Stubborn Poverty In America's Inner Cities

Poverty is always a headache troubling various governments around the world.Even the United States,the most prosperous country in the world,is no exception.Poverty of the United States is mainly reflected in its inner cities and this kind of poverty is closely related to the country's national conditions and history.This paper analyzes the distinctiveness and typical symptoms of American inner-city poverty as well as the influence of American economy,policies and culture on it,trying to figure out the major causal factors of this stubborn problem.It holds that the combined effects of various external and internal factors,coupled with the rapid urbanization in the United States after World War II,eventually caused lingering poverty that is difficult to eradicate in America's inner cities.First of all,the changing economic environment,racial discrimination,immigration,and social welfare policies are the most important external factors that have caused American inner-city poverty.At the same time,some internal factors,such as the culture of poverty and the psychology of poverty which are rooted in inner cities,also play a significant role in worsening American inner-city poverty.