55America, whether that poor person is Black, Caucasian, Latino, or Asian. The poor have no“privilege”. There is no American Dream for poor Americans.These barriers range from discrimination based on income, race, religion, gender, gender identityand sexual orientation, the rising prices of higher education, single income households, thedisenfranchisement of convicted felons, the accumulation of debt, and a lack of historical familywealth and inheritance.Today, there is an ever rising gap in economic inequality. The middle class is declining and cansoon become a nonexistent entity, and more and more Americans are slipping into poverty. As themiddle class continues to shrink and the poor continue to struggle, the extremely affluent ---–the.01 percent --- and their wealth continue to grow and prosper.Poor, homeless, white living on the streets.In many ways, it is expensive to be poor and being from a lower income household makes successmuch harder to attain. The effects of poverty can lead to stress and studies have shown that lowerclass Americans exhibit higher signs of anxiety and mental illness.