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This is a post in response to @allisonmckinney’s question, “What do you think is the biggest cause for poverty and/or homelessness here in the US?”
In my opinion, poverty is often a cyclical way of life that is difficult to alter from generation to generation. It can be very difficult to have the motivation and initiative to accomplish things that are greater than what your parents have done. Many times, if an adolescent's parent did not attend college, they too will not attend college because it is difficult to change the mentality. Again, if their parents dropped out of high school before graduation, they may follow suit and do the same. In my opinion, that is the main reason why such a rich nation like the United States is still experiencing poverty and homelessness.
Although uneventful and boring at times, secondary education is quite necessary for both social and personal development. When adolescents drop out of high school, or even middle school they are missing out on a time of peak personal growth and memories. When students stop going to school, they often pick up other things to fill their free time: drugs and alcohol, abusive relationships, and other types of trouble. Not only that, but when people have not earned a high school diploma or GED, their opportunities for jobs (especially jobs that pay a living wage) decrease dramatically. In a fairly well-off scenario, where the dropout is working as a housekeeper for Super 8, they will make about $11.32 per hour. Multiply that out by forty hours a week, and fifty-two weeks in the year and they make an annual salary of $23,546. This number is actually above the poverty line, and fairly respectable, but if the individual has a couple of children to support, it becomes very difficult to maintain financial stability. And what if the drug or alcohol problem from high school has not subsided? A portion of every paycheck may go towards unnecessary spending habits. Plus, who’s to say that a drug or alcohol addict shows up to work in good condition every day and is able to keep their job? In America, the biggest cause of poverty is not dirty drinking water or domestic conflict, it is the refusal to take part in the education system.