Causes of Poverty

Poverty exists all over the world, whether the country is considered to be wealthy or poor impoverishment is present. The causes of poverty has yet to be fully distinguished. Just like a doctor's patient, every case is unique. In some cases, the government has a direct influence on the economy; therefore, destitution is existing. However, some unfortunate individuals are born into a home situation where poverty is inescapable due to personal characteristics. Some circumstances, a person who is born into an indigence home is determined to better their lifestyle. With that drive, this particular person develops attributes to rise above the poverty way of life. The culture of poverty model is the most prevalent in describing the causes of poverty. The first and immediate cause of poverty would be the home life for children. Children develop abilities by emulating their parents. Language, mobility, and morals are all a few skills that children learn directly from their parents. Early in life, knowledge wasn't possessed magically. Tikes form habits and behaviors through the process of evaluating. When growing up, the adult figures or guardians are the ones who taught how to conduct oneself. The influence of adults can either have a negative or positive effect. In the beginning stages of life, young ones literally know nothing. It's through the more mature personages in their life that they survive. It's just expected to be provided for until the child has matured them-self. In Liz Murray's case, the poor environment she lived in was motivation for her to gain an education and work her way out of poverty. School wasn't always a priority for Murray. At the age of five, she would stay up all night taking care of her grown mother. Her older sister would pour cold water on Murray in the mornings in attempt to wake her for school. She stayed up in the wee hours of the night because that's the only times Murray was able to have decent conversations with her mom. Murray valued her relationship with her mother rather than receiving an education. She would hold her mother and listen to the repetitive stories to show she cared. Murray lived a much more difficult childhood compared to normal kids. She realized at an extremely young age that if she wanted anything in life she had to make it happen. No one else was going to provide or give her anything in life. Forming that conclusion it helped her drive and pushed her all the way through high school which then eventually led her to Harvard. In cases such as Murray's, the home life caused poverty, but her characteristics are what pursued her out of poverty. On the other hand, there are individuals who are born into a society where resources aren't easily accessible. In these certain situations habits of an unhealthy lifestyle are much more convenient and comfortable to live in. These societies are considered to be called food deserts. Food deserts are places where perishable foods are non-dominant. Junk food is what the members of the society eat due to lack of options and wealth. Since the options are very limited they don't have the resources to even think about trying to live a healthy life. Also, on rare occasions when fruits and vegetables are provided it's expensive and most of the time the people aren't able to afford such luxury. When people live in such a domain obesity is common and often times prominent. Being apart of a culture of food deserts causes some to develop negative characteristics. They become lazy and have no motivation or drive to find ulterior perspective. In the video watched in class a young african-american girl was asked what she ate for breakfast. She replied by stating she hadn't had any breakfast and hardly ever ate anything in the morning. She was then asked what she eats for snacks, lunch, and dinner. The young girl talked about her diet. She stated she would have a bag of chips and