Viewpoints Chapter 10

POVERTY

Poverty is relative shortage or lack on the same continuum as wealth. It is a matter of degree, not the simple presence of a condition. To a large extent, it lies in the mind of the perceiver. Nevertheless, its causes and consequences are real.

The point that defines ‘the poverty line’ is arbitrary and depends on the environment of the individual. One can only compare people and communities on the basis of per-capita income in the same circumstances: A person trying to live on $100 per week in New York is far worse off than another on $10 in many African countries.

Poverty is comparative and relative to personal expectations. It can also be voluntary. For these reasons, it cannot be classified as a universal evil and must always be considered in the light of preferences and consequences.

Some Signs and Implications of Poverty

Limited power

Misery, hunger, inability to afford medical treatment

Unsanitary or dilapidated living conditions

Inadequate resources to seize opportunities

Lack of material comfort

Inability to satisfy basic wants

Living on the edge with no reserves

Observations

It is hard work to be poor when your needs exceed your means.

Poverty tends to be defined in materialistic terms because the other conditions of ‘deprivation’ have special names such as ill health, loneliness, hopelessness and lack of meaning.

Causes of Poverty

It is important for the victim to understand the causal chain, including the situations and actions that led to poverty in the given instance, and distinguish this from any reasons for the decisions he made along the way. The purpose of such an exercise is learning and enlightenment, not defensiveness. His own decisions may or may not have been reasonable at the time and circumstances might have been foreseeable or unavoidable. Nevertheless, if there is a way out, a sustainable better quality of life is much more likely to be achieved with objectivity and complete honesty with oneself. Some of the more immediate possible causes may include

Ignorance and lack of education

Laziness

Debt

Drinking, gambling, smoking, obsessive and impulse buying

Misfortune

Unjustifiably optimistic decision-making

Consuming one’s capital

Wastage of money and resources – usage patterns, shopping habits

Low income due to weak bargaining position

Too many dependants on too little family income

Capitalism and wide income disparity

An ‘all or nothing’ unemployment policy

Imposed government burdens

Some Partial Remedies for Involuntary Poverty

Charity

Government support

Need management: Questioning our values and criteria

Education and practical skill development

Taking care of the basics

Economising techniques

Economising Techniques

Research and compare.

Buy non-perishable consumables in bulk.

Buy quality items second hand rather than inferior items new.

Learn to do it yourself: Some tasks need a trained professional, but often the cost of hiring one is much greater than the expense of buying the necessary tools and materials.

Fix it - don’t replace it unless it is beyond economic repair.

Don’t buy false economy. There is no point in buying perishable items in bulk at 20% discount if half of them go bad before you can use them.

Share and borrow.

Don’t accumulate ballast: It costs to store it.

Insure only what you cannot afford to lose.

Avoid ‘advertised gimmick items’ of untested quality.

Don’t pay for ‘brand labels’ where the quality is not known to be proportionally better.

It is important to remain aware that between bare survival and the ideal lies the adequate. Between the shoddy and the elite lies the effective. Between the shabby and the exquisite lies the elegant. It is rarely necessary to be at the upper extreme and the added cost usually far outweighs the extra benefit.

Poverty and Politics

You cannot eliminate poverty by force. Attempts to eradicate it by taking from productive people what is beyond their defined needs and transferring it to the poor have invariably been self-defeating because they tend to act as a disincentive to effort and initiative resulting in a decline in the welfare of the whole community. This, however, does not mean that nothing can be done.

The problem of poverty in developed countries is fundamentally different from that of people in the ‘third world’. In developed countries it is more often the outcome of involuntary exclusion from the productive system or unrestricted economic rationalism that results in enormous disparity of incomes for the same input of time. Nevertheless, only the minority suffers serious hardship. In the ‘third world’ great differences in wealth also exist, but the causes of poverty are usually attributable to lack of system development whereby the majority are adversely affected.

Conclusion

Poverty is not a problem that can be eradicated on a community-wide basis, and its incidence and typical causes differ with levels of economic development. In more advanced countries there is no single universal reason for its existence and each case must be considered on an individual basis. The victim may be responsible to a degree, but blame is not a useful response to the predicament. However, uncovering and understanding the causal chain can be an important step towards a lasting solution. In each case, a variety of avenues can be explored and various economising techniques may contribute to relief. A minority of those caught in the poverty trap can work their own way out; some are able to do so with assistance, but unfortunately the majority are unlikely to attain more than a basic level of subsistence even with community support.