty (Hunger). These numbers are devastating since America is
supposedly known as one of the wealthiest countries. In a nation that one in every three kids live
in poverty, we as Americans should be doing something about this situation. The United States
ranks sixth out of all the countries in the world for children living in poverty. New Mexico has
the highest child poverty rate in the U.S. where more than four kids out of ten live in poverty
(Ingraham). Poverty rates are generally higher in southern states, and lower in New England
and the Northern Plains states (Ingraham). Child poverty increased in thirty-four states between
2006 and 2011 (Ingraham). Christopher Ingraham could not have said it better when he said,
For the richest country in the world to also have one of the world's highest childhood poverty
rates is, frankly, an embarrassment. Like our high infant mortality rate, child poverty in the U.S.

Pettigrew 3

reflects the failure of policymakers to seriously grapple with the challenges facing the most
vulnerable members of society (Ingraham).
As stated above, the number of poor people in America is the highest it has ever been. It
is because of this, I believe the number one reason for child poverty is caused by this occurrence.
Children rely on adults for their well-being. Therefore children are poor because they are raised
by adults who are poor. The Future of Children website attacks this subject and comes to the
conclusion that, The determinants of adult poverty can be classified into two categories:
macroeconomic and demographic forces which affect the overall income distribution and factors
that affect an individuals earning capacity, such as education, age, and race (Betson). It is
known that unemployment has a big influence on the poverty rate. Despite the fact that
employment has fallen since 1983, the low and declining wages of less-educated workers has led
to a higher poverty rate. There are plenty of factors that affect income and earnings for an adult,
but education, race and age are among the biggest factors. In todays world, a higher education is
critical for a substantial income. Although America is supposed to be a nondiscriminatory
country, race also is related to poverty and the income rate. Hispanics make up the largest share
of poor children, 35 percent (Jiang). With that said about unemployment, perhaps we can fulfill
our duties as Americans to help this situation. In doing so, Americans can help create more jobs
for these people or raise the minimum wage to help people reach above the poverty line. In my
opinion, the latter is an option in which I can agree with the most.
When people started coming to America, it was because they were in search of the
American Dream. Unfortunately for today, this has come to a new meaning, or perhaps people
have the wrong idea of what the American Dream actually is. Although one Americans view is
different from the next, it is that of those living in poverty that skew the ideas that come of the

Pettigrew 4

American Dream. To live a day in America, it can cost close to ten times more than it did fifty
years ago. The poor class is taking over the middle class due to the cost of living and its constant
incline. Although people make more money today, living expenses have gone up as well. It
doesnt take much to get the governments assistance, but most people make just a touch more
than allowed to get this assistance. This being another reason why so many people are living in
poverty. The government does provide a few different programs, but not everyone qualifies for
them.
The structure of a family is another objective to be discussed with the affect it has on
child poverty. There is a lot of talk about how high the divorce rate is right now; could this have
anything to do with poverty rate increasing? It would make sense that single parent families
would have a higher child poverty rate, but statistics should different. The poverty rate for
children in married-couple families in 2000 was 8.9 or roughly one-half the overall rate, 16.3
percent (Lichter). Being a single parent is much harder than raising a child with more than one
income, but with being a single parent it is more likely to get assistance from the government.
Although unfortunate, it is proven that poorer families have more children than wealthier
families do (Betson). Another way to possibly help our poverty rate is by providing a preschool
or child care opportunity for children and have it offered to everyone. Child care is completely
unaffordable for a minimum wage income. If there was some kind of school that was provided
for children five and under, it would allow parents to have that extra money to fulfill the childs
needs. These could provide healthy meals for the child, and more of an education that they do not
get at a normal day care. Children over the age of 5 have the opportunity to go to public schools
and get all these privileges as well.

Pettigrew 5

I believe that if we did not have public schools and that if it wasnt against the law to not
go then the poverty rate would be extremely higher than it already is. Public school provides a
way for kids to stay out of trouble, for the most part, get somewhat of an education, and
motivation to further their education which in turn betters their lives. As well as offers a way to
get free or reduced-price in lunches if qualified for it. An article in The New York Times
recorded, Just over half of all students attending public schools in the United States are now
eligible for free or reduced-price lunches, according to a new analysis of federal data (Rich).
This means the fifty-one percentage that qualify come from a low-income family. Just because a
student is eligible for these benefits does not mean they live in poverty. It is however a
significant chance, but definitely helps out a child whether he or she is living in poverty or not. It
is also proven that a child that comes from a low-income family seeks more attention by acting
out than the wealthier child (Rich). Studies show that proper nutrition improves a childs
behavior, school performance, and overall cognitive development. A healthy eating environment
teaches children good nutrition and the elements of a proper diet, which can have positive effects
on childrens eating habits and physical well-being throughout life (Hunger). Another element
public schools provide, is that of a child living in poverty who might need a nurse or medical
attention that they are unable to get otherwise. Every child should have some kind regularly visit
to a doctor. With more than fifty-one million people without any form of health insurance, I also
believe if we provide a better health care system the children living in poverty percentage would
decrease tremendously.
After learning all this valuable information about child poverty and how the percentage is
lowering, it is still heart breaking to know there are children living like that in the wealthiest
country. If we can continue to lower the rate each year, we could eventually be back to the

Pettigrew 6

happiest country in the world. Though other countries still need our support, if we would spend a
little more time and effort in our own country first by helping out our children living in poverty
and in turn they can grow up leading different lives to then make a change. After these rates are
lowered, our nation in turn can aide those other countries in need more significantly. Mahatma
Gandhi said, Poverty is the worst form of violence. It is often hard for me to wrap my thoughts
around the truth of that sentence, but it is every bit of true. It is easy to see we have a problem
here in America that needs to be fixed, and although it is easier said than done, America should
not be known as one of the wealthiest countries and still have forty-five million people living in
poverty. Especially with twenty percent of those people being innocent children who have no
choice on the household they grow up in.

