E.+Persuasive+Research+Essay

== Today in America a shocking number of “43.6 million citizens are living in poverty, the highest number since 1959” (Number 1). Most do not even realize the magnitude of this problem because it is a subject most do not like to think about. There is not a day that goes by that one cannot walk by on a street sidewalk and see someone who is homeless or panhandling for money. America has been labeled as the “land of opportunity”, but millions are struggling everyday just to put bread on the table. Places like soup kitchens and homeless shelters do the best they can, but it still does not even put a dent in fixing the problem. Poverty exists in America because there are thousands without basic human necessities, there are few job opportunities due to the recession, and there are those who are not making enough to support themselves and their family. ==

== Everyone knows that everyone needs the basic human necessities; food, clothing, and shelter. Families struggle everyday to put bread on the table because their income stays the same, and the price of food still increases. As far as clothing, those who can not afford it have to go to a place like the Salvation Army just to cover their bodies. With the recession, more and more homes are foreclosed everyday. Just like prices of food, the employee’s income stays the same, but the rent or mortgage keeps increasing which puts many families out on the street. Not only is being homeless unhealthy, but its dangerous, especially for the kids of that family. ==

== Due to the recession there are very few job opportunities. All kinds of businesses are closing down which is leaving many people without a job. “The unemployment rate dropped to 9.7 percent, from 10 percent in December, but the number of jobs lost since the start of the recession was revised upward to 8.4 million from 7.2” (Jobless 1). Some families are forced to have the adults working up to three jobs, and even the kids working a job as soon as they reach the eligibility age to work. Through all the loss, there might be a light at the end of the tunnel. Jobs in the education and health services, manufacturing, and production of motor vehicles have been increasing. The more job opportunities, the more employed Americans, and more money being spent, the better the economy will get. ==

== Minimum wage is not enough to support one’s self or a family because almost every week prices on things Americans use daily go up. Today, it is about five dollars for a gallon of milk and about four dollars for a gallon of gas. Things like that are what typical families need every week. Most parents are supporting their families on minimum wage jobs that pay $7.25 per hour, with tips if one is lucky. Everyday people like, “Antonio Clemens, 31, who makes about $7.85 an hour at the Memphis Music Café, can’t afford health insurance and is unable to save money in between paying $685 a month in rent on the apartment he shares with his wife and their two young children” (Baram 1). Without a college education, many people can not expect to make above minimum wage and support a family. Parents cannot afford to send their kids to college if they have to spend their whole paycheck just to be able to live. In today’s society, one can not support the cost of living on minimum wage. ==

== Millions of Americans in today’s society are living in poverty whether everyone wants to believe it or not. The rich, and sometimes even people in our government, believe that poverty is just an excuse for laziness. They believe that if a person wanted to have a home, food, shelter, and a good education, that they could just make it happen if they try hard. Living in poverty is a situation only fully understood by those living in it; the better-off ones cannot begin to understand what one in poverty goes through each day. Laziness is not the issue, one in poverty cannot find a job if there are none. Even if one were to find a job, it is impossible to know if they would get laid off. Poverty is not something we can ignore; too many live in it for us to do so. The government and everyday citizens need to step up and make 2011 the year where the number of 43.6 million people living in poverty drops to zero. ==

==Baram, Marcus. "Surviving (or Not) on Minimum Wage - ABC News." ABCNews.com - ABCNews.com: Breaking News, Politics, World News, Good Morning America, Exclusive Interviews - ABC News. 24 July 2008. Web. 13 Jan. 2011. . ==

=="Jobless rate falls, even as more jobs lost." Philadelphia Inquirer [Philadelphia, PA] 6 Feb. 2010. Gale Student Resources In Context. Web. 13 Jan. 2011. ==

=="The number of people in poverty in America increased to its highest recorded point last year, and the poverty rate rose to its highest level since 1994, new statistics show." The Christian Century 127.21 (2010): 19. Gale Student Resources In Context. Web. 13 Jan. 2011. ==