The 21st century brings with it much hope and happiness for people everywhere, but most importantly it brings hope that we will be able to one day end poverty.
The problem of poverty is complex and often hard to solve. The U.S. is a world power and as a world power, we should be giving more social services to people in poverty

Poverty affects millions of Americans, and as we speak, it is increasing rapidly. This suffering is dehumanizing. These Americans are struggling to find adequate homes, food, and health care. The fact that we were on the brink of a depression doesn’t help this issue and the continuation to outsource jobs is making it worse.

Poverty disgraces and kills the poor. In fact, more people have died from poverty in the last half century than all who have died in the Vietnam War. Thus, no one can say that the poor have fared well all these years. That’s why it is so important for the government to increase the amount of social services that they give to the poor. The ousting of the poor from our society tends to let us think about them in a negative manner. Soon, stereotypes form and philanthropist withdraw their help and support.

Poverty is a form of racism, and mainly because it impacts minorities. Racism is what makes the mistreatment of people possible in the first place. Race and poverty go hand-in-hand and cannot be separated. Consistent racial segregation denies the choice of a better life to those in poverty.

Allowing people to fall into poverty is just as unacceptable as slavery itself. Our policymakers should have a plan on how they will solve this growing problem. As we are moving into the 21st century, we should all have a game plan. The U.S. has more resources than any other nation in the world, and we should not let slavery continue the way it has. People live with chronic anxiety and depression because of poverty. Just as the abolitionists had a steely will power to end slavery, we too must have a strong will to end poverty.

Poverty not only affects the people in its clutches, it also affects all of us. Poverty destroys U.S.’ influence on other countries. If we want to be a role model for other countries, we must first show them that we know what our priorities are. It is truly our actions that show the world who we really are. Why would any country trust us if we can’t even solve the simple problem of poverty? We are a world leader and we need to be powerful, moral, and just. The first step we can do to show others around us that we care is to not turn our backs on the suffering of millions of Americans.

We must believe that there is an end to poverty. It will end, and the ability to change people’s lives for the better is in our hands. Why should we wait a second longer?