The Issue at Hand

Kentucky and its citizens have been facing an overgrowing issue of poverty over the past couple years, especially in its Eastern and rural areas. As Kentucky continues to stay within an extremely high poverty rate, according to Ronnie Ellis, we are seeing a decreasing amount. And while you may think a decreasing amount would put a state at an advantage, Kentucky is still sitting at an extremely high poverty rate of 17.2 percent of Kentuckians still living in poverty or below the poverty line as of 2017, which still puts Kentucky in the top five most impoverished states in the country. Ronnie goes on to say that more individuals of color suffer from poverty in Kentucky than white individuals. To compare, the minority poverty rate sits at 51.5 percent, while the white poverty rate sits at 16.1. As we can tell, the difference is substantial. The state of Kentucky has been trying to lower its poverty rate for years but is still seemingly in the top five most impoverished states.

Source:

Ellis, Ronnie. “Kentucky Poverty Rate Improving, still among Worst Though.” Richmond Register, 13 Sept. 2018, www.richmondregister.com/news/kentucky-poverty-rate-improving-still-among-worst-though/article_71a9218b-3928-5ae7-b5e9-ce138c96678d.html.



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