Wealth Disparity & Potential to Contribute

Since every blog has at least one great rant... here it is!

Something that has always been a concern of mine is the welfare of others. Whether it's someone I know, someone from around the world, or even an animal, their well-being is important to me. Now, I understand that there are limitations to what you can do for others but I find myself questioning why people in positions of power and wealth do not step up to do more. Recently there has been a lot of talk and tension about the wealth disparity in America. Between the Occupy Movement, disgruntled workers, and major progress in humanitarian advocacy it seems that the general public is beginning to catch on to these issues and injustices.

After learning about all of these issues regarding poverty and the 1% living so well off while the 99% lives on so much less, not to mention those living below the line of poverty; it has become quite apparent that one of the main problems preventing us from finding a solution is the lack of awareness. You cannot fix a problem until you know that it exists. And not only that, but you also have to understand the extent to which the problem exists. I strongly believe that if people could see the degrees of poverty that individuals are forced to endure on a daily basis, they would be more motivated to provide assistance.

While advocacy and awareness are all very important, in all honesty, I strongly believe that a great deal of the problems in poverty could be alleviated if those living well beyond their means chipped in. If a millionaire donated just 1% of their income that would be $10,000. Just to put that in perspective, you all have heard those commercials that say you can feed a child in poverty for 10 cents a day. Think about the difference that could make. I'm no math major but if you took that $10,000 and you used it to feed children at the 10 cent rate, you could feed 100,000 kids.

Crazy right? But it definitely puts things in perspective. 

Causes of Poverty

There are three main and inarguable causes of poverty. The first being scarcity of basic needs. Poverty has been present from the beginning of time. There has always been someone who had less than the majority and was struggling to survive. Much of the scarcity lies in developing countries where there is a lack of a secure infrastructure can support the development of a populations needs. In these poverty stricken countries it is difficult to find clean water, shelter, food or health care. Not only is it difficult to find these necessities, it is often times unavailable and the natives are forced to endure the effects and drawbacks of an underdeveloped country without any assistance or hope for the future. Often times these effects include starvation, high rates of disease and death, overpopulation due to the lack of access of birth control, power struggles such as discrimination, rape, violence, etc.

            The second cause of poverty is barriers to opportunity. Individuals living in poverty do not have the same opportunities as those living in the developed world. They cannot simply walk to a business, fill out an employment application and expect to get hired and begin making money in a few weeks’ time. Not only are employment options scarce, they are often times non-existent. In addition to being unable to find a means through which to earn monetary funds, there is also the issue of literacy. For most cases, you must be fairly literate in order to effectively maintain employment. Often times, there is a small majority of people who are lucky enough to attend an educational institution however the effectiveness of these institutions cannot provide one with the education necessary to compete for a mainstream job in the developed world. Not only is there a lack of opportunity that leads to poverty, it is as if these people living in the third world are actually set up to be born and remain in poverty because of these issues.

            The third cause of poverty is debt. Due to international inequality, developing countries are forced to repay their debts to richer countries, which can essentially push them even deeper into poverty. Not only are they expected to pay back their loans as well as any other debts they may have, they are also expected to maintain all other conditionalities that these developed countries have employed. For example, many times these conditionalities include Liberalization of trade; or in other words, it calls for fewer governmental regulations and restrictions in the economy. While this seems like it could be a good idea to encourage more economic traffic; which would lead to an increased money flow, it actually has many potential risks and more often than not, results in adverse effects.

What Is Poverty?

Poverty is a big problem that can be found pretty much anywhere in the world and it has been going on since the beginning of time. There is no single or fully effective solution to it and it seems as if it is just about impossible to resolve. Recent efforts in international aid have made an impact, but there is still a lot left to be accomplished. Poverty is such a significant problem because it encompasses so much; such as hunger, shelter, lack of health care, disease, clean water, etc. Although much has been done in the way of making an effort to send aid and alleviate some of the problems, the fact that over 1 billion people in the world are currently living in poverty still remains.

In layman’s terms, poverty can be defined as the lack of basic human needs, such as clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter, because of the inability to afford them. The World Bank defines poverty as the “pronounced deprivation in well-being, and comprises many dimensions. It includes low incomes and the inability to acquire the basic goods and services necessary for survival with dignity. Poverty also encompasses low levels of health and education, poor access to clean water and sanitation, inadequate physical security, lack of voice, and insufficient capacity and opportunity to better one’s life.”

            The way in which we go about measuring poverty is by the poverty line. The poverty line is the level of income necessary to achieve the basic standard of living that is provided be each individual country. In 2008 the World Bank came out with the figure of $1.25 to represent the poverty line. These measurements are kept in perspective by indicators. Some of these indicators include income shares, poverty gaps at national, rural, and urban poverty lines, as well as poverty headcount ratios.