Poverty in the USA Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Poverty in the USA - Article Example So there are statistical and social definitions of poverty, as well as a mixture of both methods. Social definition includes the concept of empowerment and human development (Think Quest, 2006). In other words, â€Å"...objective measures of poverty present numerous problems in terms of identifying the poor, but succeed in providing the aggregate statistics policy makers desire† (Maxwell, 1999, p. 3). Most of the time emphasis is made on defining and measuring poverty thresholds and poverty lines, but some researchers argue that policy makers should define and measure poverty in terms of â€Å"self-sufficiency† (Mutari, 2001) or the level of income that a person or a family really needs to live a life free of worries about economical and human development issues. In the United States poverty began to be measured in the 1950s based on a survey that showed that families spent about one-third of their incomes on food. Mollie Orshansky, an economist from the Social Security Administration, set the poverty threshold at three times the cost of an economy food plan defined by the Department of Agriculture (University of Michigan, 2001). The thresholds are updated yearly and vary according to the size and age composition of a family (US Census Bureau, 2009). Frank states that â€Å"using these income levels, the Census Bureau reported that 12.7% percent of U.S. residents and 17.8% of U.S. children lived in poverty in 2004. Black Americans experience poverty at nearly double these rates: 24.9% of all Blacks and 33.3% of Black children live in households with incomes below the poverty line† (Frank, 2006). Most of the researchers and experts agree that the poverty line is â€Å"far too low for a household to survive on in most parts of the United States† (Frank, 2006). Researchers Pearce and Brooks found that â€Å"a single parent living in the Bronx with two children, one in school and one in daycare, would need a gross income of $3,684 per month

Special Topics in International Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Special Topics in International Relations - Essay Example the purpose of development would cause an increase in the planet’s temperature, increases in sea level, changes in precipitation patterns, depletion of ozone layer, loss of natural habitat of millions of species of plants and animals, loss of water resources, loss of bio diversity, increase in incidents of extreme weather such as heat waves, soil erosion and increased pollution (Watson et al, 2003). The development is changing the earth’s environment at all levels. At the local level the environment is at risk due to air, soil and water pollution. At regional level there is a threat of acid rain and land degradation. Finally at global level there is a massive climate change and a loss of biodiversity. All these changes have been attributed at a large level to the various development projects that are meant to provide better life and alleviate poverty. Unfortunately these projects are having a negative effect on the ecosystem, water resources, human health, agriculture, forestry and fisheries. It is estimated that the development projects will have further negative consequences in the future (Watson et al., 2003). Environmental issues are very important for the third world countries. A clean and healthy environment reflects a clean and healthy nation. Natural environment is a source of natural income for the people of the poor countries. Many people are dependent on natural resources for their income. If these resources are taken away it will definitely be a big blow for the poor people. At the same time environment protection is very important for economic growth of any country. If people continue to use and pollute natural resources the country would suffer economically and will move away from development. Therefore it becomes very important to protect the environment (The World Bank Report, n.d.). Here it would be pertinent to discuss the case of Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a poor country and a large section of its population is dependent on fisheries for