Exploration of Poverty and Why the Poor are Poor 1

Exploration of Poverty and Why the Poor Are Poor

Julie Valentine

Lorain County Community College

Exploration of Poverty and Why the Poor are Poor 2

Poverty is a major global and national problem that unfortunately seems to be far

overlooked in our fast paced society these days. In fact, the working poor in America are

growing even poorer, and according to the U.S government, a family of four is poor if it earns

less than $21,834 annually. The number of families that are in poverty is growing to an

alarming rate of 8.15 million. (CCHD-poverty USA quiz) How and why can this be possible in

the wealthiest country in the Western Hemispere? This essay will examine explanations, or

theories of why poverty is a rampant and ongoing problem in our society and unfortunately, in

our own backyards. The theories that are being examined are individualism, social

structuralism, the culture of poverty, and fatalism. The biggest question this would propose:

How do we fix such a huge problem?

The individualism theory blames the poor. It reflects the views of our society

throughout most of history and today that the primary cause of poverty is to be found as a

defect in the individual effected. The view is the majority of people see the poverty stricken as

drug addicted, alcoholic, ignorant, and mentally ill, which shall not be ignored in some cases.

This “individualistic perspective is reflected in our country’s response to the poor with rags to

riches stories, the moral being that everyone can pull themselves up by their bootstraps with

hard work, sweat and motivation” (Seccombe, 2007) This theory would be described simply as

it’s their own fault they are in the position they’re in. This theory suggests that “opportunities

are available to all who are willing to work hard, and to all who are sufficiently motivated.

Because virtually everybody has an equal opportunity to acquire the skills, traits, and training

needed for upward mobility, those that fail to make it have themselves to blame.” (Seccombe

2007) The way that the government handles the poor seems to put a stigma on those that
Exploration of Poverty and Why the Poor are Poor 3

receive assistance, especially women and children. What the public seems to rationalize is that

the people on welfare and food stamps like it.

Another theory we can examine is social structuralism. This suggests that poverty is “a

result of economic or social imbalances within our social structure that serve to restrict

opportunities for some people.” (Seccombe, 2007) Social structure is defined as the social

institutions, organizations, and groups with statuses and roles, that have values and norms.

Seccombe goes on to say “These distinct themes exist under this broad perspective: a concern

with Capitalism, a focus on a changing economy and a concern that the welfare system itself

exacerbates poverty.” This theory has a relevant and realistic approach in that we as citizens

and society as a whole have accepted that the “rich get richer and the poor get poorer” and that

there isn’t much we can do about our ever changing and plummeting job market. Being in a

capitalist controlled society, the harsh reality is that Americans are blindsided by the approach

of being paid minimum wage and to hear that they are lucky to have the job they have. This

way is being brainwashed into the working class and working two or three jobs to support your

family is becoming acceptable. Capitalism is described as, “profit from an enterprise no matter

how it is made or how it is exploited.” (Poppel & Leighninger, 2005) This means that

capitalists can exploit workers whenever and however they want.

Additionally, another structural problem is the welfare system itself. Seccombe goes on

to say “social programs and welfare policies themselves contribute to poverty and exacerbate

welfare by trapping people into poverty and welfare dependency instead of helping them get

out of the cycle.” This goes with the theory of individualism and is popular with conservatives

in their claim of: the people that are on welfare abuse the system therefore the government

should get rid of it all together. These conservatives and people who believe this to be true
Exploration of Poverty and Why the Poor are Poor 4

however, do not take into consideration that the people who are on welfare are mostly women

with children lacking a male figure or a father present to take on the “breadwinner” role that

ultimately society has placed on them. They must expect the women with out the male figure in

life to take on both gender roles. This is certainly a complex issue and just part of the many

problems involved with the social structuralism theory.

A third theory this paper explores is the culture of poverty. This perspective suggests

that there is a lower set of standards by which people of poverty or the working poor live.

