Countries throughout the world have challenges that deter their economic, social, and intellectual development. However, challenges are more predominant in low income countries than the high income and upper middle income countries.
While the wealthy countries suffer from social issues that pertain to morality and standards, their poor counterparts face several problems, which range from poor education and health facilities, famine, conflicts, among others. From statistics, it has been observed that low income, as well as some lower middle income countries experience extreme poverty, which is closely linked to education capacity.
In addition, poverty is predominant in low income countries where literacy levels are also below standard. Therefore, where poverty reigns, improvement in education is deterred.
This paper will explore education, global poverty, and development based on interpretation of Millennium Development Goals and the statistics in four different countries mentioned above. It will also endeavor to establish the relationship between poverty and education as well as their indicators (UNICEF, 2011).
Poverty and Education
Views on education, global poverty, and development based on interpretation of the Millennium Development Goals and the statistics in 4 different countries examined
Most countries in Sub Saharan Africa face extreme starvation whenever famine and drought come by. They include Kenya, Ivory Coast, and Chad, among others. Global poverty has continued to increase as social poverty overcome most low income states.
Moreover, Education levels in low income countries have necessitated creation of MDGs (Millennium Development goals) by the United Nations to help eradicate poverty and expand literacy levels as well as improve environmental awareness and conservation, among others. The countries examined are Kenya, Ivory Coast, Haiti, and Chad. Kenya has a gross national income (GNI) per capita of $ 780, with literacy levels of 87% as at 2005. Ivory coast on the other hand has a GNI of $ 1,070 with literacy levels of 55%.
In addition, Haiti also has a GNI of $ 650 with literacy levels of 49%, while Chad has a GNI of $ 600 with literacy levels of 34%.
From such indicators it can be seen that low income countries have lower literacy levels except in the case of Kenya, which seems to be trading in regions below its Standards given the level of education. Millennium development goals are therefore significant in enabling development of these countries (The World Bank Group, 2011, p. 1).
Relationship between poverty and education
As has been observed above, low income countries that experience extreme famine tend to have the lowest rates of education. This is mainly because these countries do not have adequate food basket, let alone facilities to offer quality education.
The connection between these indicators
The indicators reflect lower literacy rates in countries with low GNIs. However, there is contrast in Kenyas case, even though most indications show close link between poverty and education.
Conclusion
Education is greatly affected by poverty as is witnessed in most low income and lower middle income countries. This is reflected in statistics given by the world bank as at 2010. Countries that are mainly in Sub Saharan Africa face extreme starvation whenever they come across famine and drought.
These include Kenya, Ivory Coast, and Chad, among others. Global poverty has continued to increase as social poverty overcome most low income states.
Moreover, Education levels in low income countries have necessitated creation of MDGs (Millennium Development goals) by the United Nations to help eradicate poverty and expand literacy levels as well as improve environmental awareness and conservation, among others. In essence, low income countries that experience extreme famine tend to have the lowest rates of education (The World Bank Group, 2011, p. 1).
Reference List
The World Bank Group. (2011) Data. worldbank.org. Web.
The World Bank Group. (2011) Education. worldbank.org. Web.
UNICEF. The State of the Worlds Children 2011: Adolescence- An Age of Opportunity. Unicef.org. Web.
The book African Poverty at the Millennium: Causes, Complexities, and Challenges explores the issue of poverty in Africa. It discusses the causes of poverty, its challenges, complications, and the various mitigation strategies applied. The authors begin by discussing a brief history of the growth of poverty in Africa. They note that during the mid-1990s, a large percentage of Africans lived in impoverished situations characterized by lack of safe drinking water, low access to health care services, high levels of illiteracy, high mortality rates, poor nutrition, and low incomes (White et al. 3).
They also point out that poverty alleviation is slow because statistics reveal that the situation is getting rose. According to the authors, material deprivation is the main defining characteristic of poverty (White et al. 10). This deprivation leads to low income, poor nutrition, low-quality housing, poor clothing, dependency, social exclusion, and lack of access to public amenities that are important for poverty eradication. In chapter 3, the authors categorize and characterize poverty.
Examples of these categories include chronic poverty, transitory poverty, catastrophic poverty, gender-related poverty, urban and rural poverty, and dependency poverty. Chronic poverty results from causes such as lack of political power and low access to labor market opportunities. It can be eradicated by giving people more access to physical, political, and human capital (White et al. 15). On the other hand, catastrophic poverty is caused by extreme situations such as famine and diseases. The situation is changing because poverty is becoming urbanized due to high levels of unemployment, diseases, and civil conflicts.
In the second part of the book, the authors discuss the social, political, and economic causes of poverty. Economic causes include low growth, market failures, market instability, inadequate assets, slow job creation, and income inequalities (White et al. 28). Political causes include war, displacement, disempowerment, and government failures. Social causes include gender biases, poor human capital, high levels of dependence, and weak social structures. Primary factors include environmental degradation, lack of adequate access to human capital, poverty-inducing social structures, and poor governance (White et al. 28).
Proximate causes of poverty include globalization, the influence of location, poor human capital, and social exclusion. Poor human capital is caused by lack of access to social services such as health and education. Social exclusion involves lack of access to opportunities that could lift poor people from poverty by improving the quality of their lives. The authors argue that political systems play a significant role in fostering economic stagnation in many African countries. Government failure is evident from the high levels of corruption, abandonment of democracy, overreliance on foreign aid, and lack of accountability observed in many states (White et al. 55).
In addition, governments have failed to provide legal and institutional frameworks that are supposed to facilitate economic growth, provide security, promote peace, protect property rights, and provide the basic human needs. Political systems ignore the challenge of poverty and instead focus on trivial matters. In order to reduce poverty, it is important for nations to focus on areas such as coalition-building, decentralization of services, people empowerment, and promotion of democracy. It is critical for governments to grow income and provide quality social services (White et al. 75).
