Life without certain properties would be really difficult to maintain. The world is a place where about 7.125 billion people live as of 2013. At nearly half, 3 billion people live in poverty, living on less than $2.50 a day; More than 1 billion live on $1.25 a day. According to The United Nations Children’s Fund, 22,000 children die each day due to poor living conditions (Eleven). People all over the world are helping other countries in many ways by providing things that they are in need of, but not enough people are helping. We, the United States of America have an obligation to help the rest of the world out of poverty. In March of 2017, it was recorded that about 127.5 million people were employed working on a fulltime basis of at least …show more content…
For those who believe in Jesus Christ, the Bible says “But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?” and the Bible is a book of wisdom (John 3:17). Do not take my word, however for those who believe in Christ, this is what he says about being selfish. Being selfish is not a good characteristic to have, especially as a country. With great power comes great responsibility; In the 2010 the United States used about 275 billion gallons of surface water per day, and about 79.3 billion gallons of groundwater per day (Perlman). We should ship water to countries like Africa who are in need of it; The average person uses about 90 gallons of water a day. It’s a good idea, however shipping plentiful amounts of water can be very costly. The amount of water that we would ship would be multiple payloads of water, which would be an enormous amount of weight. On average it would be around $2,500 to ship 100 pounds of water to Zimbabwe from here (The UPS Store). Many countries are in need of water to drink, to clean with, etc., but they will need a lot of it and that will be a lot of money to let that happen. Aware of the cost, the people who are living in poverty are human beings who deserve the same rights as anyone else. If we have the ability to help then what is stopping us? There is a verse in the Bible about obligation that says “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay” (Matthew 10:8). As a country that is not living in poverty, we have an obligation to help since we have the ability
One day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is not a book about a superhuman. It is not a story about someone who is weaker and more desperate than everyone else. It is not a tale of greatness, nor is it about extraordinary faults. Instead, Aleksander Solzhenitsyn chose to center his story around Ivan denisovich Shukhov, an average, unnoticeable Russian prisoner.
Many people have different opinions when it comes to dealing with poverty around the world. It is easy for those who live in rich, first world countries to sit back and ignore the problem that is at hand, however it is a better idea to examine the problem and look at possible solutions. Some liberal arguments try to convince people that a world food bank needs to be set up in order to solve the hunger problem on Earth, while others believe that by doing this we are only enabling these poor countries to stay hungry. At first glance, it seems that the obvious and correct way to deal with the situation would be to set up a world food bank. Wouldn’t the rich countries be selfish to not share some of the unneeded wealth that they have acquired? Many groups and organizations have investigated the future impacts of acting in favor or against the poor, and reasoning shows us that certain actions could be devastating. Although it sounds morbid and cruel, setting up a food bank would only bring the world as a whole down.
Peter Singer, in his influential essay “Famine, Affluence and Poverty”, argues that affluent people have the moral obligation to contribute to charity in order to save the poor from suffering; any spending on luxuries would be unjustified as long as it can be used to improve other’s lives. In developing his argument, Singer involves one crucial premise known as the Principle of Sacrifice—“If it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, we ought, morally, to do it” . To show that such principle has the property to be held universal, Singer refers to a scenario in which a person witnesses a drowning child. Most people, by common sense, hold that the witness has the moral duty to rescue the child despite some potential costs. Since letting people die in poverty is no different from watching a child drowning without offering any help, Singer goes on and concludes that affluent people have the moral duty to keep donating to the poor until an increment of money makes no further contribution.
Poverty has been a growing problem in America, and it most likely will never stop being one. Someone who is identified as being in poverty lives beneath the poverty line determined by the Federal government. The poverty line in 2015 for a family of four was $24,250. These are the people who are really considered poor. Poverty isn’t just a problem in the United States; in fact, other countries struggle just as much, if not more, than the United States does. Many people struggle to keep themselves above the government’s poverty line, shown by the fact that the percent of poor people in America hasn’t drastically changed over the years. However, it is possible to get out of, and ultimately stay out of, poverty.
There are many people around the world who are in need of altruistic people in their lives. Some long for help, other loathe it. Either way, since we have been given so much and others have so little, it is our job to help provide for those people. It is our job to make sure that we are not being selfish and taking more than we need instead of spreading the wealth throughout the impoverished world. The only way our world will ever step toward better lives for everyone is if we all stop being selfish and distribute the wealth and happiness we have been given.
Famine is a problem which occurs worldwide, but just every other natural disaster where people are suffering we are not able to send aid every time nor should we be obligated to. We truly do feeling for those whom have been affect by such catastrophe, but to ask for help every single time is just too much. We should be allowed to donate as we please, for we have entitlement rights which enables us to use our earning as we like. I personally believe that we do not have an obligation to provide aid for famine relief because we deserve what we earned, famine is no different from any other natural disaster, and people already give enough out of goodwill.
