Poverty.

Poverty - Money Matters.

This post is about poverty. Poverty is a curse. It has no borders and it affects people of every country. Poverty is the result of a combination of factors, most of which are man-made and some due to destiny. People stricken with poverty have a miserable life. With no money to buy food, starvation manifests in varying forms and degrees.

Studying poverty isn't easy because it is macro in nature. It is certainly macro for the poor countries and also for the developing countries. If only few people are poor in a country, then by any yardstick that country is not considered poor. When percentage of poor people are more, the country has poverty.

The Dangers of Poverty.

Poverty is dangerous because it can create unrest in human societies by making people suffer for indefinite time. When people suffer the wrath of poverty for a long time, they become prone to all negative things. They become sick, remain uneducated, live unhygienic life, become malnourished and finally become adapted to poverty which is why it is dangerous. When people adapt themselves to a negative way of living, they never come out of it. When they teach what they know to their children, their sad story continues.

The Root Cause of Poverty.

Poverty is the result of many debilitating factors which keep on afflicting people. Some of these factors are:

(1) Poor education and lack of quality skills: Poor education is a major reason for poverty. Lack of quality education deprives people from getting skilled for livelihood. Being skilled for livelihood means to become employable. Only quality education can make people employable. The purpose of education is to make a person skilful enough to pursue his career and to make a living. But education alone is not enough. There are many qualities other than a university degree which makes a person employable. Employability is a combination of skills, professionalism and trustworthiness and is indeed a deciding factor in overcoming poverty. A person may be graduate, but if he is unemployable, then his education has no meaning. Unfortunately, there are many unemployed graduates who are suffering because they are unemployable. They have university degrees to show but have less skills for jobs.

(2) Corruption and erosion in social and moral values: Corruption makes people poor. This may seem to be a statement which has no proofs, but it is true. Corruption begins when there is an erosion in the ethical and moral values. When people resort to unethical practices to make money fast, they invariably land in trouble. Unlawful practices ditch people into the gloom of poverty from where they cannot escape easily.

(3) Lack of opportunities to earn money: It is true that many people lack opportunities to work and earn money. This may be because of the geographical location in which they are staying or due to reasons which they cannot control on their own. For example, cities have more jobs than villages. A competent person living in a village lacks opportunities which a city provides.

(4) Poor policies of the government: Poor policies for education, employment, healthcare etc are often blamed for the growth in poverty. As policies are framed and implemented by the incumbent government, they affect the livelihood of people in a negative way if not done properly. Poverty cannot be eradicated easily. A lot of planning is required. A genuine political will can bring positive change in the life of people. A responsible government can do a lot to reduce poverty, because they have the authority to frame and implement policies for the welfare of their citizens.

(5) Lack of resources: Lack of resources is yet another reason for poverty. When resources are limited, people cannot prosper. Resources could be anything which is required for the development of people living in a particular area, province or state. Resources also mean individual resources which are necessary for personal growth.

(6) Mismanagement of resources: Mismanaged resources are more harmful for development and it is a sure way to become poor. Resources are often limited and so should be used with discipline. Mismanagement can happen at any point during the mobilization of resources. It can happen as a human error. Natural resources, for instance, are the most mismanaged assets on earth.

(7) Over population: Over population too contributes to poverty. Over population could create scarcity of resources and may affect the availability of fuel, electricity, food, water etc. Overpopulation has many reasons: lack of education is one. Uneducated people tend to have more children. When resources are limited and children are more, all of them suffer poverty.

(8) Inflation: Inflation makes people poor. Inflation affects those people who have limited income. It affects them more who cannot control their expenditures. Inflation always hurts the poor and makes them more poor.

(9) Lack of planning: Poverty has to be managed trough planning. Lack of planning derails the economy. Planning is the responsibility of the government, who are the policymakers. Good governance is not possible if planning is poor. Planning is a difficult task, especially when the economy is weak and when poverty is widespread.

(10) Natural calamities: Natural calamities affect people's lives adversely. While their contribution to poverty has not been fully studied, they can bring severe changes in the environment and thereby affect people's lives. The exploitation of natural resources has increased nature's fury. Global warming is inviting calamities and we can see them increase every year. Calamities can destroy man-made assets in minutes and could make people poor.

Why Overcoming Poverty is a Challenge?

Poverty is a complex issue. It is like a chronic infection. When some infection sets in, the body may not feel any discomfort for a few days and when it becomes big enough to start causing trouble that we realise that something is really wrong. Poverty acts much like this. Initially, people may not realise the consequences of some minor changes happening to them financially, and when they do, the problem might have become big enough for them to handle. When this becomes the common scenario for some percentage of the population, it turns out to be a challenge to overcome.

A government cannot do much to eradicate poverty if it is too much. Poor countries face the most challenge, because it is a chronic problem for them. Even rich nations have this problem, but they can manage it better. Converting poverty into riches isn't easy. When millions of people live in poverty, the government has a tough task to bring them into the mainstream. Problems emerge every time when they start planning. There are many pressing problems. There are many families who live below the poverty line which means that there are too many people who need support. The following questions may arise in such a scenario:

(1) What can the government do to help the poor?

(2) Can the poor be given jobs? If so, what jobs could be given to them?

(3) Are they employable?

(4) What are the plans to reduce poverty?

(5) How are they going to be implemented?

(6) From where will the government get resources to fund these plans?

These are the questions which often go unanswered. Welfare activities need a lot of funds. When government expenditure increases on projects which are not essential, they run short of funds for the important ones. As this goes on, the government becomes incapable of managing resources for the most essential needs of its citizens. This is the reason why poverty becomes a herculean task for the government to win over.

Measures to Reduce Poverty.

Cursing about poverty will not reduce it. Neither will it subside by probing about its causes or reasons. Poverty can be reduced only by implementing plans which are practical and easy to follow. Plans which are created with a sincere intention of helping the poor to get rid of their problems of livelihood, will show results if implemented with that spirit.

The government should show genuine interest in welfare activities which includes educating people about policies which help them to overcome poverty. The government should give priority to the welfare of the poor and fund appropriately for the projects which really help them. Projects and undertakings aimed at reducing poverty may include literacy programs, subsidised food and healthcare, employment through low skill jobs, etc.

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The previous post was: Are personal loans useful?

The next post is: The savings bank account.

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