Fears of Becoming 'Poor' Revealed

If you've worried about becoming “poor” at some point in your life, you have plenty of company.

In fact, 51 percent of adults in the United States fear they may become poor some day, according to a nationwide survey sponsored by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.

This statistic opens the door to a multitude of other questions. What do Americans perceive as “poor”? Who is responsible for caring for poor people? And what should be done to alleviate the problem?

“Poverty Pulse,” a survey designed to determine common attitudes toward poverty, yielded several key findings:

• When asked what it means to be poor in the United States, 24 percent of survey respondents cited being “homeless.” “Not being able to meet basic needs” (23 percent) and “hunger/not eating properly” (22 percent) also were common perceptions of poverty.

• Suggested causes of poverty ranged from lack of education (32 percent) to personal laziness (25 percent) to lack of employment opportunities (21 percent).

• Forty-nine percent of the people surveyed held the U.S. government responsible for responding to the needs of poor people and addressing other issues of poverty, up from 38 percent last year.

• Forty-one percent of survey respondents gave money to an organization helping the poor last year. The number of people who donated food, clothing or goods in 2001—32 percent—was up significantly from 12 percent in 2000.

• A combined 24 percent of the people surveyed said they volunteered or got involved with a community-based organization that works to address poverty or social justice. To become further involved, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development suggests activities such as ensuring a “living wage” for employees, requesting assistance from local media in reporting on local poverty and mentoring individuals trying to build productive lives.

The Poverty Pulse survey was released in January as part of CCHD’s “Poverty in America Awareness Month” observance. To read more findings from the survey online, visit www.povertyusa.org.

—Rebekah Graydon