Many people do not realize that there are tens of millions of people in America who are living in poverty because they are stuck on the fact that America is one of the richest nations. People who are living in poverty barely have enough money to survive on basic necessities like food, shelter and electricity. They often have a hectic schedule filled with work, school, or other activities that they have to do in order for them to live a somewhat stable life. Unfortunately, there are others who are living in poverty that may be ill or disabled and barely able to survive even if they are receiving money to help with their situation. There are a few programs that help those in poverty with their financial problems, but they only help them to a certain extent. Changes need to be done to help alleviate the poverty rate because these people should not have to deal with all of these hardships or have such a negative perspective of life. Therefore, America can reduce its poverty by raising the minimum wage, making health care more accessible, and by making child care more affordable. These solutions will be a great start to reducing poverty and they will lead America into a brighter future.
In the face of media campaigns and political sanctions, the question about whether we owe the global poor assistance and rectification is an appropriate one. Despite television advertisements displaying the condition of the poor and news articles explaining it, the reality is the majority of us, especially in the Western world, are far removed from the poverty that still affects a lot of lives. The debate between Thomas Pogge and Mathias Risse regarding our obligation to the poor questions the very institution we live in. Pogge created a new framework in which the debate developed. He introduced a focus on the design of the institutional global order, and the role it plays in inflicting or at least continuing the severe poverty people are exposed to. Whilst both Mathias Risse and Thomas Pogge believe that the “global order is imperfectly developed. It needs reform rather than revolutionary overthrow”, they differ on whether or not it is just and entitles the global poor to assistance. Pogge believes that the global order is unjust as it “helps to perpetuate extreme poverty, violating our negative duty not to harm others unduly”. Risse believes that the institution is only incompletely just and can be credited to improving lives of the global poor. According to him, these improvements contribute to its justifiability and negate any further obligation we have to the poor. Through assessing their debate, it seems that one’s obligation to the poor depends on one’s conception of duty, their unit of analysis, and whether improvement rectifies injustice. On balance, it seems that we do indeed owe the poor, only we may lack the means to settle it.
“We already have - thanks to technology, development, skills, the efficiency of our work - enough resources to satisfy all human needs. But we don't have enough resources, and we are unlikely ever to have, to satisfy human greed.” That is a quote from Zygmunt Bauman about the basic needs of every human being. All over the world there are people who have nice phones and gaming systems, new clothes and shoes, huge houses and cars (SC6). But there are also people who are not able to have proper shelter, food, and water.
Every 15 seconds a child dies from a water related illness. There are countries all around the world that do not have access to food, clean water, and shelter. I believe that everywhere in the world should be provided with the supplies they need. There should be a law made in every country to ensure that people get the support they need to live with relative comfort. They need to be able to have enough food to at least have three meals a day. In some places around the world, people are lucky to get one meal a day. They also need to supply those people with fresh water if needed. Some of the water that people drink will cause diseases because it is contaminated with bacteria. Nine million people die a year due to lack of access to clean water. Too many people have either a nonfunctional shelter or no shelter at all. Whatever it takes, the access of food, clean water, and shelter should be supplied to anyone who needs it. There is a problem, however, that occurs. Some countries are poorer than others, so there are more people with these needs in those countries. This causes the help from other countries, and for charities to be formed to help those in need.
Peter Singer said; “If it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, we ought, morally, to do it” (Famine, Affluence, and Morality). As human beings, we have a moral compulsion to help other people, despite the verity that they may be strangers, especially when whatever type of aid we may render can in no approach have a more significant consequence on our own life.
Poverty is a major problem in the United States today. Social, economical, political, and cultural factors all contribute to poverty. Education and economic development are two major issues that will help prevent poverty. The United States Census Bureau defines poverty as an "economic condition in which people lack sufficient income to obtain basic needs for food, housing, clothing, health services and education." In other words, poverty is powerlessness, a lack of representation and freedom. Poverty is an issue that the world faces everyday.
Causes and Solutions of World Poverty Poverty is prevalent throughout the world around us. We watch television and see famous people begging us to sponsor a child for only ten dollars a month. We think in our own minds that ten dollars is only pocket change, but to those children and their families, that ten dollars is a large portion of their annual income. We see images of starving children in far away countries, and our hearts go out to them. But we really do not know the implications of poverty, why it exists, or even what we can do to help combat this giant problem in our world.
As I speak, there are many different organisations and countries sending in water and resources to help aid those in need in our country. I am thankful for these companies and countries and I wish nothing but luck to aiding the needy for our country.
Has anyone ever considered thinking about what the world is really going through? How many people don’t have the necessities in order to survive? If so, what are these people going through? Poverty is the state of one who lacks a standard or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions. Sometimes events occur that changes a person’s perspective on life. Poverty is one that can have a huge effect on not only one person, but also the people around him/her. Over half of the world is going through this tragedy and we, being the ones who created it, have the responsibility to end it.