Pettigrew 7

Annotation Bibliography
Betson, David M. "One Fifth of the Nation's Children: Why Are They Poor?"Science 245.4922
(1989): 1047-053. Future of Children. The Trustees of Princeton University, 11 Feb.
2013. Web. 08 Apr. 2015.
<http://futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/docs/07_02_01.pdf>. The
simplest way to describe a child living in poverty is the child lacks goods and services a
human being needs to survive in todays time. The debate on poverty is not an easy
subject, but this article helps readers understand the true meaning of poverty, reasons for
childhood poverty, and the ability of public and private programs to address the needs of
poor children. This article also describes the measure of poverty. There is no correct or
incorrect answer to the question of whether to use an absolute or relative measure of
poverty. Even though it is an older piece it is still useful for my project because it just
goes to show we have not done enough to bring poverty to an end.
"Hunger in America: 2015 United States Hunger and Poverty Facts by World Hunger Education
Service." Hunger in America: 2015 United States Hunger and Poverty Facts by World
Hunger Education Service. World Hunger Education Service, Mar. 2015. Web. 08 Apr.
2015. <http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/us_hunger_facts.htm>.
Even in today's advance world America still struggles with hunger. Statistics prove that
the six years between 2007 and 2013 poverty went from 37.5 million people to 45.3
million people. With that said the high hit in 2010 and from then to 2013 has surprising
went down. Most people know that children make up 25% of the population which means
32.3% of people in poverty. In a years time children living in poverty in America
dropped almost 2%. This article will be useful for my research because it provides a lot of

Pettigrew 8

information in different areas like ways America tries to stop hunger, poverty statistics,
and facts about benefits that are provided. Although this article does not only focus on
children in poverty I still believe the information provided will be helpful.
Ingraham, Christopher. "Child Poverty in the U.S. Is among the Worst in the Developed
World." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 29 Oct. 2014. Web. 8 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/10/29/child-poverty-in-theu-s-is-among-the-worst-in-the-developed-world/>.
Its been proven that one in every third child in America lives in poverty. Being one of the
richest nations that is an embarrassing fact. Most of the sources I am using for my essay
stats are all a little different, but for the most part around the same as this articles stats. In
this study child poverty is higher in southern states, but there is poverty in every state in
America. Im including this article as a source because it gives an Americans point of
view on the situation and makes it clear that there are ways to better the situation in our
country.
Jiang, Y., Ekono, M., & Skinner, C. (2015). Basic Facts about Low-Income Children: Children
under 3 Years, 2013. New York: National Center for Children in Poverty, Mailman
School of Public Health, Columbia University. January 2015. Wed. 08 April 2015.
<http://nccp.org/publications/pdf/text_1096.pdf>.
America has always had a problem with at least a small percentage living in poverty. In a
recent study it has been proven that over the last few years children living in poverty has
went up. I am using this particular article because not only does it discus child poverty
but children three years and younger. They talk how low income has the biggest effect on
people living in America and this is the main cause for poverty. The biggest question this

Pettigrew 9

article answers is does race or ethnicity have anything to do with the variation in infants
and toddlers then older children.
Lichter, Daniel T., Qian Zhenchao, and Martha L. Crowley. "Child Poverty Among Racial
Minorities and Immigrants: Explaining Trends And Differentials." Social Science
Quarterly (Wiley-Blackwell) 86. (2005): 1037-1059. Academic Search Premier. Web. 9
Apr. 2015. I am writing this paper over children living in poverty in America, but it is no
secret that everyone living in America are not always American. Racial and ethnic
diversity in American society accelerated in the 1990s and still is today. The measure of
poverty is based on whether a familys income from all sources is below the official
family income threshold for the appropriate family size. Differences in family structure
accounted for a large part of observed child poverty differences between minority groups.
This source provides beneficial information about child poverty rates by races, the effects
family structure has on poverty, and whether or not employment has an effect on child
poverty.
Rich, Motoko. "Percentage of Poor Students in Public Schools Rises." The New York Times. The
New York Times, 16 Jan. 2015. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/17/us/school-poverty-study-southern-educationfoundation.html?_r=0>. Motoko Rich wrote this article about how the percentage of poor
students are rising and how so many students are not only getting free or reduced price
lunches but also dinner. He also gives information about each state and how the west
coast states are higher in percentages on this program. This article is helpful for me
because it proves my point about how the middle class are barely missing the cut and
how low income children have food to eat if their family qualifies.