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Devon Davis

Mr. Pace

Junior English

11/3/23

Poverty Acts as a Barrier for the American Dream

¨There are 37.9 million Americans living in poverty, accounting for 11.6% of the total

population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau¨ (Lee). For this significant percentage of

people, achieving the American Dream may be out of the question. As the American Dream

involves having a good source of income in order to live a happy and successful life. Often

having a nice house in a good area with a family. Hence, why living this life is expensive and for

many including the 11.6% of Americans in poverty it may be hard or even impossible to reach.

Therefore, it is not possible for all Americans to achieve the American Dream, as barriers like

employment and education costs for those in poverty, can make it impossible to improve one's

life and achieve the American Dream.

Poverty acts as a barrier to reaching the American Dream, and for many people they can't

escape poverty because their form of employment is not enough to support their lives. Seeing

that the federal minimum wage is only $7.25 per hour (“Minimum Wage”) and for many places

in the US that is not enough to live. For example, Barbara Ehrenreich’s who wrote a Nickled and

Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, learns ¨that in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, the living

wage was calculated to be $11.77 per hour; yet, Wal-Mart, a huge employer in the area, paid only

$7.00 per hour¨ (Perrai). So if people need to be making at least $11.77 just to live. Then people

making about 2 dollars less than that, per federal law, will never be able to support themselves,

let alone a family. Resulting in many being stuck in poverty and unable to achieve the American
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Dream, unless they can find a job above minimum wage or work multiple jobs. However,

working multiple jobs will often not get you any closer to the American Dream. For example, in

the life of one man named Chris Smith from Pennsylvania who works 3 jobs. These include a

firefighter and a first responder in two towns, and he did this just so he can support his family

with a decent house in a good school area (“Pennsylvania Firefighter Works Three Jobs to

Support His Family: Part 1”). So for many on the outside, it may seem like Chris is living the

American Dream due to his living location. But the American Dream also involves living a

happy and relatively stress-free life, which is the opposite of his life. Since a consequence of

working 3 jobs is, Chris often works all day and night getting little sleep, and time with his kids.

He is also consistently on edge on whether he will have enough for his bills and other

unexpected expenses, especially if he were to lose one of his jobs. As a result, this stressful and

nonstop life keeps him from achieving the stress-free life that comes with the American Dream.

So it is clear both pieces of evidence reveal how many Americans are unable to escape poverty

and reach the American Dream because they are not being paid enough to support themselves, let

alone improve their life. Well, others who try to combat this with multiple jobs like Chris often

end up with a more stressful and exhausting life, therefore not achieving the American Dream as

well. So in short, people's employment can aid in keeping them in poverty and act as a barrier to

the American Dream.

To improve employment many people seek higher education which can result in a well

paying job and is many people's ticket to the American dream. But for those stuck in poverty and

with little money to spend, high prices for college can make that almost impossible. Since

college can cost thousands of dollars and is only going up. For example, ¨In 1980, the price to

attend a four-year college full-time was $10,231 annually… By 2019-20, the total price increased
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to $28,775. That’s a 180% increase¨ (McGurran). So as the prices continue to go up it only gets

harder for people in poverty to afford college, and by not going to college it can make it harder

for them to achieve the American Dream. Since the American Dream is an expensive lifestyle

and a college degree is often necessary when trying to get hired for well paying jobs. As seen in

the static by CBS News that stated, ¨The typical college grad between 25 to 64 years old has an

annual income of $127,000, compared with the typical pay of $61,000 for those without a

degree¨ (Picchi). So, when comparing the cost of college to the significance it can make to your

pay. It is clear people living in poverty, who can't afford college, will have a harder time

achieving the American Dream. Seeing as without college, it can be difficult to escape poverty

and afford things like a nice house, due to the fact you will often be making significantly less

yearly. But also those in poverty who do choose to go to college can have just as hard of a time

achieving the American Dream. As high, and constantly increasing prices for college often result

in people under the poverty line needing loans to cover the cost, resulting in years of debt. Even

if you study to become a very well paying job like a lawyer, it can still take people years to pay

off their loans. For instance one lady from a group discussion about if America is in a Recession

spoke about how her friend years after going to college is still paying off debt. She said, ¨I know

a lawyer who went to one of the best schools in the country and after 20 years in the field in

high-paying jobs, she still is paying off her loans¨ (“Is America in a Recession? Here’s What 16