The poor are plagued by diseases and illiteracy, and have little access to amenities that are aimed at eradicating poverty. Finally, gender disparities cause differences in the ability of men and women to get access to land, education, health, and economic opportunities. Poverty encourages subordination of women in various ways. In that regard, women have low access to labor market opportunities, are subjected to discriminatory laws and policies, and are marginalized in politics.
Part III of the book discusses the various strategies that are used to reduce poverty in various countries. Some of these strategies include implementation of national policies, poverty monitoring, and the enhancement of donor contributions (White et al. 97). There is need for political and social change in order to eradicate poverty in Africa. Outside sources offer short-term solutions because the underlying causes of poverty can only be addressed effectively by focusing on changing domestic political and economic situations that contribute towards the severity of the problem. The authors suggest that there is need for an integrated approach to poverty alleviation because many of the causes reinforce each other and thus make the situation more complex.
For instance, quality health services, education, and safe drinking water are inseparable in the fight against poverty. Donors need to increase their aid on poverty eradication programs and give African governments the freedom to formulate strategies that they deem effective for mitigating the problem. One of the most critical areas that need consideration is debt relief because many countries have great debts that stifle their economic growth (White et al. 103). Finally, governments need to implement effective policies that promote faster growth, support the poor, and eradicate obstacles such as gender biases, civil conflicts, and uneven wealth and income distribution. The authors explore the issue of poverty in Africa exhaustively and use statistics to support their arguments.
Works Cited
White, Howard, Killick Tony, and Kayizzi-Mugerwa Steve. African Poverty at the Millennium: Causes, Complexities, and Challenges. Washington Dc: World Bank Publications, 2001. Print.
Poverty, destitution, or indigence can be used synonymously to imply they want necessities or material comforts, (Merriam-Webster,2008). This is just a simple definition of poverty. The world bank site, povertyNet gives a more comprehensive outlook of poverty as the lack of basic needs i.e. food, shelter, healthcare, education, the uncertainty of the future, lack of political representation, and lack of freedom. The other dimensions of poverty are economic, governance issues, and social problems.
The poor have no access to resources, earnings, and opportunities. Due to geographical and social segregation, the poor are not able to reach markets if they may have things to sell, those who may have skills cannot reach the job markets for employment. Poor educational opportunities contribute to the inability to be employed and also the inability to access and utilize information to better their lives. Another major contributor to poverty is poor health brought about by insufficient nutrition, poor hygiene, and health amenities. (World Bank, povertyNet) These reduce the chances of getting work and also disables the poor from achieving their intellectual capabilities. All these problems are made worse by lack of security and social structures and institutions which can incorporate the poor in policymaking to improve their status.
The extent of poverty differs from region to region. The main indicators of poverty according to the World Bank are income and consumption levels, social indicators, signs of vulnerability to risk, and signs of sociopolitical access. When assessing poverty at the consumption level of society, there are some parameters that have to be taken into account since poverty differs from place to place and time to time. Such include the level of development of the society, the values and norms upheld by the society..(World Bank, povertyNet) These usually affect the level of income and the spending habits. The poverty line is the minimum level of income necessary to meet the primary wants. The poverty line used by the World Bank is about $1.25 to $2 daily (purchasing power parity terms, 2005).
There are a number of measures that are being taken by various organizations and governments of some countries to alleviate the level of poverty. In a country, it would be the responsibility of the government to implement policies, which will maintain low levels of inflation, stable rates of exchange for the currency, and manageable fiscal deficits in the government budget, policies that will trigger private sector economic activities and also ensure the local economy is open so as to be co-opted into the global economy.
The governments should also ensure there is adequate investment into the assets of their impoverished populations in terms of provision of educational opportunities, training of skilled laborers, provision of proper healthcare, food availability being giving incentives to farmers, development of infrastructure in the rural areas, and also provision of credit facilities to the business people and entrepreneurs. (World Bank, povertyNet).
In order to achieve these goals and come up with workable policies, it is vital to involve the poor people in designing the policies and also putting them into effect. The governments should ensure there is transparency and those in authority should be accountable for their decisions. This will help in establishing comprehensive and inclusive workable policies which are supported by the people. When the communities are incorporated in decision-making and management of the scarce resources in their reach, they will be able to achieve more since they will be employed in productive areas.
It is helpful for the developed countries to open up their markets more for the products from the less developed countries and also contribute towards economic expansion on the global stage. (G8 Okinawa Summit. 2000.)These countries can also increase their aids to the poor countries but in controlled procedures to achieve the desired effects of financial improvement. This is attained by directing the funds towards disease and poverty alleviation projects like AIDS, malaria, TB. The countries can also be assisted in areas of technological improvements, especially in agricultural production.
Empowering the poor countries so as to be able to make improvements on their own can be achieved by expanding credit facilities and debt relief. They should also be given opportunities to contribute in international forums so that their needs are taken into account when making agreements. (G8 Okinawa Summit. 2000.)
References
G8 Okinawa Summit. 2000. Global Poverty Report. Web.
Rapid and radical socio economic and political reformations down the ages have witnessed substantial developments in civilizations. Yet, there remains a social grievance which has contributed largely to being a silent killer most ruthless and has caused more sufferings to people than anything else on earth. Writing for New Internationalist Issue 270, vander Gaag has observed that, Beneath the rhetoric of post -feminism and equality between the sexes lies another, more sinister phenomenon. She further states that, It is a code listed in the World Health Organizations A-Z of ailments, the International Classification of Diseases. It stands for extreme poverty. In the jargon it is known as the feminization of poverty. (Gaag der).
