Poverty Amongst the old in America

A person who is in poverty will always be unable to provide for their needs in terms of food, housing, or water. The extent of its presence varies based on the nation and how easily it might vanish. Despite being regarded as a wealthy nation by many people throughout the world, millions of Americans nevertheless live in poverty (Sokoll 131). In this example, there are two ways to measure poverty: relative poverty, which compares one social group to another, and absolute poverty, which refers to situations in which families are unable to pay for any products or services. This sounds like, people work so hard throughout their lives and yet they cannot enjoy the fruits of their labor. Too many Americans, in this case, are living without financial safety net. This essay will elaborate more why the old in America are getting poorer every day in light of Rawl’s theory of poverty and justice.

According to the National Bureau of economic research, a study was done in 2012 and discovered that more than 46% of U.S citizens live below the financial requirement. Most of them have less than 56% regarding assets before they die (Achenbaum 312). One evidence is found in the Washington post where William McPherson was interviewed concerning why he was poor at a very old age, and he said most youth ignore the importance of saving. For McPherson, his health condition made him poor which he had not planned for. Most Americans in this case like having the magical thinking where they never believe that they may not become poor or sick. At the age of 84 years, McPherson’s diseases killed him. In fact, before he died he was glad that none of his friends passed through the situation he went through. (Achenbaum 316).

In America, there are many reasons why the old are dying broke. There are dovetailing factors that contribute to lack of financial security: either the citizens are not saving enough money, or they have high debts. When an individual is no longer part of full employed, money becomes a problem. Part-time jobs and Social security no longer fill the whole living expenses, and so the financial margin gets errors (Finch 128). The citizens are unable to pay for their medical bill which eventually throws them into crisis. According to research done in 2016 alone, most adults have bad savings of less than $ 1,000 in their bank accounts (Finch 135). Most seniors, in this case, are not only broke but also in debt that has accumulated over the years without being cleared. Most old-aged Americans are vulnerable because they lack the physical capacity to handle side jobs to work out their debts that seem insurmountable.



Rawl’s Theory of Poverty and Justice

As a professor of philosophy at Harvard, John Rawls’ ‘A Theory of Poverty and Justice’ sough to bridge the divide between classical liberalism and social egalitarianism. The theory advocates the maintenance of individual rights as outlined in classical liberalism in addition to adopting the fair distribution practices associated with socialist traditions thereby reconciling justice and liberty. In this theory, all citizens have rights to liberties with a person’s chances for office or infleunce not determined by their socioeconomic status. Moreover, Rawls argues that jobs opportunities should be distributed equally under conditions of equal opportunity.

In America alone, about 6.4 million adults live in poverty. Most of them struggle to buy food, pay rent and keep the heat on (Flinch 142). The ones who are sick end up cutting their prescription pills in half because they are unable to afford. It even becomes worse because some of them end up becoming homeless because they are found living in communities or streets while making impossible choices on how they are struggling every day.





Causes of poverty among the old in America

The rate at which people grow poor in America is seen to increase because of the aging population and the levels of inequality which causes an epidemic suffering. The cost of houses is on the rise while the costs of healthcare is becoming unbearable every single day. Older women, in this case, are seen to be most affected. Twice as many women live below the poverty line as compared to men. Causes of poverty among the old in America include,

The change in economy

For the last 30 years, wages have been stagnated because of the difficulty in work for Americans. Most companies that pay pension for staff are being faced out, and none are replaced. The impact increases the chances of poverty to families and working-age which it also decreases their chances of saving money which will support them later in life (Alcock 38).

Retirement

Demographers and economist have an ambition that the success of the workforce happens when they get their first baby. However, the rise of the economy and the health care costs are making the retirement age of Americans to delay. At the age of 65 years, most Americans are still seen to work which makes their ability to have an excellent retirement to decrease (Alcock 42).

Food insecurity

According to the U.S Department of agriculture, almost 18 percent of the older adults live blow 130 percent of the poverty line. More than 12 percent on the other hand who live alone are unable to afford proper meals, and more than 65 percent who are eligible for food stamps get benefits (Alcock 54).

Transportation

About a half of 65 years of the old in America don’t have access to public transportation. Most of them use the public transport when they can access or when it is available. About 310 million aged Americans are estimated to use the public transport every year (Alcock 64).



Analysis

The rising numbers of old people dying in poverty have been facilitated by a change in social and economic trends. Traditionally, children would take care of their parents in their senior years thus providing social and economic support. The situation has changed today and contravenes Rawl’s recommendations on a just and fair society. Older people are less likely to get job as compared to their younger counterparts in the labor force. Moreover, the statistics are heavily skewed against minorities who have higher rates of unemployment and poverty.

Conclusion

Poverty amongst the old people in America is seen to be on the rise because of solvable problems. The majority of them as elaborated in the essay had the opportunity to get better. However, some of them did not manage due to health and the economic status of America. This at the end makes the majority of them to live below poverty lines which makes them even unable to afford basic needs such as food, housing, and transportation. Rather than adopting a purely capitalist approach, people should implement some socialist initiatives to ease the life of elders in society.











Works Cited

Achenbaum, W. Andrew. “Delineating Old Age.” Age in America, 2015, pp. 301–320., doi:10.18574/nyu/9781479870011.003.0015.

Alcock, Pete. “The Causes of Poverty.” Understanding Poverty, 2010, pp. 36–77., doi: 10.1007/978-1-349-25666-2_3.

Finch, Benjamin. “Pauperism in America: Long-Term effects of childhood poverty on young Caucasian adults.” PsycEXTRA Dataset, 21 June 2010, pp. 124–145., doi: 10.1037/e548512014-001.

Sokoll, Thomas. “Old Age in Poverty: The Record of Essex Pauper Letters, 1780–1834.” Chronicling Poverty, 22 Sept. 2013, pp. 127–154., doi: 10.1007/978-1-349-25260-2_7.