Biden and Trump Supporters Think”). Confirming that even in a high paying job like a lawyer,

college costs can leave people paying off debt for years, especially those in poverty. Therefore,
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making it harder to achieve the American Dream, since due to the debt, it can be decades before

people in poverty will feel the benefits of their better paying jobs. So, high costs for college

make many people in poverty choose between not going to college and possibly never escaping

poverty due to lower paying jobs. Or choosing to go to college in order to gain a degree in the

hopes of getting a better paying job, despite the decades it will take to pay off the loans. Which

can delay or even prevent the American Dream. Therefore, college costs and education can be a

major barrier for those dealing with poverty and trying to achieve the American Dream.

Ultimately, poverty works as a barrier to achieving the American Dream for many

Americans, and often this can't be escaped because of employment and education costs. It can't

be escaped because of employment due to low federal minimum wage, resulting in many people

not being paid enough to live, as it is below almost all US living wages. But those who try to

combat this with multiple jobs like Chris Smith end up living even more stressful and busy lives,

only getting them farther from the American Dream. Furthermore, high costs of education make

it almost impossible for people dealing with poverty to afford higher levels of schooling like

college. In order to earn degrees and get better paying jobs, so they can support themselves. But

those who do, often end up with thousands of dollars in debt that can take decades to pay off.

Resulting in two paths for those in poverty to take, going to college or not, with both making it

harder to improve your life and achieve the American Dream. So the fact that poverty can act as

a barrier to the American Dream is significant because living costs in the US have continuously

increased over the years, and because of this more and more people fall under the poverty line

each year (Glasmeier). Meaning, the American Dream will become increasingly difficult for the

average American to achieve in the upcoming years.

Works Cited

Glasmeier, Amy. “2023 Living Wage Calculator.” Living Wage Calculator, 1 Feb. 2023,

livingwage.mit.edu/articles/103-new-data-posted-2023-living-wage-calculator.

“Is America in a Recession? Here’s What 16 Biden and Trump Supporters Think.” The New York

Times,

www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/09/13/opinion/america-recession-biden-trump.html.

Lee, Juhohn. “37.9 Million Americans Are Living in Poverty, According to the U.S. Census. but

the Problem Could Be Far Worse.” CNBC, CNBC, 7 Mar. 2023,

www.cnbc.com/2023/03/07/why-poverty-might-be-far-worse-in-the-us-than-its-reported.

html.

McGurran, Brianna. “College Tuition Inflation: Compare the Cost of College over Time.”

Forbes, 9 May 2023,

www.forbes.com/advisor/student-loans/college-tuition-inflation/#:~:text=In%201980%2

C%20the%20price%20to,That’s%20a%20180%25%20increase.

“Minimum Wage.” USAGov, 16 June 2023,

www.usa.gov/minimum-wage#:~:text=The%20federal%20minimum%20wage%20is,at%2

0least%20%247.25%20per%20hour.

“Pennsylvania Firefighter Works Three Jobs to Support His Family: Part 1.” ABC News, 14

Jan. 2017,

abcnews.go.com/2020/video/pennsylvania-firefighter-works-jobs-support-family-part-447

72397.

Perrai, Geraldine C. “The Illusory American Dream: Poverty and Income Inequality in the
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United States.” Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College, 11 Dec. 2018,

www.roosevelthouse.hunter.cuny.edu/?forum-post=illusory-american-dream-poverty-inco

me-inequality-united-states.

Picchi, Aimee. “College Majors Have a Big Impact on Income. Here Are the Highest- and

Lowest Earning Fields.” CBS News, 19 May 2023,

www.cbsnews.com/news/college-major-top-and-lowest-earning-majors-impact-on-incom

e-pay/.