Poverty in the US vs Around the World (9)

 Poverty in the US and the World

Since we haven't really discussed how the US compares to the rest of the world in terms of poverty rate I decided to find out where we fall. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) the US has the highest poverty rate in the developed world. The chart below from UNICEF shows that the US has the second highest child poverty rate among industrialized countries. This study takes into account not only absolute wealth but other factors such as inequality and potential for upward mobility. The US also falls second to last among developed countries in how well it takes care of its poor.We spend the least compared to these countries on social projects to help the poor.

The growing economic inequality in the US is a cause for the high poverty rate compared to other countries. The United Nations found that "Some American cities are as unequal as African and Latin American cities. For example, New York was found to be the 9th most unequal in the world while Atlanta, New Orleans, Washington, and Miami had similar inequality levels to those of Nairobi, Kenya, Abidjan and Ivory Coast." Increasing levels of inequality reduce opportunities for upward mobility for those in poverty. Large income inequalities make for a lower quality of life for all of society:

• Health and social problems are worse in more unequal countries
• Child well-being is better in more equal rich countries
• The prevalence of mental illness is higher in more unequal rich countries
• Drug use is more common in more unequal countries
• Life expectancy is longer in more equal rich countries
• Infant mortality rates are higher in more unequal countries
• More adults are obese in more unequal rich countries
• Educational scores are higher in more equal rich countries
• Teenage birth rates are higher in more unequal rich countries
• Homicide rates are higher in more unequal rich countries
• Children experience more conflict in more unequal societies
• Rates of imprisonment are higher in more unequal societies
• Social mobility is higher in more equal rich countries
• More equal countries rank better on recycling