These people lack the discipline it takes to achieve higher goals and standards. They don’t have

work ethic and have a need for instant gratification and a resignation toward work. In turn, they

pass these low standards off to their children. Seccombe quotes Lewis on page 49, saying, “The

culture of poverty is both an adaptation and a reaction of the poor to their marginal position in a

class-stratified, highly individuated, capitalistic society. It represents an effort to cope with

feelings of hopelessness and despair which develop from the realization of the improbability of

achieving success in terms of the values and goals of the larger society, and goes on to say, “By

the time slum children are age six or seven they have usually absorbed the basic attitudes of

their subculture.” (Lewis, 1966) This theory explains that poor people have adapted to being

poor. They are on the bottom of the food chain in society and they know it. Some theorists say

that it is lack of jobs or loss of well paying manufacturing jobs in cities that the middle-class

has moved away from creating an isolation of ghettos. This would hold true if poverty was only

in ghettos. Instead it runs rampant in rural and inner-city alike; therefore this theory is only a

piece of the puzzle.

The last theory this essay will investigate is fatalism. To illustrate this theory Seccombe

states that fatalism attributes the causes of wealth and poverty alike to quirks of birth, chance,
Exploration of Poverty and Why the Poor are Poor 5

luck, human nature, illness, or other forces over which people have no control. It is unfortunate

circumstances that people are in poverty. Of all the theories that are proposed, this one is found

to be least favorably considered. The factors in this theory include not knowing the gender of

the impoverished. The male role in society promotes independence. The female on the other

hand is considered less independent and in need of aid in dilemmas out of their control. “AFDC

was originally created to protect women who are single mothers from these vulnerabilities that

are out of their control, such as violence, abuse, or desertion.” (Seccombe, 2007)

In explaining theories of poverty, the theory of social structuralism stands out as the

most persuasive and gives the points that are clearly relevant in today’s world. The social

structuralism as described earlier with its capitalistic organizations, statuses, and roles allow for

the segregation of the poor and working class as innate inferiority. That is, specifically, “the

notion that social life is competitive, with the best and the brightest rising to the top of the

social hierarchy and with the slow and weak at the bottom.” (Popple & Leighninger, 2005)

They continue with how social hierarchy also is a meritocracy, or the stratification of people

and reasoning that those who are close in mental ability and class are likely to stick together.

This view is deemed highly conservative and extremely biased by the wealthy caucasian males

that have been given just as much “equal opportunity” to run a capitalist business, passed down

to them by their forefathers just like anyone else in this country. It makes perfect sense that

they justify this reasoning with a little hint of individualism.

Seccombe breaks down the theory of social structuralism with three specific points:

1. Poverty is an inherent feature of capitalism (Marx & Engels, 1968)

2. There is an ever changing economy with the growth of service jobs that do not pay,

along with erosion of minimum wage with dual labor markets.

Exploration of Poverty and Why the Poor are Poor 6

3. Social programs and welfare policies contribute to poverty by trapping recipients into

poverty and dependence upon the system.

She also brings out the key point of how the capitalistic society affects women. She states that,

“Until women are liberated from their privatized domestic roles, they are likely to always be

exploited and a more collective approach is necessary to carry out the duties of housework,

child rearing and development of a more socialist economy is needed to really eliminate

poverty and improve women’s lives”, who are the ones that receive public assistance at the

highest rate.

Another supporting essay states that, “well being or poverty is a consequence of

competitive market forces and the resulting structure or local economies, the relative power of

labor, and spatial characteristics. People in a given locality share a common fate because they

reside in a place having unique advantages and disadvantages as sites for capitol investment.

These characteristics are reflected in the spatial distribution of poverty and well-being.

Individual characteristics such as race and gender are important for the allocation of poverty,

but poverty rates within a locality are primarily due to the structure of economic activity.”