This has derogatorily influenced womens lives, globally, more than any other factor over the last decade.To trace the origin of the jargon, Sara.S Mc Lanahan has recorded that, In 1978, Diana Pearce, a visiting researcher at the University of Wisconsin, published a paper noting that poverty was becoming feminized in the U.S. (Mc Lanahan & Kelly). This phenomenon, observed in the U.S in 1970, states that female headed households accounted for a growing proposition of those below the poverty line. In a study carried over 20 years up to 1990 the number of rural women has gone up to 50%, a shocking 565 million women of the world population.
The above statistics has not seen a favorable trend in the present years, though there are shades of differences in the mentality and reaction of women to their own cause.
Moghadam, in his research on The Feminization of Poverty and Womens Human Rights has observed that the three contributing factors which constrain the development of women are the growth of female headed households, intra household in equalities and bias against women and girls and neo liberal economic policies including structural adjustments and the post socialist market transitions. Its visibility is deep- rooted in demographic trends cultural patterns and political economy. (Moghadam, 2005). Women among the poor suffer doubly from the denial of their human rights first on account of gender inequality, second on account of poverty.
A through study into this persistent problem reveals a dismal picture as the root cause to the social evil is society. Men often leave their homes in search of jobs resulting in female headed families. Divorce, low productivity, a deteriorating environment, single mothers, the economic recession of the 1980s, welfare reforms are the factors in turn exacerbated by intra household inequalities which lead women unprepared for and especially vulnerable to socio -economic downturns, changes in martial status or natural disasters. Women in both the developed and the developing countries undergo severe impoverishment due to negligence by social organizations and feminist organizations.
The scenario in the developed countries is far from being pleasant. Low salaries, divorce, single motherhood are the leading factors for economic bankruptcy. This could be due to lack to previous work experience, low education attainment and is often supported by meager or unavailable child supports. Divorce is the primary factor that has left many women vulnerable to highly exploitative conditions.
Women in the developing countries suffer from partial education, absence of employment skills and experience, lack of property and income, tendency to have larger number of children, divorce, abandonment and widowhood. Females locked into a patriarchal family situation are denied womens and girls basic rights. Family laws as well cultural norms are restraint to women seeking employment or staying in a job within the country or outside. Many women are stuck in low paid jobs, part time work, doing more housework and child care as well. Life at home for many women still means drudgery, even violence and rape within marriage. In countries like India and Afghanistan, female households are considered inferior and are often underestimated!
Among the under-developed countries Kenya and Namibia account for the highest female house holds (FHHs) -70% and 40% respectively and the highest absolute poverty is Kenya contributing to 52% of global women population. The situation of the women in these countries is certainly far more pathetic and pitiable beyond human thought.
It would be wise and appropriate to struggle against poverty and for human rights.
Realization of womens human rights and their empowerment remains the key ingredient to an amicable resolution to this end. Well-designed social patterns, programs for distribution of lands, training sessions, employment opportunities, access to housing, child care facilities, reform of discriminatory laws and social welfare schemes are to be strengthened. Cultural, legal and labor market constraints on womens social and occupational mobility, unequal distribution of resources should be lifted and effective long-term antipoverty strategy, enhancement of womens entitlements and capabilities should be considered.
Works cited
Gaag der, Nikki van. Woman Still Something to Short About. New Internationalist Issue 270. 2008. Web.
Mc Lanahan, Sara S, and Kelly, Erin L. The Feminization of Poverty:Past and Future. Network on the Family and the Economy. 2008. Web.
Moghadam, Valentine M. The Feminization of Poverty and Womens Human Rights. Social and Human Sciences. 2005. Web.
Poverty is a general problem, but the tendency to help those who are in need is constantly increasing today. The number of countries that appear to seek some help is also growing day in and day out. Consequently, there is always someone, who is to help and give a helping hand. America is being internationally acknowledged as one of the most helping countries in both money respect and in the respect of the living perspective, as Rebecca Anne states American public talk about caring for poor peoplein government and in the mediatends to be highly moralistic. (Anne, ix). Thus, the immigration flow is huge in the USA, and the sums of money donated to miscellaneous charity programs are also astronomic. Mostly, these are the religious organizations, philanthropist philosophers, which assembling the crowds of people urge people to donate to the poor countries (the so-called countries of the third world). Having reached some point at donating money, there appeared some people, opposing the tendency to donate and they forth arguments for why people, living in more fortunate countries in general, and Americans in particular should not really be so concerned about the poor. The second group calls the people upon the clear reasoning, while thinking about donations. Both approaches, namely the philanthropist and the one denying it have to do with the questions of today, bringing up important issues being connected both to America and to Sacramento.
The awareness that the philanthropist help should have its limits is understood, as someday, the lifeboat (Hardin), which saves or tries to save so many lives in the countries of the third world, might overturn and Americans will drown as well as the rest of the people, whom they tried to save. Sacramento, however, does not seem to take any attention to this call, organizing miscellaneous charity programs to help, give and donate, taking the first rates at the charity websites (National Charity League, web page) This tendency interlaces its ideas with the other approach to the question of donation, taken after the famous philanthropist Peter Singer. The donations should be done, even must be done by the people, who are more fortunate as rending the air, condemning some other peoples deeds, we are not better at all, as we do not donate enough to save lives, moreover, we spend the money for the luxuries, like modern clothes, hi-tech etc. According to the statistics, Americans earning $ 50,000 spend only $30,000 for the necessities. (Singer, 60). So, why not spend some $ 20,000 for the charity to prevent someones death? These two approaches have both their pros and their cons. While, the approach of not donating Hardin seems to be more or less reasonable, or even misanthropic or cruel to other nations, the approach chosen by Singer seems to be very philanthropic to the other nations but cruel to himself and his own compatriots. The word cruel has rather a connotative meaning here as it seems to some people, got used to the amenities to give them up, enjoying the necessities only.
