Many people overlook poverty. Many people think that the only poverty in the world is everywhere but America. So, big name corporations like to win over an audience by donating a certain percentage of profits to Africa. That's great and all, don't get me wrong. However, how the heck are we going to solve problems in Africa when we, as citizens of America, can't even look at our own?
Forget about percentages for a minute. Think about the last time you were in walking the streets of New York. How many homeless people did you see? A couple, right? Now that's the extreme kind of poverty. How many people do you know have low income rates and yet support a family of five? That is also a form of poverty. Just because you can't openly see someone in rags doesn't mean they aren't struggling to support themselves or their family.
In 2013, the United States Census calculated 45.3 million people in poverty. That number is too large to comprehend. 45.3 million people struggle to get food for their family, or don't even know when their next meal is. Children are either neglected or pushed to the brink of breakdowns. Teenagers drop out of school because they don't care or need to help their families. So in order to help other countries, we must first look at the ugly problems of our own. Poverty is a common struggle and it's a man made problem. However, since rich people don't have that problem, we don't hear about it. Just because we can't always see it doesn't mean it's not there.
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