Poverty

Poverty: the state of being extremely poor. The American Dream: freedom includes a promise of the possibility of prosperity and success. When you think of america, do you think of the "dream" that so many are after or poverty, what most dream chasers end up living in? In 2009, 45 million americans were living in poverty. Is it because they are lazy? Maybe, but I have a feeling that something else is causing this. Currently, the national minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. With more than one mouth to feed, that is far from enough money for the basic necessities of life. My school is full of wealthy people that don't really need to think about sad topics like this. We do a program every winter called Give-a-thon. The whole school brings in food to fill the local food bank as well as bring money to make a handful of families' holidays memorable. It is hard for me to criticize this because I participate, however, while we are giving back to the less fortunate, we never actually see the faces of poverty. In is hard to believe how many americans live in poverty when you are at such a wealthy school. Give-a-thon should give one more thing, the opportunity to see poverty which could be right around the corner. I feel participation would be up and it would make the whole program more meaningful.