(Humphrey, 1993)

Another reference sited from an educational source that implies the impact of social

structuralism from an economic standpoint states, “Countries with stagnant economic

performance cannot rescue the poor from their poverty, and it cannot be used to deny this

elemental truth: The idea that working with, and within markets fuels our interest of self-

interest, greed, avarice, and self-love, and that different cultures exhibit different forms of

capitalism.” (Cotter,2002)
Exploration of Poverty and Why the Poor are Poor 7

In conclusion, there are many supporting articles and connotations from professionals

and amateurs alike that tend to agree that social structuralism plays a very large role in poverty

in societies around the globe. Likewise, Seccombe reiterates this view by saying, “Social

structural perspective assumes that poverty is a result of economic or social imbalances within

our social structure that serve to restrict opportunities for some people.”

Perspectives on the System and its Reform

This section of the essay will be focusing on two separate issues. Lifting women from

poverty, and eliminating them from welfare. These two issues are very different. A better

understanding of asking the questions of how women can be lifted from poverty and why

eliminating them from welfare is not necessarily an answer to welfare reform, as people

generally would use as an irresolute answer to the first of lifting women from poverty.

Women on welfare are faced with stigmas and social problems and are labeled as

impure, unintelligent, addicts and alcoholics. They are discriminated against, and thought of as

lazy and worthless usually referred to with racial undertones. “If you go downtown to a nice

store,” says Maria, “They look at you sometimes as if your body is disgusting. You can be

dressed in your best dress but you feel you are not welcome. They follow you sometimes but

they do not want to touch you. You pay for something- she pulls back her hand-like that! As if

my hand is dirty.” (Kozol p.41)

Living with this stigma creates anger, frustration, and an over-all sense of not being

wanted, and dealing with rude, biased public opinion often leads to an even lower self esteem

and worthless opinion of themselves. “Images of moral dirtiness and overflowing

worthlessness, identified with poor black and Hispanic women and their children, fill the pages
Exploration of Poverty and Why the Poor are Poor 8

of our daily papers; and even young people who don’t read the papers are exposed to the same

images in conversations heard all day and night.” (Kozol p.41)

This dark cloud that follows them around along with all of the other issues of rearing

children alone, types of abuse, and worrying about how they are going to get by can certainly

be seen as a tangled web of emotions and frustrations of being caught between a rock and a

hard place. This will examine the factors of how women have entered the welfare system, what

they do to cope and what needs to be done to lift women from poverty, instead of eliminating

welfare.

First of all, how do all of these women and children start off needing assistance?

Usually failed relationships and lack of a father figure often is the culprit. “Absentee fathers

represent a growing and alarming national trend.” (Seccombe p.90) They are often embarrassed

and ashamed of asking for help, but when life situations don’t work out, they are left with no

choice in the matter. Incarceration, abandonment and abuse often leave these women with no

other direction but to turn to the local human services facility not only for cash and food

assistance, but for possible aid with mental and emotional help due to abusive issues and lack

of family security. Not receiving child support is a large complaint. “Mothers on welfare are

stigmatized for caring for their children, whereas fathers are rarely stigmatized for their failure

to support their children.” (Seccombe, p.91)

Next, even if one is equipped with a good paying job, it could be jeopardizing their

possibility of assistance if they are a few dollars over the maximum amount they need to get

Medicaid or food stamps. Seccombe reiterates the points that have been addressed on pg. 8,

“We live in a patriarchal society where male dominance is maintained and supported through

law, religion, culture, and social norms. Women, as a collective group of people, are more
Exploration of Poverty and Why the Poor are Poor 9

likely to be economically dependant upon others; they are more likely to be poor; they are more

likely to hold low- wage work; and they are more likely to be a single parent than are men.

Moreover, women around the world are routinely subjected to physical and sexual violence,

simply because they are women.” (Seccombe, 2007)

Furthermore, there is the factor of living wage jobs that come in to play. Few and far

between are there jobs that actually pay enough to make ends meet these days. In order to get a

living wage job, vocational training, college, or some type of higher education is needed.

