Causes of Poverty 
Marketplace factors
Ethnicity/Gender
Health Factors
Poor Education
Low income 4x more likely to drop out of high school
Gap in SAT scores - difference is 43% between wealthy and poor students
U.S. poverty rate - higher than other wealthy nations
Disadvantages before birth - drug use, poor nutrition, violence, stress
Poverty level - family of four at $25,700
Low wages/Income - minimum wage jobs, seniors at fixed income, unemployment
Homelessness - affects 550,000 and 1.4 billion spend some time at shelter
Food insecurity -11.1% of US households have been food insecure
Deep poverty - 5.3% of the population (17.3 million people) live with incomes below 50% of their poverty thresholds
Native Americans - 25.4%
Blacks - 20.8%
Hispanics - 17.6%
Whites - 10.1%
Asians - 10.1%
Uncontrollable factors that can lead to poverty - being a woman, African American, Hispanic, a child, or a disabled
Poor people - 5X more likely to be in poor health
Landmark study by Raj Chetty - life increase for the top 5% percent of the income distribution; no gains for bottom 5%
Health poverty trap - Poor health leads to lower income
Health insurance - Less likely to have health insurance or access to drugs and health care
Age and Family Structure
Rural areas - 16.7 % of rural population is poor, compared with 13% the urban population
Disabled person - Higher risk of becoming poor,
Children under age of five - 20.2% poverty rate
Single mothers - 44.3% poverty rate; 5X more likely to have an unplanned pregnancy
Senior Citizens - 14.1% poverty rate
Higher education = higher income; High school graduate earns $8,000 more than high school dropout
Diseases - higher rates of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and other chronic conditions
Pattern repeats - unstable and stressful early childhood environment leads to poor academic readiness