Family Difficulties: Poverty

Family Difficulties: Poverty

I do not think there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature." Said by the one and only James D Rockefeller. "In the Bureau of Labor Statistics for July, 2010 report, about 14.5 million Americans are wanting work but unable to find any. In addition, another 1.2 million discouraged Americans have given up looking, and 8.5 million are working only part-time for economic reasons. We're stuck at 9.5% unemployment" (Eskildson par.1). Unemployment is commonly considered as a major social and economic problem in all countries around the world. People are left deprived of jobs, lessening their supported income wages, which in turn lessens happy and healthy lifestyles to continue or ever exist in ones life. For a person to be considered unemployed, they must be a member of the labor force. The labor force is the portion of the population that is capable, willing, and also looking for employment. Most people who become unemployed continue without work for very short periods. Though, there is additionally an immense amount of jobless people who continue without employment for extensive periods of time. The negative effects of unemployment are significantly more severe for the people who have been jobless for more than three years. Problems from unemployment affect not just a person's money difficulty, but has an additionally large negative affect towards a family's stability. Several things contribute to domestic poverty such as underemployment, which is a person not working full time or to their full ability, although the main contributor is unemployment.

It all starts with the word "poverty", which is another term for being poor. Poverty is discovered to be one of the biggest difficulties, and it prevents parents to accomplish their parental responsibilities with complete attentiveness. Some people inherit their poverty because they are born into a certain social group, which is expressed by race, class and location. Additionally, economic deficiency turns into depression and stress for the parents and can eventually destroy a family. The caregivers stress within a household affects the children too, as their environment and the people they are surrounded by are not in good mental and physical health. Solutions to overcome financial issues are very basic, although for most people they are easier said than done. It requires an immense amount of determination when the occasion arises for a person to secure a supporting job. Unemployment welfares can also help the unemployed when finding a new job becomes hopeless, though that is a last resort and does not completely solve the problem.

First, one of the main reasons for financial problems within a family is job loss. "In 2009, 8.5 million jobs had vanished" (Haya El par. 4). It does not matter if it is long-lasting unemployment or just a brief job loss, if a person's income is less than what they are used to they can simply fall behind. Perhaps a person has a sickness that has affected them to lose time from work or caused them to be incapable to work any longer; this can cause them to go through financial problems with the addition of paying medical bills. Another reason is underemployment, which defines the employment of people with high proficiency levels in low-wage jobs that do not involve such abilities which they are good at. For instance, somebody with a college degree might be waiting tables or working in fast food. This can come about from the existence of unemployment and even if a person does not use their full talents to do their job, people with bills to pay often times will accept any occupation available. This can also happen with people who are being discriminated against, who do not have suitable skill certification or educational degrees, have disabilities, or have been in prison. In certain circumstances, irresponsible spending behaviors such as gambling, substance abuse difficulties or mismanagement of finances can cause a person to add up payments that they can no longer afford. In 2011, 46.2 million people in the U.S. lived below the poverty level (Sabrina par.1). Individuals with a poor income usually present certain characteristics of their complications in meeting necessary expenses, involving struggling to pay for nourishment, housing, clothing, education, health care, utilities, transportation, and trying to equalize conflicting strains. The outcomes of job loss on an individual involve undesirable conclusions. People without a job sometimes feel increased thoughts of anxiety, depression, emotional suffering, and experience unfulfilling thoughts about the future.

Furthermore, a person cannot overlook the destructive features concerning family members that live in poverty. "In 2010, more than 37 million Americans relied on food pantries and soup kitchens" (Christie par.12). Economically poor parents have a hard time fighting for the survival of their families. The children in poor families commonly go without the personality development lessons from their first learning basics of the family. Absence of attention by parents, especially in early childhood years, can negatively affect the child's personality and consequently their future depending on their age at the time of poverty. The damaging effect of poverty on parents and children originates from the stress and isolation linked with having a very low income, the constant rearranging of finances, financial insecurity in some situations and frequently the feeling of being different and less valuable. "Today, 16.4 million children live below the poverty level" (National Poverty Center par.6). The impact of stress and unhappiness on children may be direct and indirect throughout the parent's involvements and behavior. Homelessness is conceivably the severe demonstration of isolation and stress for children developing from the arrangement of low income and housing struggles. In deprived families, children might sense homelessness