Then it comes to the point of the long-term thinking. The above mentioned approaches are having different objectives concerning today and tomorrow. As the first one cries to see what is going to happen tomorrow if we do not think about it today. As Hardin puts it in his article, But we must begin the journey to tomorrow from the point where we are today. We cannot remake the past. (Hardin). He states the data of birth rate for the countries, counting years ago what might happen if this or that happens today. Meanwhile, the second approach is not concerned with the future as the poverty is a need of today and when tomorrow comes, it will be the time to reflect about it. The so-called up today thinking of the second approach is revealed in Sacramentos trials to save the world. They are so wide-ranging, that sometimes they seem to be exaggerated. The two approaches, used in the sphere of donation are differently oriented means. One is concerned about tomorrow, the other about today. It might be said, that today is as important as tomorrow, as while we live in today, our grandchildren will live in tomorrow. But, we should not run to an extreme, thinking only about today or tomorrow.
Next, it is an important point to understand, to know the limit between feeding the people in need, and cultivate spongers. The first approach is very aware in this response, as it gives dry facts to be analyzed. A person, using this approach is a pennywise person, though sometimes a greedy one, who is making an excuse not to give money away. Hardin states in his article that each country is solely responsible for its own well-being, poorly managed ones will suffer. But they can learn from experience. They may mend their ways, and learn to budget for infrequent but certain emergencies. (Hardin) The second approach is not pennywise, as it does not keep track of counting money donated. Peter Singer writes I always thought, Why that much why not more? This call to give all you have would cause a disorder the countries being helped. The bureaucracy of the countries of the third world is quite understandable and having received big money, they are most likely to waste them. The point is that large sums of money, donated by kind people like Peter Singer most commonly will not reach the target, as it is understood that those rich ones will give more if asked. The approach of Sacramento is a Biblical approach, which says help your brother , but are these organizations really helping, corrupting the spiritual state of poor people. Giving them more they need cultivates the so-called idleness, toadying. Moreover, using this very approach the helping organization goes for easy popularity. Instead of thinking, of the responsibility of each country, and not giving anything or about ones own responsibility and giving so much that it might corrupt people, it should be a more reasonable choice to give, but not give over.
Poverty is an international problem of today, which needs some reasonable solutions. In this respect, many countries went ahead, with America leading, giving the countries of the third world their helping hand. Miscellaneous funds, charity programs, organized collect astronomic sums of money to help those who are in need. Still, the approach of donation is somehow being objected today. Moreover, different arguments are being stated to make people stop giving their money away. Both approaches have their right to exist, as they both have some pros and cons. Firstly, while non-Sacramento approach tends not to give money, the Sacramento one insists upon giving, secondly, the first approach is concerned about tomorrow, while the second one tends to think more about todays needs. And finally, while non-Sacramento refuses to take the responsibility, which lays on each separate country, the Sacramento one breeds spongers. Mixing some principles of the first and the second approach might bring the new better tendency to life. Sacramento is to think it over.
Works Cited
Allahyari, Rebecca Anne. Visions of Charity: Volunteer Workers and Moral Community. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2000.
Charity Guide. Sacramento charities guide find a charity to donate or volunteer 2008.
Garrett Hardin. Lifeboat Ethics: the Case Against Helping the Poor Psychology Today, 1974
National Charity League. Inc. Welcome to the National Charity League Sacramento Chapter. 2008.
Peter Singer. The Singer Solution to World Poverty The New York Times Magazine, 1999
The Government offers several initiatives aimed at reducing poverty in the country. The programs provide financial assistance to low-income individuals and families to cover basic needs like housing and food. They are designed to improve individuals economic circumstances. These programs are generally administered by various federal agencies that offer opportunities different. The anti-poverty programs that have been most effective in reducing poverty rates in the United States are Social Security, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
Discussion
Social Security is a government agency that offers financial support to qualified people and their families who are unable to work because of retirement, disability, or death. The benefit amount is determined by the workers past wages (Greszler, 2020). The Social Security program is supported by payroll taxes paid by both employees and employers. A national government program known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) gives food assistance to low-income individuals and families that qualify for it. Food goods can be purchased using SNAP benefits at supermarkets and farmers markets (Hoynes & Schanzenbach, 2020). SNAP offers households advice on good eating and nutrition. The federal government runs the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to determine the households that qualify for aid. Households can receive financial aid through LIHEAP to cover their heating and cooling expenses (Raissi & Reames, 2020). LIHEAP also assists families with home upgrades that save energy.
Conclusion
In conclusion, anti-poverty programs from the federal government have helped to reduce poverty rates in the United States. These programs have provided financial assistance to low-income individuals and families to cover basic needs like food and housing, as well as access to education and job training. While there is still work to be done in terms of reducing poverty rates, these programs have made a significant impact.
Hoynes, H., & Schanzenbach, D. W. (2020). Policies to Strengthen our Nations Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Washington Center for Equitable Growth, February, 18.
Raissi, S., & Reames, T. G. (2020). If we had a little more flexibility. Perceptions of Programmatic Challenges and Opportunities Implementing Government-Funded Low-Income Energy Efficiency Programs. Energy Policy, 147, 111880.
Poverty is regarded to be one of the most serious problems in the world. It is argued that the difference between the Golden Billiard and the poorest population has 250% increased for the latest decade (Berrick, 2007, p. 68). As for the poverty among women, it should be stated that women experience more disasters from poverty then men, and the reason of this disparity is covered not only in discrimination, but also in the fact that poor women often have to raise children alone. This paper is aimed to analyze the effect of poverty on women, define whether there are positive effects of poverty, and explain the effects on the governmental level: how the troubles of poverty are solved, and how they may be avoided.
