Why Do So Many Live in Poverty?

When there’s enough money in the world to provide education, clean water, and basic health and nutrition to all, one could question why “at least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day” (Shah). Poverty, generally defined in two different methods, is “one of several socioeconomic indicators” (Bishaw), which suggests how efficiently a country achieves its “successful development,” such as giving people access to all basics needs of life, including food, water, clothing, and education (Shah). Using a relative definition, anyone who has less wealth and income relative to others in a certain population is considered poor (Dudley 55). In contrast to this relative measure, an absolute measurement sets a minimum standard of income and wealth, regardless of how many people are above or below the standard (56). According to the American Community Survey Briefs conducted by the United States Census Bureau, “in 2011, about 15.9 percent of the U.S. population had income below the poverty level, an increase from 15.3 percent in 2010” (Bishaw). The causes of poverty that has widened the gap between the rich and the poor are to be contemplated with more careful lens, whether it is an exploitation of authority power or unsuccessful results of previous attempts at providing aid to those in need. By examining some primary driving forces of the poverty issue, it’s painfully clear that shifting spending priorities could alleviate a significant portion of the inequity, an obvious solution to this confounding issue.

The fundamental cause of poverty stems from the levels of inequality in wage structure (Gilbert 41). People are susceptible to experiencing poverty as the country’s capitalist system has created “the vast gulf separating the ‘...

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...on, inequality not only ruins social justice, but also disrupts economic efficiency (Shah). The need for a “safety net” has to be achieved for the sake of the people who gave up their freedom of government to keep order in the society (Page and Simmons 298). While improving child care, education, and affordable housing problems to reduce inequality (Axelrod-Contrada 98), the world needs to start prioritizing global spending more efficiently. Unless we start reducing the overwhelming power of “the affluent” corporations in the wealthy nations, it will be difficult to alleviate the problems of poverty and inequality (Page and Simmons 308). The fact that poverty is increasing as majority of Americans are poor “should be cause for alarm” (Dudley 19) because this global issue is relatable to everyone in this interdependent world where individual responsibility counts.