美国是世界上最发达的国家之一，然而，同时也是四处存在着贫困和社会不平等问题的国家。尽管美国高薪工作机会多，福利保障齐全，但仍有大量人不能摆脱贫困。

基础设施差

美国的基础设施建设是一个长期存在的问题，特别是在一些经济落后或者人口稀少的地区，存在许多连通性和基础设施不足的情况。美国不会像中国这样，为了消除贫困，宁愿亏本也要把每一个村每一户都通电、通水、通路。

美国一些长期被边缘化的地区，由于过去没有受到足够关注，导致了基础设施建设水平的滞后。随着工业的发展和经济形势的变化，部分地区逐渐失去了重要产业，进而陷入扼制经济增长的困境。政府的资金短缺也成为限制美国基础设施建设的主要原因，最近几年，美国政府通过PPP（公私合作）等多种方式吸引了大量私人投资，但仍然难以解决需要巨额资金支持的基础设施建设问题。

要想富先修路，开工厂先通电，保健康先通水，没有了基础设施，这类地区的人民就不得不承受贫困。

枪击导致很多家庭陷入贫困

枪击事件是美国社会的严重问题之一，每年都有大量无辜人员在此类事件中受伤甚至死亡。这也导致了许多人陷入贫困。枪击事件对于个体造成的经济影响主要来自于以下几个方面：

医疗费用相当高。在一些情况下，枪击受害者需要进行长期治疗和康复，并持续耗费大量的医疗资源和时间。由于美国的医疗系统存在着昂贵的医疗费用和异质性保障政策，因此，许多灾民不得不承担巨额的医疗费用，容易引发“医疗破产”。

失去工作机会、家庭受到冲击。枪击事件通常在非常意外的情况下发生，很多人 即将上班、准备接孩子回家等，在不幸发生后，受害者一度面临着失业的风险。此外，受害者的家庭也可能受到严重冲击，尤其是如果他们是家庭的主要经济支柱，那么失去收入意味着法定日期内不予更正资产负损及经济责任能力的风险增加。

治安和心理健康问题。对于幸存者来说，枪击事件通常会留下心理阴影，导致情绪不稳定和无法集中精力工作，甚至可能导致失业。治安问题也会让人们感到困惑和疲倦，甚至居住环境恶劣等现象都会增加家庭经济负担。

教育昂贵让读书改变命运有一定困难

美国高等教育的学费普遍较高，很多学生需要借助贷款才能支付学费、住宿和生活费用等。

通常来说，公立大学的学费相对较便宜，但私立大学的学费则普遍较高。此外，由于美国职业规划和求职市场的竞争性越来越激烈，很多学生也会选择去专业水平更高或者排名靠前的学校就读，这也会增加他们在大学期间的支出。

为了支付学费和生活费用，许多学生需要通过申请助学金、奖学金以及寻求工作来减轻经济压力，同时还需要借助银行贷款。一些学生甚至需要额外贷款用于购买教材和其他学习所需物品，这使得他们毕业后的债务负担十分沉重。

教育是解决美国贫困问题的重要途径，但目前的情况是，越来越多的学生因为经济原因而无法上大学。此外，虽然政府通过基本教育和职业技能培训等项目帮助贫困家庭实现社会流动，但不幸的是，各州和地区在提供贫困学生资金方面存在巨大差异，使得有些地区的贫困学生难以获得合适的教育。

财富分配不公

在财富分配方面，美国的收入差距非常悬殊。在40年代末期，美国没有政策约束企业向外转移，这使得许多大型公司通过弥合薪资差异实现了巨额利润。自那时以来，失业率迅速上升，犯罪率也飙升到令人担忧的水平。即便如今，虽然劳动力市场总体上表现良好，但工资增长仍未能跟上生活成本提高的步伐，导致很多低收入家庭陷入贫困。

社会福利制度带来的“负面效应”也是美国无法消除贫困的原因之一。美国颁布了许多公平对待所有美国人的福利条例，例如盖茨斯计划、农村扶贫计划、医疗补助计划等。然而，一些人依靠福利过于依赖高涨的财政支出，这对反贫困计划的长期有效性构成了很大威胁。

小结：

在整个经济发展过程中，消除贫困永远都是一项巨大挑战。美国拥有世界上最高竞争力的技术、专业技术人才和产业集群，尽管在一些方面美国做得很好，但从改善穷人生活的角度看，美国不是他们的天堂，在发达国家里，美国的无家可归人数居高不下，这让美国发展模式蒙上阴影，发展中国家在学习和模仿的过程中，需要警惕。

英文版：Why can't the United States eliminate poverty?

