The Economics and Causes of Poverty

Even though I believe that perhaps a little bit of each question is incorporated into each week's lesson, this week there was one that completely made me rethink that I had written on it before and that was number two.

1)      Who do you think is poor, both in the United States and globally?

 

In a certain way, I think that a family who is living on one salary or maybe even two part time jobs would be poor here, and most definitely in another country with their income being much lower. Also, maybe someone who is not necessarily not educated but was living in the wrong neighborhood at a wrong time, would be prone to poverty because based on economic status and way of life they would not be eligible to as many opportunities. Another answer to this question could be someone who has come from a bad family, or has had a bad family history either due to violence, low income, or drugs; although these seem so far fetched, they could easily later on in life lead to many problems, one being poverty.

2)      Why do you believe people are poor in the United States and globally?

 

 

At first I though and had said that people were poor for many different reasons, but the one I thought to be most true was because there was a lack of motivation in those people to get out and get jobs and move forward. After the lessons this week, I also would like to add that perhaps it is because they do not have the right education to be able to get out and get started. Or also, because the nation or world's economy at that time is at a low point, making it hard for the average person to get by, and nearly impossible for an already poor person. I hadn't taken into perspective how important the economic status of a nation was on the poverty rate for that place. Of course if that nation (such as ours right now) is in a recession, then it will be incredibly hard for someone to be able to finish an education and be able to get a somewhat well paying job when you are competing against hundreds of people who are perhaps better qualified then those others for that job. The higher and better the economic status, the more the poverty rate will decrease and allow for improvement. 

  

4)      What do you personally think should be done about poverty in United States and globally (e.g., specific private and government policies, programs, etc. that you would recommend)?

 

  I think that now that our very own nation is going through a recession we have a better understanding of knowing what it is like to have to get by without certain things and perhaps "luxuries" that we were once used to. Now would be the best time to address poverty in our nation as well as others and have people maybe be more understanding about the situation and want to try and help out more. Even though we are on a decline financially, there are still plenty of people out there making a lot more money than the average person who could do a lot like volunteer time to help these poor people our of the poverty world, and also donate money and supplies to those whose job is making sure poor people get out of bad neighborhoods and into a job or school.