The War on Poverty

Works Cited:

Thompson, Derek. "The War on Poverty Turns 50: Why Aren't We Winning?" The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 6 Jan. 2014. Web. 01 Mar. 2016.

                The article I read, “The War on Poverty Turns 50: Why Aren’t We Winning?” was written by Derek Thompson and it was about the war on poverty which was published in The Atlantic.  He discusses why the war on poverty is still going on after 50 years since Lyndon B. Johnson declared the war. He explains how most people blame poverty on low wages, but that’s not exactly the reason why the U.S still remains in poverty. Thompson states that, “. . . the cast majority of people who earn the minimum wage or work cheap jobs on a full-time basis aren’t in poverty”.  He then states that the poverty rate isn’t just because of low wages, it’s because “Americans are- for a variety of reasons-working less”. He then shows many graphs that compare different family structures and their position in poverty. For example, the graphs show that the poverty rate is less in a family of two working parents compared to a family of a single mother/father. This proves that the structure of a family can really affect where they lie on the poverty scale.

This article is useful because it shows the reasons of poverty by showing graphs and percentages. By the author showing me these examples, it allows me to believe what he’s saying.  I can trust what the author is saying because there are links to prove what he is saying. The author of the article communicates its ideas by using events that happened in the past and showing me graphs. I really liked this article because it was more on the factual side.