A child pulls on his mother's coat and exclaims, “Mommy! Mom! Here's the fire truck I wanted!” while looking through the window at the toy shop. The mother looks down at the toy and sees the price, pushes her son away and walks him in the opposite direction. He calmly spoke, “I know darling, but not today. Maybe when mom has extra money to spend.” The truth was, they didn't have any extra money. The two shared a one-bedroom apartment with six others, and split the rent between them. This was where their money went every month. This scenario is not uncommon; Poverty in the United States is a serious problem that is growing across the nation. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayIn "Rural Poverty in America," published in The Nation Forum, Wayne Flynt discusses how people imagine "rural poverty" and attempts to change their perspective. It says: “Around each crater there is a high rim. A vast plain extends from the edges. The craters represent the nation's urban centers. The plain represents rural America, in many ways the most complex landscape. The edges represent the peripheries of the nation” (1). It includes how many people in America believe that the poor in their country are found in highly populated areas such as cities, but the most concentrated regions with poverty are rural. Flynt explains how rural poverty is not caused by laziness or lack of motivation. Furthermore, it explains how most rural poor families have two or more working members. Limitations on the highly paid jobs available in these areas are the main cause of rural poverty. However, it describes how many families or individuals decide to stay in rural areas due to traditional, church or community ties. Flynt says the poor quality of the education system in rural areas is another contributing factor as the cycle of low income continues. Furthermore, it discusses health factors in rural poverty. He says that due to low income, many families tend to buy unhealthy and inexpensive foods, which leads to obesity and excessive health problems. Finally, Flynt explains that people suffering from rural poverty will not have health care because most are uninsured. He adds how many facilities are not available to them due to changes in Medicaid and Medicare payments. Overall, Flynt concludes that Americans need to have a better understanding of rural poverty and stop “American cultural stereotypes” (3) on the topic of poverty and become more knowledgeable about the issue. On the other hand, in “Public Welfare in America,” published in the Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies, Dick Armey discusses the state of welfare in the United States and its reform efforts. Armey begins his article by stating that an attempt to reform welfare must begin by recognizing that the current system is unreasonable. It describes how the current system supports poverty because it has created a generation-to-generation cycle that traps beneficiaries in poverty by taking advantage of the system. Armey calls the lack of educational aspirations, the increase in single parents, and illegitimacy “behavioral poverty” (1). Furthermore, Armey argues that the greater the welfare benefit, the greater the decrease in work commitment and individuals' dependence on welfare. He expands on his thoughts by explaining how this would set a bad example for children because it would affect their life prospects. Furthermore, Armey goes on to describe how children raised on welfare will be more likely to fail in school, commit crimes, etc.However, he states that for welfare to have positive outcomes in these situations, it should be re-evaluated to prevent negative effects. effects in society. Armey concludes that welfare promotes unemployment and encourages single parenthood; therefore, forcing politicians to correct welfare programs to avoid taking away the poorest families when the solution is found. I wonder if it is difficult to make significant enough changes in one's life to overcome poverty. Some people may think that as long as you try, getting out of poverty is an easy transition, however it can be difficult to make changes to overcome poverty for a variety of reasons. People believe that poverty is caused by the actions of an individual. Yet, many are in poverty due to uncontrollable circumstances. Flynt's article is aimed at the higher-educated audience because it is published in the National Forum, a center for higher education. Includes a large vocabulary and uses a formal way of writing. Its aim is to change the public's cultural stereotype of specifically rural poverty. Flynt includes static data and percentages, which support his thinking on the topic. He alludes to personal human values ​​by saying that others need to abandon American popular cultural stereotypes and “need a restoration of that traditional American idea of ​​the common good, the general good” (3). With this, Flynt expresses the need for Americans to unite, have a different vision on social issues, and a “renewed commitment to biblical notions of justice and democratic ideas of equal opportunity for all” (3). Flynt is a noteworthy author because he is a college professor at Auburn University and a lifelong resident of Alabama, which has many rural areas. This makes him well-informed about rural poverty because he has witnessed it firsthand. Flynt is open-minded in his depiction of where, why, and how poverty exists in the United States. His article breaks the stereotype of poverty and changes the perspective on the general situation that people are dealing with. Explain how low-income areas will be affected at the community level. After reading Flynt's article, people will realize the severity of poverty and how common it is becoming in the United States. Armey's article is intended for people who are knowledgeable about or interested in economic, social, or political events related to where his article is published: Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies. Because of his educated audience, Armey uses formal language not including “you” or “I.” Its purpose is to discuss the state of welfare in America and its potential negative effects. Armey supports his ideas with studies and statistics: “More than 20 percent of children born in the late 1960s spent at least a year on social assistance” (1). In this quote, he discusses how the welfare system teaches children to have greater dependency so that they can follow in their parents' footsteps in receiving welfare. Armey is a credible author because he cites his work correctly and is a verified author in many publications such as the Wall Street Journal. Although Armey provides studies to support his views on how welfare is not a functional system for helping people out of poverty, this is not the case. Categorizing everyone who receives DSHS care into one group is ignorant. Many people find themselves in these situations due to uncontrollable circumstances, such as sudden termination or disability. Armey believes that poverty is an easy situation to get out of: “the federal government spends more than $240 billion a year on welfare, which is more than double themoney needed to lift every person who benefits from welfare out of poverty” (3). Instead of blaming people for why they are in poverty, Armey should look at what the government is currently doing. As you said in the previous statement, the money the government spends on welfare could lift every person on welfare out of poverty, why hasn't it happened yet? There are some people taking advantage of the benefits, however many people are trying to get back on their feet. The lack of available, well-paying jobs to support a family is difficult to find without a college degree. Therefore, Armey's argument that recipients abuse welfare benefits is not valid to include all those receiving assistance. While it is difficult to completely eliminate poverty in the United States, a closer step to eliminating poverty would be to improve the economy and have more jobs available in America. Making significant enough changes in your life to overcome poverty is difficult because getting a well-paying job requires extra education. Flynt explains how rural poverty is not caused by laziness or lack of self-motivation. In fact, the average family includes at least two members who work full-time and continue to live in poverty. A well-paying job is almost rare to find without a college degree and in this economy, college is unaffordable for many. Unless an individual is extremely wealthy or receives a full scholarship, they will most likely go into student loan debt. After all this college work to get a decent job, many find themselves having to pay large tuition fines. The situation gets worse: unless you choose certain qualifications, there is no guarantee that there will be a job available right away. Bills are piling up and more and more people are falling into debt. Additionally, in recent decades, many jobs did not require special certifications or degrees. As long as a person knew some skills such as farming, mechanics, or simply owned a small business, he or she was successful and could find work. However, this is challenging today, with added costs for education and large corporations making it extremely difficult for small, local businesses to thrive. Shopping at a local business may be more expensive and have limited supplies, but doing so ensures that more money will stay in the community, therefore supporting the local economy. The number of available jobs is slowly decreasing. Due to companies moving their factories to different countries and companies making billions by paying only the minimum wage, they have fueled the low rate of poverty and economy. It is proven that the minimum wage cannot support the payment of rent on a one-bedroom apartment, so people continue to struggle with poverty. Therefore, a higher minimum wage can help support more people in need. When companies move their factories to other countries like China, this can be great for their investments by producing more money, lower production costs, and higher production levels. However, these companies don't realize that the jobs they send overseas could benefit the United States. More people will be able to find work and receive better wages thanks to the improvement of the economy, and fewer families and individuals will become victims of poverty. However, without change, the gap between rich and poor will become wider and the “middle class” will shrink. As a result, welfare is a debated topic as to what it has actually accomplished..