Though I really love and appreciate everyone's "open letters", and though I love writing content about how wonderful the people in my life are, I think it's time I address something very important to me — poverty. Poverty is defined as a, "Condition where people's basic needs for food, clothing and shelter are not being met."

There are two types of recognized poverty.

Absolute poverty is synonymous with destitution and occurs when people cannot obtain adequate resources (measured in terms of calories or nutrition) to support a minimum level of physical health. Absolute poverty means about the same everywhere, and can be eradicated as demonstrated by some countries.

Relative poverty occurs when people do not enjoy a certain minimum level of living standards as determined by a government (and enjoyed by the bulk of the population). These standards vary from country to country but, sometimes they vary within the same country.

Okay, so now that we know what poverty is, let's talk about poverty in America. And if you don't think that this is a real thing, keep in mind, by the standards that I am about to present you with, 15 percent of people in America live in poverty. I'm sure after finishing this article, you will agree that our standards are skewed and that this number is actually much higher.

In our country, we measure poverty by income level, and it is typically issued by the Department of Health and Human Services. These levels are further used as criteria to determine whether or not you are eligible for some programs. To put this into perspective, these are the federal poverty income levels from Healthcare.gov for 2015:

• $11,880 for individuals
• $16,020 for a family of 2
• $20,160 for a family of 3
• $24,300 for a family of 4
• $28,440 for a family of 5
• $32,580 for a family of 6
• $36,730 for a family of 7
• $40,890 for a family of 8

Now, keeping this in mind, let's do some quick math. $11,880 is the poverty level for an individual in this country. Meaning, a person, of any age, who has no one else to take care of, does not live in poverty if they make $12,000 a year. I don't want to take away from this by putting it lightly, so let me put it this way — this is absolutely f***ing ridiculous.

Let's calculate the cost of living for one month (and believe me, I'm downplaying these numbers):

A typical budget might include $500 dollars for rent, $100 for utilities (electricity, gas, heat, water, etc.), $100 for gas, $175 for food/toiletries, $40 for phone services, $20 for internet, $100 for car insurance, $100 for health insurance (oh, and if you make $12,000 or more you might be responsible for paying 50% of your medical bills). I would say these are pretty basic necessities for the average American. This list does not include a car payment, taxes if you own your house or any other expenses you might incur during the duration of a month. Yet, the total is $1,135. Yearly, that's $13,620. Your costs are $1,600 greater than your income.

Oh, and guess what? Since you don't live below the poverty line, you wouldn't be eligible for any government programs!

Which brings me to my next point — government assistance. So many people living in poverty are discriminated against and are brought to some lower standard because they seek government assistance. Now, don't get me wrong, some people abuse this system just like they do any other system; however, there is a reason these systems are in place — to help people get back on their feet and to be able to survive. Food, clothes and shelter are basic needs for survival here, people.

Some of the welfare programs in New Jersey (aka government assistance) are child care, child support and paternity, NJ SNAP (formerly known as food stamps), refugee services, supportive assistance to individuals and families, Supplemental Security Income, WorkFirst NJ General Assistance and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. More information about these programs can be found on the State of New Jersey Department of Human Services website. But I think it is important to highlight all of the services that welfare provides because they are much, much more than meets the eye. Like I said before, the system is manipulated, and I recognize that, but sometimes the only way to survive is to manipulate the system.

For instance, let's say that you make $17,000 a year at your current job, and you are a single parent with one child. That is above the national poverty line. But as we discussed above, this salary really may not be enough for you to survive on. Maybe the cost of daycare is rising, and you went to college and have student loans to pay back. Basically, $17,000 just isn't gonna fly. You seek assistance, but you aren't eligible because you make too much money. But if you were unemployed, they would help you feed, clothe and shelter yourself and your child. And right now you're living in a one-bedroom apartment with no hot water.

What do you do? Do you continue at your job, and chase the goddamn "American Dream" while you can't afford to feed your childbecause your job that you work 40 hours a week at is only paying you 8.41 an hour (and yes, that's a real calculation), or do you seek assistance so you and your son can live a healthy life?

Believe me, I get it. I get why we all hate the fact that we work our asses off, and other people do nothing and receive the same benefits. I totally understand that. But what I also understand is that everyone has the right to survival and the right to have the opportunity to thrive. The problem here can be the people. There are people who take advantage of the system. But most of the time, the problem is the system.

The problem is that:

If you make $50,000 a year, your total taxation given to food stamps benefits is $36.82 and to other welfare programs is $6.96 — but every year, $4,000 goes to corporate subsidies (or welfare, i.e. bailouts given to corporations).

These are the same corporations that are only paying their employees $8.41 an hour and expecting they won't become reliant on government assistance for survival. These are the same companies who blame the people, instead of themselves, and who help create this awful image of poverty and government assistance.

So, next time you feel like bitching about giving your money away to people who don't deserve it, remember that you literally give 100 times more money every year toward corporate subsidies than the welfare of your fellow citizens.

The most heartbreaking thing about this article is that we have not even reached the worst part of it — the statistics about poverty in our country. As I said before, the "guidelines" we use for poverty say that at least 15 percent of our citizens live in poverty. (I personally think that actual poverty is not within those income brackets; therefore, the percentage is much higher, but nonetheless.)

Some other statics (from talkpoverty.org):

• 26% of African-Americans lived in poverty in 2014
• 23% of Hispanic Americans lived in poverty in 2014
• 14% of households in America were food insecure in 2014

And one of the most heartbreaking...

Forty-five percent of people who spent at least half of their childhood in poverty were living in poverty at age 35. This means that if you lived in poverty for nine years of your childhood, you are 45 percent more likely to live in poverty by age 35.

We live in a system that is setting the poverty-ridden up for failure. It is an almost inescapable cycle — where if you are born poor, you are most likely to remain poor. This comes from a variety of reasons with lack of quality care and education being largely responsible, but also because of a plethora of other reasons.

So, the next time you complain about welfare recipients, the next time you see a presumably homeless person or the next time you wonder why those who are living in poverty can't just "pull out of it with hard work and perseverance," I hope you remember this article.

I hope you remember there are people in this country (not to mention all around the world) that are not only living inadequately, but are also being denied the tools needed to progress and succeed. There are many different ways that privilege prevailed in our country, and this whole poor vs. wealthy fight plays a very critical role. There are many ways that you can help including by volunteering and by donating clothing, food and time to help the people who need it most.

But the easiest way that you can help is to stop blaming the victim, and stop conforming to a societal trend (yes, I believe this is actually a trend) that says some people are worthy and others are unworthy. A trend that denies there are some people who have a crucial disadvantage compared to the rest of us.

Your opinions, the way you handle situations regarding poverty and your voice are going to make the difference.