Introduction
Originally, poverty is regarded to be the deprivation of the essential needs and requirements, which is caused by the decreased general welfare, unemployment or inflation. Sometimes these three factors are intermixed, and the situation appears to be the worst, from the viewpoint of the economic success. As for the poverty among women, it should be emphasized that the reasons of poverty among women differ from those among men, and the issues of poverty itself are more severe. It is also stated that the poverty among women seriously touches the welfare of their children.
The corresponding social researches revealed that women are at greater risk of poverty in comparison with men. The womens testimonies in the surveys also revealed the fact that the policies of the governments often do not entail the necessary flexibilities, and tools for narrowing the poverty gap among between men and women. According to the latest statistics, the amount of poor women increased from 11,3 percent (in 2007) till 13.8 (in 2008). (Connolly, 2008, p.32).
Reasons of Poverty
As it has been already emphasized, the reasons of poverty may be different. However, poverty among women has its own, unique reasons. The fact is that, each poor women possesses unique personal features and financial reserves. Independently on the marital status, the challenge is great, as living in poverty and raising children are often the issues that come jointly.
According to the surveys, African American and Hispanic women are the poorest, and, mainly, it is closely linked with the matters of racial discrimination. More than 25% of black women and nearly 25% of Hispanic women are poor. As it may be seen, the rates of poverty among white women is twice lower (11.6%).
The fact is that, women are often paid less than men, even if they have the same jobs, work equal hours and have similar qualifications. Women, working full time get only 77 percent of the salary that men earn, also working full time. Thus, this 23 percent gap makes women poorer. This gap is reasoned not by the lack of training or qualification, but the banal discrimination. The researches reveal that in 2007, women with bachelor qualifications were paid 14% less than men with similar qualifications (Buvinic, 2007, p. 45).
Arguing on the matter of salary gap, it is emphasized that women are highly segregated, as they are paid less, and if the job is dominated by women, it is not originally highly paid. Women are tracked into such called Pink-Collar jobs: these are teaching, child care, nursing, cleaning, and waitressing, which are originally paid less, than the male-dominated jobs.
Taking into account the factor of marital status, it is well known that divorced women bear the childcare costs more often than the divorced men do. Women are more often subjected to unpaid care giving (children, disabled close people, sometimes animals etc.). Consequently that gender wage gap increases.
Luckily, this gap is not inevitable, and it has decreased for the recent 30 years. Currently, more women have an opportunity to get the desired job, and increase the welfare of their families. Nevertheless, this gap is still serious, and discrimination is high (Connolly, 2008, p. 67).
Positive Effects of Poverty
In spite of the fact that poverty touches women more severely, it is necessary to highlight that women often overcome the troubles and the consequences of poverty braver than men do. Originally, womens mind is more powerful, as they often have more reasons to live, and often have someone to take care of. Thus, women realize that someone else depends on them, and women often have more motivations to overcome the consequences and disasters of poverty.
Women who were not always poor struggle for the re-achievement of the welfare even more severely, as they feel the necessity and obligation to restore the wellbeing of their families. Those, who lost their jobs, and appeared at the poverty line are ready for almost everything in order to save the family life and the wellbeing of the family. They agree for physical and low paid jobs, if there are no other alternatives, they get employed for two or even three jobs, work over time and night shifts.
The stresses and constant loads (moral or physical) may have positive effects, as women may lose some weight, and achieve the perfect physical condition. Thus, when the disaster finishes, a women may have an improved figure, that she has always dreamt for. Poverty changes the view of the surrounding world, and often causes the changes in the attitude to other people. Anyway, overcoming difficulties is the life experience, that is the most precious thing in this life, as basing on the life experience people plan their further life, and try not to drop the same brick the next time.
Another fact, that may be attributed to positive effects of poverty among women, is that there are more homeless men, than women. Taking into consideration, that the percentage of poverty among women is higher than among men, this indicator is rather impressive. Consequently, it only confirms the statement, that women overcome the consequences and disaster of poverty more bravely.
Negative Effects
Poverty may have the opposite effect, and quite different reasons, if a women does not have anyone to give care to. These women are more subjected to drug and alcohol addiction, they ma commit suicide, or participate in street gangs. This effect changes to opposite depending on a factor of care giving, as the very nature of women is based on care giving.
The stories, that are represented in novels, movies, either real or fictional represent the women, who struggle for their own, and their families wellbeing. Surely, if there is a family there is strong motivation for taking care of it, and these women do everything possible to overcome poverty. Surely, there are also the exceptions, however these women are deprived the parents rights, and, finally, they do not have anyone to take care of, except pets.
Poverty among women frequently causes high rates of poverty among children. This mainly relates the latter examples, as children of the parents, whose parental rights were deprived, often do not wish to stay in the childrens houses, and escape to live in streets. This is the reason of childrens prostitution, high rates of death among children and, surely, crime among children (Dujon, 2006, p. 15).
As for the effects, which are not associated with family and care giving, there may be the effects, closely linked with health, fitness, appearance and others. Originally, poor people eat worse food than the others, as they can not afford the balanced healthy diet. Consequently, these people (not only women) gain or lose weight, acquire deceases such as tuberculosis, ulcer, skin deceases and others, closely linked with nutrition and living conditions. Most people move to cheaper apartments in order to be able to pay for them. It causes the psychological stress, which may give impulse for the development of some concealed decease. The new environment may contain offending allergens, parasites or other decease transmitting insects. The increased stress, long-lasting hunger, unfavorable environment may cause the stopping of the womens reproductive function, and cause other serious damages to health.
Effects on the Governmental Level
Poverty, as the national disaster requires the governmental solution, in order to have the essential effect. These solutions are often reasoned in the law projects, that include the child, unemployment allowances, allowances to mothers of large families and others. These are the significant attempts to overcome the poverty, however, they are often reasoned by the increased rates of poverty, as there is generally no need to pay allowances, if the rates are not too high. When the rates increase, the people become more unsatisfied, and government is forced to restore the financial balance by paying allowances.
