Term Paper
Texas Poverty Levels
Discuss the causes and consequences of poverty levels in Texas
Final
December 11, 2012
Texas has always had a big issue with people living in poverty. People believe that living in poverty is a matter of chance in what you are born into. People do not get to pick where, when, or with whom they are born to. No one wants to live in poverty but some don’t have the chance. People that live in the poverty level don’t have the things that are a must to be able to not be named as being in poverty such as education, food, health care, and a good home to live in. these are some of Texas’s major reasons why they are ranked second in the nations poverty rate. Since the 1980’s Texas has had the larger percent of its population living in poverty than the overall U.S average (Texas Politics). Texas also has three out of ten of the largest cities in the country (Texas Politics). The Federal Government calculates a year dollar figure, and Texas uses this figure to measure the number of poverty employed if your income is lower than the figure the family or individual is by definition poor (Texas Politics). So that means that a family of three with two under the age of 18 years old is considered to be in poverty if the family total income was less than $16,242 (Texas Politics). The poverty level in Texas is not evenly distributed by race. Texas is one of the lowest rates of spending on its citizens per capita and the highest share on those lacking health insurance (CNNmoney). Public assistance programs in Texas offer extremely low benefits, relative to other states and not surprisingly; a large share of poor Texas households include workers low wages in many of the growth sectors of the state’s economy contribute to this phenomenon (Texas Poverty). Texas is ranked at the bottom nationally in the percentages of adults and children who are without health insurance (Texas Poverty). Texas employees that are considered poor are more likely to
Discuss the causes and consequences of poverty levels in Texas
Final
December 11, 2012
Texas has always had a big issue with people living in poverty. People believe that living in poverty is a matter of chance in what you are born into. People do not get to pick where, when, or with whom they are born to. No one wants to live in poverty but some don’t have the chance. People that live in the poverty level don’t have the things that are a must to be able to not be named as being in poverty such as education, food, health care, and a good home to live in. these are some of Texas’s major reasons why they are ranked second in the nations poverty rate. Since the 1980’s Texas has had the larger percent of its population living in poverty than the overall U.S average (Texas Politics). Texas also has three out of ten of the largest cities in the country (Texas Politics). The Federal Government calculates a year dollar figure, and Texas uses this figure to measure the number of poverty employed if your income is lower than the figure the family or individual is by definition poor (Texas Politics). So that means that a family of three with two under the age of 18 years old is considered to be in poverty if the family total income was less than $16,242 (Texas Politics). The poverty level in Texas is not evenly distributed by race. Texas is one of the lowest rates of spending on its citizens per capita and the highest share on those lacking health insurance (CNNmoney). Public assistance programs in Texas offer extremely low benefits, relative to other states and not surprisingly; a large share of poor Texas households include workers low wages in many of the growth sectors of the state’s economy contribute to this phenomenon (Texas Poverty). Texas is ranked at the bottom nationally in the percentages of adults and children who are without health insurance (Texas Poverty). Texas employees that are considered poor are more likely to