Dear next President,

Poverty is an important issue because it is happening to about 13.5% of the American population, which is about 43.1 million people. This is a topic that should not be overlooked. People in poverty go days or even weeks on end not having a change of clothes or a decent meal. For example,  in Mississippi 20.8% of the people there are in poverty which equals to around one in five people that live in poverty in the state. We believe as the President of the United States, you can influence states to take a more active role in ending poverty before it only becomes a bigger problem.

There is about 80% of the worlds population living on less than $10 a day. That's crazy! A cheeseburger can cost as much as $5 dollars and that would be half of the money one person would make in a day.  The facts are astounding on poverty and many individuals don't know when they will have their next meal.

If nothing is done about this and it stays at a level of 13.5%, we believe American will continue to  ignore this subject more and more and it will get worse and worse. There was little talk about poverty in many of the presidential debates or speeches. There isn't much awareness on this issue and that has to change.

We believe the president should speak on the behalf of the poor. Even though they may not have money or other wealth, people living in poverty are still Americans, so they deserve the same respect as other people in this great country. In New York City, we've seen there are people who beg and don't even get acknowledged. In 2012, the poverty rate in New York City alone was predicted by the New York Times as 1.7 million people living in poverty. So our question is what will you as the next president do about it.

Sincerely,

Tucker W. and Oliver D.

Work cited

@talkpoverty. "Basic Statistics - Talk Poverty." Talk Poverty. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.

"Hunger and Poverty Facts and Statistics." Feeding America. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.

"Poverty In America." By Michael H. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.

"The Homeless." By Neylanie L. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.