These issues always reason the appearance of the corresponding legislative basement and the necessary experience for creating the further laws associated with the increase of welfare of the peoples (Dujon, 2006, p. 24).
The high rates of poor women reason the appearing of special hospitals, where the women may be granted qualified and free of charge medical assistance, especially if a woman has a suckling baby. Poor women are treated as the people entitled to special benefits, and have the advantages in employment, healthcare, legislative maintenance and other spheres of life. These women may buy the goods for the reduced prices, especially if they need to feed a kid, or several children.
Avoiding Poverty
The fact is that, poverty may be avoided, if both sides (citizens and government) are strongly intended to avoid it. Citizens should reasonably follow their finances and follow the financial situation in the country. Shortly, it is necessary not to spend money flippantly. The government, in its turn, should steadily develop the economy of the state, and do everything in order to increase the welfare of the majority of the citizens. Thus, the mutually supported actions may help to avoid poverty. However, there are still countries in the world, where the governments are not interested in the welfare of their peoples. Citizens of these States are obliged to everything in order to keep their families, and sometimes they commit crimes, or sell their organs for illegal transplantations. Poor women in these countries often do not have an opportunity to mind the rules of hygiene, and their children are often born with the inborn deficiencies, or serious deceases.
Conclusion
The effect of poverty on women may be either positive or negative. Actually, the positive impact is often indirect, and is often associated with the health or some benefits offered at the governmental level. As for the negative, they are also mainly indirect, and relate the issues of health, parental rights, living environment and stresses. Originally, all the consequences may be overcome, and the statistics show, that women are more powerful in overcoming the difficulties of poverty than men, and, it is necessary to mention that women often have more motivations to go on living, as they have someone to live for. Care giving is the womens nature, and this nature helps them to minimize the negative effects of poverty and survive during the disasters.
Finally, it is necessary to emphasize, that minimizing of the effects, that poverty may have, is the task of both sides citizens, and government, as only joint actions and strong determination may solve this serious problem.
References
Berrick, Jill Duerr. Faces of Poverty: Portraits of Women and Children on Welfare. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Buvinic, Mayra. Women in Poverty: A New Global Underclass. Foreign Policy 2007: 38
Connolly, Deborah R. Homeless Mothers: Face to Face with Women and Poverty. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2008.
Dujon, Diane, and Ann Withorn, eds. For Crying out Loud: Womens Poverty in the United States. Boston: South End Press, 2006.
Poverty and inequality are the main problems that affected the world today. Overpopulation and poverty manifest themselves most dramatically and visibly in the housing conditions of the cities. Those unable to afford regular housing, or to purchase undeveloped land, congregate in illegal or squatter settlements (shantytowns), especially around the major metropolises.
According to Sachs, the main causes of poverty are different economic development of the nations, legal and social problems, and the inability of small governments to fight diseases and improve medical services. The poverty that affects the urban poor is particularly felt by women, whose health and psyches are closely tied to their roles as wives and mothers. Violence, calamity, and fear have become part of the life of many urbanites in recent decades. Wars between nations, civil wars, revolutions, riots, and protests have all complicated life in the cities and compounded already pressing urban problems. Poverty is a result of corrupt leadership and retrograde cultures that impede modern development (Sachs 52). Depending on the specific country, numbers ranging from dozens to hundreds of thousands of persons have died as the result of violent conflicts. Even more, have been injured, and millions have become displaced persons, either internally or as official international refugees. People are the poorest of the poor, or the extremely poor of the planet. They all live in developing countries (poverty does exist in rich countries, but it is not extreme poverty) (Sachs, p. 14).
We should be concerned about world poverty because it influenced developed nations and their development. Poverty can be compared with diseases that affected third world countries and but infected the developed countries as well. In fact, there are millions of refugees in the Middle East, more than any other region in the world (a figure that does not include the millions displaced within countries). The struggle for power and control of governments is one of the most prominent issuesand conflictsfacing the world today. Headed by monarchies and dictatorships, and only a few democracies, the regions political systems are anachronistic compared to those in much of the world; and the people want a greater voice in their own destinies. In most cases, opposition to the government is led by specific groups, especially within cities and particularly in the national capitals. Examining a number of factors of urbanization, they emphasize that it is not simply urban growth and huge population increases that cause political unrest. Rather, specific grievances or sharp declines in the status quo (food prices or availability of employment opportunities in particular) are more significant (McKibben, p. 115).
In order to eliminate poverty countries should invest in medicine and healthcare, educate people about diseases and support local economies. The author suggests what factors will lead either to amelioration of problems, simmering (no improvement but no violence), or the outbreak of political violence. Migration continued unabated, fueled initially, by the new governments promises of land and housing in the cities. An extremely high rate of natural population growth also spurred urban expansion (Sachs, p. 74). The local government system, consisting of provincial local administration (an extension of the office of centrally appointed provincial government responsible for certain local functions), municipalities, and villages, was based on the principle of delegation, and not devolution, of authority. The duties of the local governmental units were delineated in great detail by numerous laws. The central government also had close control of the financial resources of the local governmental units (McKibben, p. 150).
Women are unable to achieve normal personhood through motherhood, their predicament highlights the cultural imperative of motherhood, the pressures that all women experience on the way to becoming full-fledged mothers, and the resultant desires of women to prove themselves productive in the reproductive realm, thereby tying their husbands with children. the gender politics of marriage among the urban poor, focusing explicitly on the identity and marital crises that revolve around the reproductive dilemmas of infertility and excess fertility. The truck could rush women with childbirth complications and children with acute complications of anemia to the hospital (Sachs, p. 253). Although most poor urban husbands do not exercise their socially sanctioned power and authority in the negative ways to be described in this paper, many still do, precipitating marital crises for their unempowered wives. Such conjugal crises will be described in the stories of two women, whose names and those of their husbands have been changed to protect their privacy. As a result, their children may be malnourished and sickly, and infant and child mortality is an experience common to many poor urban families.
