Poverty and unemployment go hand-in-hand, and this relationship is important to remember when trying to create solutions for the the two global issues of unemployment and poverty.
Poverty is often defined by economists and social workers with reference to certain basic amenities such as food, floor space per person, medical care, etc. When a family lacks these basic amenities, it is considered poor, regardless of its income.
As a result, a large number of people still live below the poverty line. Economic inequalities are most obviously shown by people’s different positions within the economic distribution – income, pay, wealth.
However, poverty and inequality are not just economic issues. They are ethical issues as well. When we see people suffering from materially and psychologically desperate conditions, we are compelled to act.
POVERTY. Poverty is often defined by economists and social workers with reference to certain basic amenities such as food , floor space per person , medical care, etc. When a family lacks these basic amenities, it is considered poor, regardless of its income.
An alternative approach is to define poverty “in terms of both minimum needs of food consumption”, or, more specifically, calorie or nutrition requirements to sustain life are determined first. This is then converted into an income level for a particular base year.
The Fifth Plan stated that a higher rate of growth of national income would itself enlarge employment opportunities and, hence, standards of living of poor masses. But this did not happen. In a society characterised by gross inequality in the distribution of assets, economic growth itself failed to reduce poverty.
Economic inequalities are most obviously shown by people’s different positions within the economic distribution – income, pay, wealth. However, people’s economic positions are also related to other characteristics, such as whether or not they have a disability, their ethnic background, or whether they are a man or a woman. While The Equality Trust recognises the importance of these measures, the focus of our work is specifically the gap between the well-off and the less well-off in the overall economic distribution. This is reflected in the choice of terms and statistics in this section.
Because of illiteracy, population growth among the poor masses is high. Above all, as they consider male child an asset, they enlarge the size of their families. Obviously, with little employment and bigger families, incomes per head of the family are inadequate even to meet the basic needs.
Tax evasion has led to the growth of black money in a reckless speed. This black income is owned by the high income group people. This regressive tax structure is contributing greatly to fuel the inflationary fire. Inflation tends to widen economic inequality.
The economic problem exists because, although the needs and wants of people are endless, the resources available to satisfy needs and wants are limited.
1. The Loss of Income. The obvious, straightforward answer of how unemployment creates poverty is through the loss of income. With joblessness comes a loss of income, and many families are left without sufficient ...
With high levels of crime, educational attainment and the access to health care are also negatively affected. As education and health are two main factors affecting poverty, violence creates a further downward spiral after unemployment. 4. Long-term Unemployment.
This creates negative long-term effects on the economy such as high levels of youth unemployment around the world. Youth unemployment today will decrease the incomes of future retirees and increase the burden on the government. 2. Perpetuating the Poverty Cycle. With current levels of youth unemployment increasing the chances ...
Once individuals are unemployed, the risk of falling into long-term unemployment rises. It’s been found that the characteristics of living in poor neighborhoods create a poverty trap as families don’t have the necessary tools to become employed.
While the previous examples explain how unemployment creates poverty directly through affecting income, it also leads to increases in criminal activity. Areas with high levels of unemployment, especially youth unemployment, have been found to have higher levels of crime and vandalism.
With current levels of youth unemployment increasing the chances of poverty in the future, the burden to work is more heavily placed on future generations. With unemployment shocks such as this, individuals remain in a poverty cycle. In a Brazilian case study, unemployment of parents was shown to place significant stress on the children ...
Unemployment creates a lack of financial stability, leading to a downwards spiral in social mobility and eventually poverty. The unemployed will have a lower standard of living than most employed people. Lack of a regular income leads to the inability to be able to maintain the basic needs, including fundamental provisions such as eating healthy ...
Lack of a regular income leads to the inability to be able to maintain the basic needs, including fundamental provisions such as eating healthy foods, buying into health care and providing adequate heating for the home. While there are many types of poverty, the reasons behind poverty are always a lack of money.
Equal and fair provision of educational services, however, can rectify issues of inequality. Education can also promote bonding of different groups when it draws children of different social, cultural and economic backgrounds.
A social development paradigm with an emphasis on pro-poor growth is replacing the trickle-down industrialization model. Eradicating poverty and rectifying extreme levels of inequality go hand in hand with economic growth. It is true that a broad-based participation of people in productive activities can increase a nation’s total output ...
Again, education is perhaps one of the most important public policies to address inequality and trust.
Universal access to education and a fair society are not just about promoting economic growth. They are about ensuring human dignity. These challenges call upon our sense of ethical responsibility. Inequality also tests our ethics. Inequality is not just about income gaps. We may not value the same things in life.
Still, an extreme income gap in a society and between societies is alarming because it could erode social cohesion—a basic sense of trust between people who do not know each other.
However, poverty and inequality are not just economic issues. They are ethical issues as well.