Food, water, and shelter are the basic necessities of life. But in modern America, one of the world's wealthiest countries, people all over this country lack the money needed to access these basic necessities. Future president, I ask that whatever financial decisions you make for this country, you consider first and foremost the needs of those who have nothing rather than the desires of the wealthy.

Lowering poverty rates in America is important to me because of the effect it has on my state, my country, and everything around me. I am privileged enough to go to a good school that supplies me with an education that will one day help me to get a job to pay for everything I need. Many people in my country, however, aren’t as fortunate. Poverty greatly affects the most essential aspects of people’s lives than other issues that may or may not affect the basic necessities of life. If you have ever seen a list of rankings by state for poverty, you may have realized that the most impoverished states are the ones ranked last in education. According to World Atlas, the poverty rate in Louisiana, the most impoverished state, is more than tripled that of New Hampshire, which has the lowest poverty rate. Furthermore, these same states have the shortest predicted life expectancy out of all fifty states. There is not much likelihood that this correlation is a coincidence. People living in poverty cannot afford the food and healthcare needed for sustenance, so, naturally, their life expectancy is shortened. On top of that, they cannot afford a proper education that will allow them a job to work their way out of poverty, so they are trapped in a vicious cycle of financial need.

People all around me are in financial need, and many of them do not believe that there is hope of solving their problem. They have no means of supplying sustenance to themselves or their families. This is why solving poverty is important to me. 

“US Poverty Level By State.” World Atlas, 21 September, 2016, http://www.worldatlas.com/articles/us-poverty-rate-by-state.html. Accessed 26 October, 2016.