I am a sophomore at the high school. I am doing a cause and effect essay about the effects of poverty. It would be really helpful and I would really appreciate it. Brianne, I am glad to hear that you are interested in the causes and effects of poverty. Too many Americans misunderstand poverty in the United States, so I am glad to help people learn more.
Poverty has many causes.
In fact there are many different kinds of poverty. On the one hand, many people are poor for short periods of time. But most people who are ever poor are poor because they have fallen on hard times. This can happen for example, when a family breaks up, when a family member gets sick, or when a single mother has to stop working because she has no one to care for her child. People who fall on hard times are usually poor for a fairly short period of time, say less than two years.