More Americans living in poverty – fewer dreaming about a brighter future

The largest one-year increase in U.S. poverty occurred this year, according to TIME magazine.  The surge is likely the result of pandemic programs phasing out and inflation storming in.  See cool map of U.S. counties, showing their poverty, child poverty, and median incomes. 

More people in poverty means more people are spending their time, energy, and talent on daily struggles.  This struggle should, according to the American Dream legend, motivate a person to work hard and achieve a better life. Social programs’ complicated paperwork and long waits are additional motivation, says the American Dream. In non-legend reality, these incessant demands drain a person’s mental resources to pursue anything but getting through today. And administrative barriers push away the people who have the greatest need. 

Meanwhile, we all lose by having more and more people consumed by poverty. Imagine the human potential we are losing. Take for example, the children who grow up hungry (after all, we have to motivate their parents!) As adults, they will be more likely to have a chronic health condition and poorer health overall. (See Child hunger and long-term adverse consequences for health.)  In another scenario, the child -- instead of being distracted by hunger -- can dream of becoming a nurse, a scientist, an economist, or a rock star. Indeed, a child who is hungry cannot dream of the future at all let alone dream of a profession. 

The future is crowded out by the overwhelming present. The “motivating” factors (barriers to help, long waits, humiliations throughout) burden the brain and handicap a person from doing new things. For example, time spent planning how to get enough food subtracts from time available to seek a better job. SNAP or food stamp benefits are intentionally less than a person needs; they “supplement” the household’s food budget, according to USDA’s web page.

In essence, the process of being poor prevents people from escaping being poor. The human brain is the culprit here. Our brains focus on the immediate, urgent demands – and there are plenty of those when you are poor. We can do better and by freeing up human capital from poverty, everyone benefits.