The United States is one of the most developed countries in the world; however, it also has poverty and social inequality issues prevalent throughout its society. Although the US offers well-paying job opportunities and comprehensive welfare programs, there are still many people that cannot escape poverty.

Poor Infrastructure

Infrastructure development has been a long-standing problem in the United States, particularly in economically deprived or sparsely populated areas where connectivity and infrastructure are inadequate. Unlike China, which is willing to invest even at a loss to provide every village with electricity, water, and roads in order to eliminate poverty, the US has marginalized some of its long-neglected regions, leading to a lack of infrastructure that hinders economic growth.

As industries have shifted and economic conditions have changed, some regions have gradually lost their key industries, further exacerbating the situation. Government funding shortages have also become a significant barrier to infrastructure development in the US. In recent years, the US government has attracted significant private investment through public-private partnerships (PPPs) and other means, but the infrastructure development problem still requires massive financial support.

Building roads to prosperity, powering factories with electricity, and providing water for health - without proper infrastructure, people in these regions have no choice but to bear the burden of poverty.

Gun violence leads many families to poverty

Gun violence is one of the serious issues in US society, and innocent people are injured or even lose their lives in such incidents every year. It also causes many people to fall into poverty. The economic impact of gun violence on individuals mainly comes from the following aspects:

Medical expenses are quite high. In some cases, gunshot victims need long-term treatment and rehabilitation, which consume a lot of medical resources and time. Due to the expensive medical costs and heterogeneous insurance policies in the American healthcare system, many victims have to bear huge medical expenses, which can easily lead to "medical bankruptcy".

Losing job opportunities and impacting families. Gun violence incidents usually occur unexpectedly, and many people are about to go to work or pick up their children from school. After the unfortunate event, victims may face the risk of unemployment. Additionally, the victim's family may also suffer severe impacts, especially if they are the main breadwinner at home. Losing income implies an increased risk of not meeting legal deadlines for correcting asset-liability ratios and economic responsibility.

Public safety and mental health problems. For survivors, gun violence often leaves a psychological shadow, leading to emotional instability, inability to concentrate on work, and even potentially resulting in job loss. Public safety issues can make people feel confused and tired, and even worsen living conditions, which increases the economic burden on families.

It can be difficult for education to change one's destiny due to its high cost.

Tuition fees for higher education in the United States are generally high, and many students need to borrow loans to pay for tuition, accommodation, and living expenses.

Generally, tuition fees at public universities are relatively cheaper, but tuition fees at private universities are generally higher. In addition, as competition in the U.S. job market becomes increasingly fierce, many students choose to attend schools with higher professional levels or rankings, which also increases their expenses during college.

To pay for tuition and living expenses, many students need to apply for financial aid, scholarships, and seek employment to reduce economic pressure, while also relying on bank loans. Some students even need additional loans to purchase textbooks and other necessary learning materials, making their debt burden after graduation very heavy.

Education is an important way to solve poverty in the United States, but currently, more and more students are unable to attend college due to economic reasons. Also, although the government helps low-income families achieve social mobility through programs such as basic education and vocational skills training, unfortunately, there are huge differences among states and regions in providing funding for poverty-stricken students, making it difficult for some poor students to obtain suitable education.

Unequal distribution of wealth

In terms of wealth distribution, the income gap in the United States is extremely large. In the late 1940s, there were no policies restraining companies from transferring profits overseas, which allowed many large corporations to achieve huge profits by bridging salary gaps. Since then, the unemployment rate has risen rapidly and the crime rate has soared to alarming levels. Even today, although the labor market overall performs well, wage growth still fails to keep up with the rising cost of living, causing many low-income families to fall into poverty.

The "negative effects" of the social welfare system are also one of the reasons why the United States cannot eliminate poverty. The United States has enacted many welfare regulations that treat all Americans fairly, such as the Gates plan, rural poverty alleviation plan, medical assistance program, etc. However, some people rely too heavily on welfare and depend on rising fiscal expenditures, which poses a great threat to the long-term effectiveness of anti-poverty programs.

Summary:

Eliminating poverty is always a huge challenge throughout the process of economic development. The United States has the world's most competitive technology, professional talents, and industrial clusters. Although the United States has done well in some aspects, it is not a paradise for poor people in terms of improving their lives. In developed countries, the number of homeless people in the United States remains high, which casts a shadow over its development model, and developing countries need to be vigilant in the learning and imitation process.