The commercial portions of the informal sector are located largely in public space and at transportation nodes with high-density pedestrian traffic. Service portions are usually hidden from public view, especially those in the marginal, illegal, and female-based portions of the informal sector. Gender dimensions within the informal sector have generally been underestimated and unappreciated. Police intervention, licensing, and administrative supervision serve to fashion a position for the informal sector within the larger urban economy. The lack of alternative economic modes also serves to perpetuate it. As such, the informal sector can be defined as a special economic niche within a unitary but structurally diverse economic system, rather than part of a parallel or dual system. Participants in the informal sector follow highly patterned internal organization and regulation; it is not a spontaneous or unstructured activity, despite terminology suggesting the opposite. Some historical studies of the urban Middle East also show that the informal economy has been present in one degree or another for many centuries (McKibben, p. 160). The crisis facing modern cities is reflected in the health and nutritional status of their residents. Although economists may argue that household incomes are the most unambiguous measure of household well-being, many planners also consider health and nutritional status as key summary indicators of quality of life. Similar to income, health status and nutrition are not only outcome measures but they predict productivity and economic growth (Sachs, p. 78).
I agree with Sachss conclusions and suppose that massive investments in health, education, food security, and housing will be required if the continued urbanization is to be linked to economic growth and increased equity of access to the satisfaction of basic human needs. Much of the citys recent growth has been characterized by absorption of additional generations and population from the rural areas into old, dilapidated housing and even into structures not intended for permanent habitation; a large portion of new construction has been of the informal, wildcat type outside of oversight or adherence to health and safety standards. The shortage of housing units is more than a quarter-million by official estimates, and almost all of the poor population lives in substandard housing. The pressure on housing has resulted in the utilization of practically every available space within the city for human dwelling purposes. Analysis of large-scale trends and statistics related to urban crisis reveals important information about major migrations, population shifts, and economic interactions, but it also necessarily neglects the microlevel politics of individual daily lives and routine relationships (Sachs, p. 77). By examining a movement such as the new veiling in Cairo through a small-scale study, we can better understand important aspects of these larger trends. Peoples own accounts of the crises they face in their everyday lives emerge, allowing us to understand in concrete terms how political change is played out and giving us important new information about abstractions such as Islamic fundamentalism, population explosion, mass poverty, and urban crisis. By listening to women in the lower-middle class, it is possible to see the realities of urban crisis and political change. The degree to which these pressure points are problematic can vary from high to medium to low, and they tend to vary between large and small to medium-sized cities as well as between cities in developing countries and those in developed countries. Hence, we find that all of the pressure points, except for recreation and crime, are high for the large cities in developing countries; but only energy, education, and health are high-pressure points for small and medium-sized cities in developing countries. The cities of the Middle East would generally fit this pattern, except that crime is probably a low-pressure point even in the largest cities. Perhaps the result of strong family values and the pervasive moral influence of Islam, the low crime rate is at least one positive attribute of Middle Eastern cities compared not only to the rest of the developing world but to the developed world as well, where street crime is one of the worst urban problems.
References
McKibben, Bill. Deep Economy. Times Books, 2007.
Sachs, Jeffrey. The End of Poverty. Penguin, 2005.
21.4% of the total population live below poverty line.
Weather:
High summer temperatures;
Frosts in July and August;
Heavy rainfall in Amazon all year round.
Economy:
Brazils cities generate 90% of GDP;
The industrial sector, manufacturing and agricultural sectors steer the economy of the country.
Definition of Vicious Cycle
The vicious circle of poverty is a circular constellation of forces that tend to act and react on each other in such a way that the country in poverty maintains its poor state (Katel, Kregel & Reinert, 2009, p. 102).
How Different Aspects Interact to Form the Vicious Cycle
Economic Production;
Environment;
Income Distribution;
Resources;
Sustainable development;
High capital per income;
Equity in income distribution;
Environmental protection;
Participation;
Aspects of Socio-physical development (Ascher & Healy, 1990).
Main Environmental Challenges in Brazil
Deforestation:
The leading environmental problem in the country.
Prevalent in the Atlantic forest and the Amazon rainforest (Fearnside & Barbosa, 1996).
Deforestation occurs due to credit policies, road and construction, land tenure, and demand for soy, beef and milk.
Economic forces such as land distribution also lead to deforestation.
Causes floods in these areas
Air pollution:
Prevalent in main Brazilian cities (Salati, 2007).
Mainly due to industrialization and the transport sector.
A law to auto emissions was established to control air pollution back in 1993.
Nevertheless, vehicle-based emissions are still on the rise.
Waste Disposal:
No connections to sewerage systems (Laurance & Fearnside, 2002) i.e. 75 million of citizens who live in metropolitan areas do not have sewage treatment
Poor Sanitation: 20 million citizens who live in metropolitan areas lack running water
Poor waste management:
60 million in urban areas stay with uncollected garbage.
Despite the growing sanitary coverage of the Brazilian residents, Brazils city administrations dispose these wastes poorly after collecting them.
Vicious Cycle of Poverty in Brazil
No funds for protection against the effects of pollution or for immediate treatment.
Reside in overcrowded areas.
Exposure to diseases such as diarrhea, typhoid, or parasitic infection.
Lack adequate water supply, sanitation services and systems of waste disposal.
Brazil Economy and link to Environmental Issues, Poverty and Institutions
Developments in industrial sector and road infrastructure.
Uneven income distribution and geographic segmentation.
Pollution from industries and transport sector.
Lack sufficient funds to seek care and treatment.
Establishment and Fall of institutions meant to control pollution (e.g the Plan for the Acceleration of Growth that lasted until 2011).
