Poverty

Running Head : POVERTY IN LOS ANGELES

Poverty in Los Angeles

The European Union defines poverty as Persons , families and groups of persons whose resources (material , cultural and social ) are so limited as to exclude them from the minimum acceptable way of life in the Member State to which they belong (as quoted in Poverty - Definition and Measurement

In the United States , when an individual 's or a family 's annual income is less than the poverty line set by the U .S government , the individual or family is said to be

in poverty ( Poverty in the United States

California has one of the most culturally diverse populations in the U .S . In 2000 , the State of California had a 33 ,871 ,648 , of which 59 .5 are white , 10 .9 are Asian , 6 .7 are African American , and the remainder of the population is of different races relatively in smaller percentages than the aforementioned three . Of this same population , 32 .4 are Hispanic or Latino (of any race (U .S . Census Bureau

In the Los Angeles region (Los Angeles , Riverside , San Bernardino Orange and Ventura counties , current statistics places the population at more than 16 million of which 4 .5 to 5 million are living in poverty and approximately 3 .5 million experiencing an economic trend called the working poverty . Working poverty is when a household is still living below the poverty line despite having at least one family member working full-time (Wolch , Musso Joassart-Marcelli , 2006

Los Angeles County has the highest population in California , and from the 2000 Census data , 17 .9 of the population (individuals , all ages live in poverty , and 14 .4 of families live below poverty level . Racial composition of LA county is composed of 48 .7 white , 9 .8 African American , 11 .9 Asian , and other smaller percentages of various races 44 .6 of all races of the population is Hispanic or Latino (U .S . Census Bureau

Specific to Los Angeles City , 22 .11 of individuals , and 18 .3 of families live below the poverty level , higher figures than the percentages for the entire county . 13 .19 of married-couple families live below the poverty level , while 32 .72 single-parent (female householder ) and 20 .9 single-parent (male householder ) families are below the poverty level (Los Angeles Almanac , 2006 . There are considerably more female single-parents below the poverty line , 59 ,396 as opposed to 15 ,892 of male single-parents (Los Angeles Almanac , 2006 figures implying that female single-parents in LA City may have a harder time sustaining their families than male single-parents

With regards to child poverty in LA City , 86 ,200 children under 5 years of age , or 31 .33 of the age group , live below the poverty level Meanwhile , 107 ,271 , or 31 .23 of children aged 6-11 years live in poverty . For the 12-17 age group , 81 ,482 or 28 .93 are below the poverty level (Los Angeles Almanac , 2006 . Statistics show that the percentages below the poverty level decreases as age group advances...