A Christmas Carol Study Guide.indd - Goodman Theatre

P
overty in America
Over 36 million in need
“Poverty is the worst form
of violence.”
-Mohandas Ghandi
Garbage pickers in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Image from Lewis Wickes Hine: Documentary Photographs,
1905-1938. Courtesy of Photographic Services and Permissions, The New York Public Library.
Children: Our Largest Poor Population
The following statistics are from the U.S. Census 2006 Report on Poverty and the UNI-
CEF 2000 report of Children in Poverty.
The poverty rate represents an average over the entire population,
and does not really tell us who, in particular, is well off, who is worse
off. For that, it is necessary to examine poverty levels for particular
groups. Most notably, blacks and Hispanics have poverty rates that
greatly exceed the average. The poverty rate for all blacks and Hispanics
remained near 30 percent during the 1980s and mid-1990s.
Thereafter it began to fall. In 2000, the rate for blacks dropped to
22.1 percent and for Hispanics to 21.2 percent—the lowest rate for
both groups since the United States began measuring poverty.
According to official statistics, 36.5 million people, 12.3 percent
of the total U.S. population, lived in poverty last year. That
equates to one in 11 families. The total United States population was
301,139,947. Children make up the largest poor population
in the United States, with more than 12 million. According to
UNICEF, that ranks the U.S. as the country with the second highest
child poverty rate of all industrialized nations. By comparison, Sweden
is less than 3 percent, the Czech Republic is less than 8 percent;
France is just under 8 percent and Germany is just over 10 percent.
About 7.2 million people living in poverty are among the
working poor. Most of them live in families with children. They are
the fastest-growing segment of the poverty population.
A study by the U.S. Conference of Mayors found that children under
the age of 18 accounted for 25 percent of the urban homeless. Families
comprised 37 percent of the homeless population; single men
and women comprised 45 percent and 14 percent respectively.
Think About It:
The “worst form of violence”
In the quote above, Mohandas Gandhi says
poverty is “the worst form of violence.” Why
does he say this? Do you agree with him?
Why or why not?
Why do you think the minimum wage in
our country is not always a “living wage”
(enough to keep a person above the poverty
line)? Were you aware of this problem? Do
you think enough attention
is given to fixing it?
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