Women that are on welfare and assistance will seek lower sector, part time service jobs that are

needed to receive the benefits and health care that is provided for low income families. This

ensures entrapment instead of incentives to go out and find higher education and training for

descent paying jobs. There are issues of childcare and transportation even if they have the

motivation. Of course the more desirable alternative is to stay on welfare than go out and get a

low wage job that doesn’t pay health insurance. Seccombe proposes an important question on

pg. 30, “Historically, our policies ponder whether single mothers, as a group, are worthy of

assistance. Should we pay them to stay home and take care of their children, or should we

require them to work? Does government assistance undermine their incentive to work,

encourage loose morals and undermine their willingness to enter marriage- thus perpetuate their

poverty?” (Seccombe,2007)

That question bridges the gap between the issues of lifting women from poverty and

getting them off of welfare. The questions that should be asked in this multifaceted problem

would be: How can we change the current system of entrapment and dually keep women from

getting on welfare and getting those reformed? How can the public stigma of being lower class

bottom feeders milking the system be changed? Could there be incentives and educational
Exploration of Poverty and Why the Poor are Poor 10

programs for young teens to ensure a positive track in life. A perfect world would have with it

motivational incentives to do positive things. This is needed on every level from getting an

education, to staying off drugs and alcohol, to not joining gangs… the list goes on and on. It is

a difficult challenge on where to begin considering so many issues with precious lives.

It starts with Christian principles, positive family involvement and selflessness. It

begins with an attitude of kindness and love for fellow human beings. It begins with teaching

our children that we are all equal and everyone deserves respect and a helping hand. It starts at

the root of our ethical thinking…“Rather than being materially poor, American’s “poor” suffer

from the effects of behavioral poverty, meaning a breakdown in the values and conduct that

leads to the formation of healthy families, stable personalities, and self-sufficiency. This

includes eroded work ethic and dependency, lack of educational aspirations and achievement,

inability or unwillingness to control one’s children, increased single parenthood and

illegitimacy, criminal activity, and drug and alcohol abuse.” (The Heritage Foundation, 2004

p.2)

The women that do seem to be lifted from poverty or make it off welfare get help. They

get help from family, friends, neighbors, churches, charities and organizations. They get pulled

out from under their problems with other’s kindness and positive example of helping hands.

They work hard. They don’t succumb to evils of the streets. They keep their children protected

as much as possible. They try and teach them all of the values mentioned. They are open

minded and thrifty. They juggle day to day issues and cope with stresses. They manipulate the

rules and openly rely on other resources. “Family, friends, neighbors, children’s fathers, or

other individuals, and even social service agencies can be important resources to help alleviate,
Exploration of Poverty and Why the Poor are Poor 11

or at least minimize, the numerous daily tensions and unforeseen disasters that are

commonplace when one lives in poverty.” (Seccombe p.139)

To conclude this segment of the essay, women need empowerment to face the day to

day challenges of getting off of welfare and getting lifted from poverty. Many of the challenges

include dealing with extra stress of combating closer to home problems that include complying

with human services, childcare, finding jobs, and dealing with the problems associated with

ghettos that include violence and drug trafficking. Keeping children safe from harms way and

feelings of being a lower class citizen by degrading comments from the public are just a tip of

the ice-berg. A lot of women and children would not be able to get by if it weren’t for the extra

helping hands of community charity organizations, churches and some that are lucky to have

family. Many of today’s society don’t realize how close they are to being in the same situation

as the single mothers receiving welfare, food stamps and Medicaid. Not living a “normal”

family life or not of having the support of a strong family to lean on can lead to disastrous

consequences.

