Alleviating Domestic Poverty through Education America was founded on the principles of capitalism and freedom, but what happens when corporate greed and economic exploitation go unchecked? Do we now need freedom from capitalism, and how do we solve the poverty it has caused? 46.2 million American Citizens, about 15% of our population, live in poverty. Park Avenue, one of the world’s wealthiest blocks, is within minutes from some of New York’s poorest ghettos. Wealth inequality is increasing as access to basic services decreases. Obviously, poverty is a glaring issue facing our nation, and solving this issue should be of the highest priority. The first step to fix this problem should be improving our educational system. Education is not a complete panacea but it nonetheless provides its students with more opportunities than any other institution, schools partially remove children from their negative home environment, and adequate education creates a more informed electorate that will help make sure efficient policies are implemented. Education undisputably fights poverty by opening up economic opportunities to impoverished people. Studies show stark correlations between the amount of income of an individual and their degree of education. The Georgetown Center for Education and the Workforce shows that college graduates make 84% more money over the course of a lifetime than those with only a high school diploma or less. Although many argue that any increase in the educational level of our citizens would only mean the standards of education in order to be successful raise as well, it is actually a matter of individuals being economically oppressed, due not to personal shortcomings, but to the system’s failure to provide equal opportunity. 80% of high school dropouts make less than thirty thousand dollars a year; when compared to the basic financial need of a family living in rural nebraska (one of the most affordable regions to live in the United States) is $31,080 one can conclude that dropping out of high school virtually sentences individuals to a life of poverty throughout the country. In addition, the number of high school dropouts who have gone to prison has tripled over the last forty years. Thus, the educational system’s influence during high school and college is crucial in defining what a person’s economic circumstances will be moving forward in life.
Another way education helps alleviate poverty is by providing kids with a type of haven from their home, which most of the time is not a positive influence. The opposition would state that the problems outsides the walls of the schools are bigger than the ones in it therefore education is not the issue. The parents and other institutions are the reasons why people have been subjected to a life of poverty. Science Magazine recently published a study detailing how living in poverty effectively lowers one’s IQ by nearly 13 points, which is the equivalent to the effects of alcoholism or pulling an all-nighter. The decision making of parents in poverty is already severely impaired before taking any other circumstances into consideration. These domestic inadequacies are actually even more evidence as to why schools need to offer a nurturing environment to counter the negative home effect. In doing so, students transferring the same type of resentment they have for their home towards their school can be prevented. If schools were to provide students with an atmosphere of growth and learning academic success would significantly increase.
The largest obstacle in the way of our educational system fostering a positive setting is that the schools where a haven is most vital are the schools that have the least resources. It is critical that we fix the great imbalance. All over the country our cities have developed rings of extremely rich school districts with brand new buildings around the inner city school districts that have crumbling facilities and not enough