ABSTRACT:Although the United States is regarded as the most affluent country in the world, there are millions of people living below the poverty line. After World War II, America’s economy experienced rapid development. Economic prosperity misleads many people to believe that the poverty have been wiped out in the United States. In effect, poverty largely exists in the United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were about 26.07 million people in poverty in 1979 in the United States. By 2004, the poor population reached to 37.7 million. The poor in the United States mainly concentrate in such groups as the blacks, the female-headed families and the children.

     Poverty has become a serious social problem in the U.S., which attracts the American governments and scholars’ attention. This paper will analyze the causes of American poverty after World War II. It will be shown that American poverty is related to American policies, economic factors and social factors.

Keywords:  American poverty; American policies; economic factors; social factors

摘要:虽然美国被认为是世界上最富裕的国家,但是,它也有数百万的人生活在贫困线以下。二战之后,美国的经济迅速发展。经济的繁荣误导了人们，很多人认为美国已经没有贫困。事实上,贫困现象仍然大量存在于美国。根据美国人口普查局的统计,在1979年，美国大约有2607万贫困人口。到2004年,贫困人口已达到3700万。美国的贫困人口主要集中在黑人、女性户主的家庭、孩子这些群体中。

贫困问题已经成为了困扰美国的一个严重的社会问题。它引起了政府、学者的极大关注。这篇论文将讨论二战后贫困依然流行于美国的原因。它将从美国政策、经济因素、社会因素这三个层面来探讨。

关键词: 美国贫困; 美国政策；经济因素；社会因素