Exposure to diseases such as diarrhea, typhoid, or parasitic infection.
Suggestions
Government/environmental management should take an integrated approach to solve the problem of deforestation, air pollution and waste disposal i.e.:
Integrating environmental activities with activities in other segments, or
Integrating sector policies and environmental policies.
E.g., at the civic level, transport and urban services planning can be upgraded to cut down urban congestion, sprawl and air pollution.
Also, campaigns against deforestation can be included in the themes of civil planning.
Government to focus on activities that bridge the gap between the rich and the poor to reduce overexploitation of natural resources e.g.:
Educational policies aimed at encouraging the poor to acquire education;
Policies that promote health assistance among the poor: By bridging this gap, there will be reduced scramble for natural resources such as land for farming and this will in turn reduce deforestation.
Expected Issues while Implementing Suggestions
Lack of cooperation, or commitment from other sectors;
Inadequate funds to implement environmental policies along with sector polices;
Insufficient personnel to conduct awareness campaigns.
References
Ascher, W., & Healy, R. (1990). Natural resource policymaking in developing countries: Environment, economic growth, and income distribution. Durham: Duke University Press.
Fearnside, P. & Barbosa, R. (1996). Political benefits as barriers to assessment of environmental costs in Brazils Amazonian development planning the example of the Jatapu Dam in Roraima. Environmental Management, 20 (5), 615-630.
Katel, R., Kregel, J. & Reinert, E. (2009). RagnarNurkse: Trade and Development. London: Anthem Press.
Laurance, W. & Fearnside, P. (2002). Issues in Amazonian development. Science, 295 (27), 1643-1655.
Salati, E. (2007).Relevant environmental issues. EstudosAvancados, 21(56), 107-127.
One of the main problems in the world is the problem of poverty, which means the inability to provide the simplest and most affordable living conditions for most people in a given country. High levels of poverty, especially in developing countries, pose a serious threat to national and global sustainable development. The U.S.A. is one of the worlds richest, most powerful, and technologically innovative countries; the UN expert stressed that neither the countrys wealth nor its strength nor its technologies is used to help 40 million people who live in poverty. In order to investigate this phenomenon in the U.S.A., this paper aims to define the problem, provide evidence, suggest a hypothesis, and represent data collection and analysis methods.
Problem
The problem of poverty is a complex multidimensional problem, the causes of which are both national and international. Economically, the United States is a powerful power, and the GDP per capita in this country is one of the highest in the world. In the USA, the income gap has been widening greatly since the 70s of the twentieth century (Van Heuvelen & Brady, 2022). According to the US Federal Reserve report, in 2020, the total wealth of one percent of the richest Americans amounted to 30.5 percent of all household assets in the US, and the condition of the poorest 50 percent of the countrys population was only 1.9 percent. In the USA, there are about 40 million beggars, about 500 thousand homeless, and more than a million people are malnourished (Creamer et al., 2022). The concern caused by the problem is explained not only and not so much by the fact that it hinders global development, diverts funds from more profitable areas of capital application from the point of view of economic efficiency.
Literature Review
The rapidly widening gap between rich and poor in the United States is a sign of a deep crisis of the neoliberal capitalist order. Privatization, marketization, and liberalization are quite active in the country, which meets the interests of the rich and their groups of influence and not the wishes of the majority. American politicians like to use the concepts of equality and justice to prove the superiority of the American system (Van Heuvelen & Brady, 2022). However, the facts show that American interest groups pay attention only to protecting the interests and improving the condition of the rich, without putting the poor in anything.
The monetarist concept of the United States has led to the fact that poverty in the country is becoming more and more commonplace every year. Currently, due to the next economic crisis in the country, the unemployment rate is rising sharply, and several tens of millions of Americans live below the poverty line about a third of the US population (Desmond & Western, 2018). According to the latest data from the US Census Bureau, published in September 2017, more than 40 million people live in poverty in the US one in eight Americans; 18.5 million US citizens live in extreme poverty (Creamer et al., 2022). Neither the countrys wealth, nor its strength, nor its technology are being used to help the 40 million people who live in poverty (Creamer et al., 2022). It means that the USA, which is a land of opportunity , is turning into a champion of inequality.
Hypothesis
If the return on capital corresponds to productivity growth, the poverty level is likely to diminish. The dependent variable here is poverty, as its degree entirely depends on return on capital which is the independent variable, and productivity growth. The connection between these variables is conditioned by the idea that the more money and the less efficiency there are, the more people are exposed to unemployment as the upper class rules the capital.
Data Collection and Analysis
The research will incorporate qualitative and quantitative data that will be collected from local community residents. The sample of 150 individuals will be given a questionnaire to assess specific tendencies, including their perception of their lifestyle, employment, education, and others. This will help address the qualitative component of the research. Based on the gathered information, numerical data will arise, providing statistical information about the general tendencies in the chosen community. The percentage will be calculated to measure the potential trends in poverty development in the country.
Conclusion
Poverty is one of those global challenges, the search for an answer to which the world community will have to search for more than one decade. It is projected onto the economy, social relations, politics, and culture; it directly affects such basic characteristics of any persons life as health status and level of education. Due to high market capitalization, almost 40 million people are affected by it in the U.S. The current research aims to evaluate the problem of poverty in the U.S.A. showing current trends using a local community sample individuals who will be given a questionnaire. The primary attention will be paid to the actor of capitalization and employment as the hypothesis concerns the level of return of capital and productivity growth affecting the degree of poverty.
References
Van Heuvelen, T., & Brady, D. (2022). Labor unions and American poverty. ILR Review, 75(4), 891917. Web.
Desmond, M., & Western, B. (2018). Poverty in America: New directions and debates. Annual Review of Sociology, 44, 305-318. Web.
