Hargreaves 1

Lydia Hargreaves

Mr Pace

English

31 October 2023

Poverty and The American Dream

Nearly 38 million Americans suffer from poverty (Poverty in the United States). Living

in poverty generates obstacles for those who are striving to achieve the American Dream by

limiting resources and opportunities. The American Dream is the idea that anyone can pursue

their dreams and have a good life if they are hardworking and motivated. Poverty limits people’s

ability to achieve the American Dream due to the unevenly distributed economy and limited

access to education.

Achieving the American Dream requires the ability to support yourself with your basic

needs such as food, clothing and shelter. Many Americans struggle with this due to the economy

causing inflation and increasing prices faster than people’s wages which ultimately create stress

when making purchases and conflicts with being able to live a happy life. Some of the metrics of

the economy have been staggering: “Nearly one-third of Americans are poor or near poor. (1)

For these families, living wages, affordable housing, adequate food, and other basic needs are

increasingly out of reach” (A THEORY OF POVERTY: LEGAL IMMOBILITY). This evidence

confirms that a concerning amount of Americans are living in poverty, which causes them to

struggle to provide for themselves and their families. It is difficult to survive when struggling

financially, therefore the government should take extra steps to address the issue, especially since

the amount of impoverished Americans is so high. The government might take action by
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providing food and housing assistance, as this will support those in need get on the path to

working their way up and becoming financial stability. It has been more difficult for Americans

to gain and or retain financial security and afford necessities as a result of price increases and

stagnant income. In the same way that Americans need to manage their money more carefully

due to inflation when prices rise but earnings remain the same: “Inflation, inflation, inflation: it’s

the specter that looms behind each of Mr. Biden’s recent accomplishments, haunting millions of

Americans at the grocery store and at the gas pump” (Is America In a Recession). According to

this evidence, inflation creates struggles for people by causing prices to rise faster than wages

which reduces the quantity of goods and services they can purchase with the same amount of

money as they used to. This results in lack of healthcare, food, housing, and other necessities

since things are not as easy to afford anymore. This is further demonstrated in an article by

Daniel Cornfield: “How to Restore the American Dream appears at a time when millions of poor

and working families are struggling to attain the American Dream. Economic globalization,

technological change, and the seismic restructuring of the manufacturing economy into an

hourglass service economy of haves and have nots have led to persistent poverty and declining

real wages for most workers since the start of the new millennium” (Ending Poverty in America:

How to Restore the American Dream). This shows that economic globalization, technological

change and the seismic restructuring of the manufacturing economy have led to poverty by

reducing their income which ultimately affects people’s ability to achieve the American Dream.

These sources provide evidence that inflation is a major factor contributing to poverty in the

country and impoverishment hinders the ability to achieve the American Dream by stating that

inflation is a source of financial stress and difficulties, and poverty causes people to struggle to
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afford their basic necessities which is a requirement of achieving the American dream.

Therefore, the economic disparity leads to poverty which is a significant obstacle for Americans

striving for the American Dream.

Access to education is another major factor in achieving the American Dream that can be

negatively affected by poverty. Since education frequently defines an individual's career, which

in turn affects their income, it plays a critical role in preventing or extending the cycle of

poverty: “For decades, scholars have worked to identify the mechanisms that contribute to the

cycle of poverty and to the thwarting of upward socioeconomic class mobility for poor families.

(2) Depending on the era, stagnant wages, (3) the education system, (4) incarceration, (5)

neighborhoods, (6) and most recently, eviction, (7) have each been identified as a potential holy

grail answer” (A THEORY OF POVERTY: LEGAL IMMOBILITY). Having a good education

often leads to better job opportunities, while a lack of education usually results in less stable,

lower paying jobs. Therefore, lack of education ultimately results in low income which often

leads to financial difficulties and poverty. Similar to how living in poverty can have negative

effects on school readiness, the ability to learn, and overall education quality: “Persistently poor

children, those who spend all of their childhood years in poverty, experience more negative

cognitive and educational outcomes than their peers who encountered only short-term or

transient poverty” (Poverty and Education). This data shows that living in poverty creates

disadvantages in access to a high quality education since not only private school, but also high

quality public school can be difficult to afford since access to it often requires living in a well-off

area. Since high quality education is a factor that would be required to earn a good job and

income, lack of access to it causes struggles for people living in poverty to achieve the American
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dream. Living in extreme poverty makes it more difficult to achieve the American Dream by

limiting access to high quality education which decreases an individual's opportunity of

achieving a solid, well paying career. As a consequence of this, many people have unstable

careers resulting in a cycle of poverty. Overall, poverty causes major obstacles with achieving

the American Dream through limiting opportunities and access to education.

An education and stable job are necessary components to achieving the American Dream.

However, there are many challenges posed by inflation and poverty that negatively affect these

opportunities. Inflation causes prices to rise while wages remain the same which leads to poverty

and limits access to education. These drawbacks are significant because it creates a cycle of

poverty that is difficult to escape and causes struggles for people who are striving to achieve the

American Dream.
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Works Cited

Cornfield, Daniel B. "Ending Poverty in America: How to Restore the American Dream." Social

Forces, vol. 87, no. 4, June 2009, pp. 2203+. Gale Academic OneFile Select,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/A203175832/EAIM?u=mlin_n_newhigh&sid=bookmark-EAIM

&xid=02a4bb3c. Accessed 18 Oct. 2023.

Emily A. Shrider And John Creamer. “Poverty in the United States: 2022.” Census.Gov, 12 Sept.

2023,

www.census.gov/library/publications/2023/demo/p60-280.html#:~:text=Highlights-,Offic

ial%20Poverty%20Measure,and%20Table%20A%2D1).

Greene, Sara S. "A THEORY OF POVERTY: LEGAL IMMOBILITY." Washington University

Law Review, vol. 96, no. 4, Feb. 2019, pp. 753+. Gale Academic OneFile Select,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/A578440485/EAIM?u=mlin_n_newhigh&sid=bookmark-EAIM

&xid=79599ec5. Accessed 18 Oct. 2023.

Healy, Patrick, and Adrian J. Rivera. “Is America in a Recession? Here’s What 16 Biden and

Trump Supporters Think.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 13 Sept. 2022,

www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/09/13/opinion/america-recession-biden-trump.html.

SMITH, CHRISTY BRADY, et al. "Poverty and Education." Encyclopedia of Education, edited

by James W. Guthrie, 2nd ed., vol. 5, Macmillan Reference USA, 2002, pp. 1904-1915.

Gale In Context: U.S. History,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3403200495/UHIC?u=mlin_n_newhigh&sid=bookmark-UHI

C&xid=2ce69b46. Accessed 31 Oct. 2023.