Social workers speak on the economy

In this segment of the essay the American economy and its economic policies are being

addressed as a huge problem the American population faces. This reading concurrently

illustrates how the social structural theory is at work. It takes a look at the rich getting richer

and the poor getting poorer and huge gap that separates the people in numbers. “In 2004, the

top 1 percent of wealthy families received almost seventeen percent of all income and more

than forty two percent of net assets” (Mishel, Bernstein, & Allegretto,2007) That, among many

others established some extremely frightening statistics like the one stated above. In “Poverty

and economic Justice” the NASW takes a look at the disparities in wealth, the effects of
Exploration of Poverty and Why the Poor are Poor 12

welfare reform, and concentrated poverty throughout this country. The theory that the NASW

supports is social structuralism, just as this essay provides an in-depth look at how the wealthy

class of people runs the country’s economy to benefit themselves as capitalists and not the rest

of the people as a whole. It states that “America’s new economy generates extraordinary riches

for the few, but creates declining wages, rising debt and the risk of deep and persistent poverty

for many.”(NASW, 2008) It also expresses how wages and work among the working class are

shrinking and the income threshold for American families is unrealistic. The welfare reform act

of 1996 didn’t only get those off of welfare to minimum wage jobs; it left them still in poverty

and still in need of levels of support from the government. The poverty level has not gotten

better; it seems to have gotten worse. Phenomenally high numbers of children under age 18

account for 35.2 percent of the people in poverty, along with elderly and ethnic minority

groups.( NASW 2008) This reading concurrently illustrates how the social structural theory

and the Government allow such black and white margins of fairness.

This essay’s view along with the NASW undoubtedly shares the same view and stance

on poverty and how to be lifted from it. Their policy statement is a thorough and detailed

example on how a nation would be able to overcome such a battle of social injustice. All of the

bulleted points such as fair labor, income levels that meet or exceed guidelines, proposals to

improve economic programs are all ways of overcoming poverty and reforming the system as

we know it. If this view and policy were loud enough, and their was a big enough educational

movement, maybe this voice would be heard.

Summary of Interview with Dale Jones of the Salvation Army

This interview was conducted on Monday, May 10 with the Social worker Mr. Dale

Jones at the Salvation Army, 716 Broad Street, Elyria 440-323-2026. Mr. Jones has worked
Exploration of Poverty and Why the Poor are Poor 13

locally at the Salvation Army for decades. His definition of poverty and how it influences

program operations for him went like this: “Folks with low income to no income come into the

facility for a variety of programs. The most popular one that people use the most is the

emergency food assistance program. How it works is: anyone in our community can come to

the Salvation Army and get an emergency food bag every thirty days. It has to be an emergency

situation. All you need is two forms of I.D and prove you are a resident of Elyria and receive a

food bag. Holiday times are the busiest, but, in the last six months we have seen a drastic

increase in them, probably about 1300 a month now. The recent largest number of people

served was 71 in a two hour window. Our food comes in a variety of ways with the primary

being from donations. Our community steps up to help. We just had a major food drive called

“Stamp out Hunger” that the U.S Post Office helps with nationally. We got over 65,000 pounds

of canned goods. It should last us about 4-5 months. We spend about $1500-$2000 at Second

Harvest Food Bank and vendors like Aldi, and Save-A-lot to supplement what we give.

The hardest part of his day is trying to organize all the community service that comes

through the doors, which 90% of what gets accomplished here is through community service.

The community service comes through the court system for people that are required to do

community service as their restitution. We need to know their background and we need to keep

them busy. People come in these doors from various walks of life and backgrounds. Safety is

an issue.”

What Dale thinks is needed to make a serious difference in reducing the problems of

Poverty are: “Once again, in our community, I would like to say we are addressing one of the

issues, which is food, we are addressing hunger, so that is important. But, the biggest situation

we are facing right now is becoming housing. We are getting more and more people who need
Exploration of Poverty and Why the Poor are Poor 14

shelter and housing assistance. Housing right now is the biggest situation in our community.

We can only refer people to shelter. We have to recommend the Haven House in Lorain. There

is nothing in Elyria. We have the community backing us, but we need to have the community

landlords that are willing to take a chance on people with low-income. We need people that

own vacant buildings just sitting there to be opportunities for people in need. People in the

community need to be creative in solving the problem; I don’t think there is just one solution to

it all. We are looking into housing solutions that would make sense.”

