儿童贫困及其影响

作者:Divya Mahajan ' 24

上图来源: 美国公共电视台.org

根据 Cenus.政府截至2021年，为16.9%的美国儿童生活在极度贫困中. 这不是每个人都会想到的. People who don’t experience poverty usually don’t realize that almost 4000万年 美国人生活贫困. The poverty line in America is the income level below which people are considered to be living in poverty. Poverty is when one does not have enough money to afford basic necessities like food, 服装, 干净的水, 教育, 等. 根据…的研究 马修·德斯蒙德, 普林斯顿大学的社会学家和教授, kids that grow up in poverty have a tougher time overcoming it as adults. If children no not get the 教育 they need to prepare them for college or technical training, it is more difficult for them to find jobs as adults that pay enough to pay their bills.

The pandemic had a major impact on people's lives and careers. 许多企业倒闭，人们失去了工作, 结果就是, 失业率显著上升. This affected many families with children who were living close to the poverty line, making it hard to feed and care for everyone in the house.  

就业 in particular is an extremely important variable that is crucial in establishing poverty levels since it has a direct impact on a person's capacity to earn a livable income and obtain needs like food, 住房, 和医疗. 德斯蒙德教授说, “美国nited States offers some of the lowest wages in the industrialized world.” This means that even if someone has a job that does not mean they will be able to pay their bills.  Undocumented workers are even more disadvantaged with more than a third of undocumented workers receiving wages that are below the minimum wage. To make things worse, 85% of undocumented workers don’t get paid for working overtime.

基于研究结果 美国心理学会, there are about one million people under the age of 18 who are undocumented and 4.400万30岁以下的年轻人. Almost 50% of undocumented adults are parents to minors. 其中，大约5.5 million children may have only one documented parent. 当儿童和年轻人没有合法身份时, 他们可能面临接受教育的障碍, 医疗保健, 还有工作机会. These challenges can contribute to a higher risk of poverty for them and their families.

Despite high rates of poverty, there remain a lot of unfair labor practices in the U.S. Underpaying employees is not an essential, if unpleasant, negative impact of capitalism. Although workers try to earn as  much money as possible, 没有大学学历, they make substantially less (-10%) money than others with one. 更糟糕的是, many underpaid workers cannot access bank accounts and have to use check-cashing businesses to get their pay. Desmond还说, “that a worker who is paid $10 an hour and takes a $1,000 check to a check-cashing outlet will pay $10 to $100 just to receive the money he has earned, 实际上损失了1到10个小时的工作时间。”. 在兑现支票时，你可能不会想太多, 但最后, they all add up and can be a major problem for a lot of people. 

Having a job can give people the means and chances they need to maintain themselves and their families in the long run. 就业 can help to lower poverty rates and promote economic stability. 然而, this may not be the case for everyone; sometimes even people with jobs still do not have enough to pay for their basic needs, 这让他们陷入贫困. 这是一种可怕的感觉, knowing one may not be able to support their family or give them the life they hoped for. 

可悲的是, many of these people become stuck in a vicious cycle of struggling to make ends meet and wondering how they will ever get ahead. 美国的贫困问题经常被忽视, and many Americans do not realize that a staggering number of their fellow citizens live in poverty. 根据Desmond的说法, “Many writers have depicted America’s poor as unseen, shadowed and forgotten people: as “other” or “invisible”’. Even while their problems frequently go unnoticed by those who might take their own financial security for granted, being able to pay your bills without the worry of not having enough money, remains out of reach for many people living and working in poverty. 

When you are not able to make enough money for everyday needs, then it becomes a real life struggle. This may lead to mental disorders such as depression or suicide attempts. 根据 U.美国卫生与公众服务部, “Childhood poverty is associated with developmental delays, 有毒的压力, 慢性疾病, 以及营养不足。”.美国.美国卫生与公众服务部发现, “that men and women in the top 1 percent of income were expected to live 14.6和10.1 years longer respectively than men and women in the bottom 1 percent”.  A person's income can make a tremendous impact on their health. Low-income individuals may not have the financial opportunities for expensive medication or treatments, 以及更少的健康食品. 这些都会影响健康结果和压力.

If one is living under the stress of not being able to pay bills, then they may find themselves unable to enjoy their life or pursue their goals due to financial stress. As a result, growing up in poverty can make it even that more difficult to get out of poverty.