what is poverty

Poverty is a state or condition in which people or communities lack the financial resources and essentials for a minimum standard of living. Poverty is about not having enough money to meet basic needs including food, clothing, and shelter, but it is more than that. Poverty has many faces, changing from place to place and across time, and has been described in many ways. Poverty is a complex societal issue that requires attention from both the poor and the wealthy alike. The World Bank Organization describes poverty as hunger, lack of shelter, being sick and not being able to see a doctor, not having access to school and not knowing how to read, not having a job, fear for the future, living one day at a time, and more. Poverty is a socioeconomic condition that is the result of multiple factors, not just income. These factors include race, sexual identity, sexual orientation, and little to no access to education, among others. Poverty is an individual concern as well as a broader social problem. Governments use welfare programs to help alleviate poverty. The Census Bureau assigns each person or family one out of 48 possible poverty thresholds, and if a familys total income is less than the familys threshold, then that family and every individual in it is considered in poverty. Poverty is a phenomenon as old as human history, and its significance has changed over time. The United Nations observes that poverty is frequently defined in either relative or absolute terms. Absolute poverty measures poverty in relation to the amount of money necessary to meet basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter. Relative poverty defines poverty in relation to the economic status of other members of the society. Poverty is a multidimensional issue that includes social aspects such as housing poor, health poor, or time poor, and needs to be understood to create more effective programs for poverty alleviation.