Putting it together

The interview with Mr. Jones illuminates the approach of community involvement and

Judeo-Christian ethics, which is described as being responsible for one another and having a

sense of duty to care for those in need. It needs advocacy of social welfare, which is the “result

of a society’s ongoing efforts to define a vision of what the quality of human life can and

should be and translating it to a reality.” (Whittaker, Frederico, 1990) The interview

illuminates the growing concern and growing rate of people that are in need of assistance

locally. The number of people is growing, but the number of programs such as the Salvation

Army’s is the same. There is a larger need for stronger community outreach. There are more

and more people, especially women and children, disabled and elderly that are in need of our

helping hands right in our own backyards. We as a society cannot be blind to this. We cannot

turn our backs and pretend that the need for advocacy and outreach isn’t there. It is needed

more than ever. This essay has brought another great advocates voice to mind - Jonathon

Kozol. He writes,” I have after all, seen hundreds of small victories, but I have also seen them –

almost all, with few exceptions- washed away in time by larger losses. I’ve also seen heroic and

ephemeral victories of individuals used by conservative sectors of the press to militate against
Exploration of Poverty and Why the Poor are Poor 15

larger changes it would take to win enduring victories for their communities. If only enough

children we are told, to act the way heroes do, say no to drugs and sex and gold chains and TV

and yes to homework, values, church, abstinence, and only enough good parents, preachers,

teachers, volunteers, and civic-minded business leaders would assist them in these efforts, we

could “turn this thing around” and wouldn’t need to speak about dark, messy matters such as

race, despisal, and injustice.” (Kozol, 1996)

The way social workers can improve their understanding of social welfare and Social

work practice with poor populations would be to keep an open mind and not be judgmental.

Get as much knowledge and understanding of how and why this massive dilemma of poverty

has come to be, get an understanding of how just a small step in the right direction can make a

huge difference in the world. Don’t be afraid of the people who are just like you. Give them the

courage it takes to reach out to the people that need your helping hand. A smile is a small step

and maybe all that someone needs to know that you are there to help, time patience, and

understanding.

The way future social workers can intervene to make a positive change would be to

volunteer. Get to the grassroots of the problems. Make a change in public policy, or even go to

congress to pass a bill. Think about why they might be in this field as an advocate for so many

people that need their help. Educate the people around them about the truths of what we can do

to change. Question people if they have media fed versions of welfare and stigmas to those in

need of it. Treat people the way you want to be treated. Just because someone may be different

than you, doesn’t mean they are bad. Maybe they need some help or are in a terrible situation.

Do not be biased. Question what you are doing: Is it out of service, love, and unselfishness? We
Exploration of Poverty and Why the Poor are Poor 16

must persevere in our battle to help others, even if it seems like a lost cause sometimes. That is

our duty as social workers.

“But life,” he says, “is a complicated school. Not all the powerful are happy. Not all the

children from this neighborhood are sad. There are many who surprise you. They have faces

sometimes that are like illuminadas. Light surrounds them. No one yet has clipped their

wings.” (Kozol, 1996 p.239)

Exploration of Poverty and Why the Poor are Poor 17

References

1. “So you think I drive a Cadillac?” Welfare Recipients’ Perspectives on the System and
its Reform, By Karen Seccombe 2nd edition

2. Amazing Grace- The Lives of Children and the conscience of a nation

By Jonathon Kozol 1st edition 1996

3. Source for definition of Social welfare

Social Welfare in Today’s World, by William H. Whitaker and Ronald Federico, 2nd
edition McGraw-Hill 1997

4. Source for Societal Values

Social Working: Exercises in Generalist Practice 2/E
Phyllis. Day, Temple University
Sandra M. Shelly, Indiana University
Harry J. Macy, Ball State University
Publisher: Allyn& Bacon, 2000

5. The Urban Rural Disparity : A demand Side Analysis By Ling, Shen

Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, China
Copy write 2003 Ebco publishing

6. Feeble Critiques: Capitalism’s Petty Detractors By Bhagwati, Jagdish

World Affair Fall, 2009
Copy write 2009 Ebco Publishing