“Most of the unemployed are not poor; and most of the poor are not unemployed.” If read at first this statement may seem to be absurd but it is in fact the reality that plagues our country today. For one, it is determined that unemployment brings upon the prevalence of poverty but how come would the poor in the Philippines be in fact be in the midst of the employed? Emmanuel S. de Dios and Katrina I. Dinglasan have adequately answered this baffling phenomenon with historical data and mathematical computations thus proving that “unemployment” is not an effective measure of welfare, i.e., in our country.
The Philippines in its current state cannot be painted in its best picture hence it stands on unsteady grounds both economically and socially. Poverty, crimes, corruption, and many more scourge the society and with these trends the Philippines cannot be expected to easily rise with a few ticks here and there but with radical action both from its government and its people.
“There is no system of unemployment or welfare benefits”
It is an undeniable fact that the Philippines compared to its richer counterparts (a comparison that explicitly shows our country’s long journey to prosperity) lacks a system of social benefits, even though its people deserve one. Given that the Philippine government implements high taxes on everyone it is a wonder that the share of everything we earn given up to the government does not go back to us when in fact it is the their duty to facilitate these endeavors. Welfare benefits is just one of these endeavors but it seems that this one is far from being fully organized such as the other efforts of the government as long as corruption and disarray lingers in the system there is nothing that the citize...
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...elopment Authority). With the TESDA people who wish to be more competitive in the labor force can be trained at a minimum cost, allowing them to master skills that are required mostly in labor extensive industries that grants higher wages.
Consequently, if the government is successful in improving its human capital it will come a time where the labor force will have a higher bargaining power granting them higher salaries and wages. With the rise in the quality of labor more investments will be encourage to come to the country, and with the rise in investments overall prices and wages will lie in equilibrium where, hopefully, the cost of living will be better. All in all with the increase in the quality of labor that our country can offer positive consequences will unfold one by one yielding large improvements which can be quantified using the multiplier effect.
The issue of poverty in the United States is complex, and no one root cause is sufficient to explain why, in a wealthy developed nation, such poverty should exist. However, a principal factor which may contribute to the nation’s poverty lies in problems with the U.S. labor market. According to Freeman, while the U.S. has witnessed a “substantial growth in GDP per capita” (20), only a relatively small portion of the population, the wealthiest Americans, has seen the benefits of that rise in GDP. Many poor and working class Americans do not have access to this wealth and receive little actual benefit from the nation’s increased wealth and prosperity. While productivity has increased in recent years, the gains from the nation’s economic growth has not increased the real wages and benefits for U.S. workers (Freeman 20). The U.S. labor market fails to distribute gains to low wage workers, resulting in their poverty, which in turn, puts their children at a higher risk for being in poverty themselves.
Hage, David. “Purgatory of the working poor: people seeking help from the job-training and income-support systems face a bureaucratic paper chase and limited resources. There are oases of progress, but much remains to be done”. The American Prospect Inc. Sep 2004.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics stated that though poverty is usually associated with unemployment, a significant portion of the poor are actually employed (see also DeNavas-Walt, Proctor, & Smith, 2009). Due to their low wages, the working poor face countless obstacles that make it difficult to find and keep a job, cover basic expenses, and obtain a sense of security (Cross, 2010; Kalleberg, 2011; Lohmann, 2009). The official working poverty rate in the U.S. has been stable over the past four decades (Hoynes, 2005). However, some scholars disagree with this stability, and feel that the official definition is set too low as the share of workers facing financial hardship has increased over the years (Bordoff et al., 2007; Sandoval, 2009; Wicks-Lim, 2010). Others argue that changes in the economy (i.e., the shift from a manufacturing-based to service-based economy) have resulted in the polarization of the labor market (Autor, Katz, & Kearney, 2006; Satya, 2011). This means that while there are more jobs in both extremities of the income spectrum, there are fewer jobs in the middle (Kalleberg,
The poor are everywhere it seems. They are on the street corner, in the local 7 Eleven, and in the plaza. Sometimes I get sick of them and even angry with them when they pester me for money. I ask myself, "Is the best way to deal with poor, to give them money from my pocket?" It's obvious that other people have given them money from their pockets at different times. If no one had ever given them money, then these people wouldn't be standing here asking for money. The fact is, many poor people ask for money because they know they can get money that way. For most of the last 70 years our government has indirectly given the poor money from our pockets, through taxes and welfare. Not surprisingly, people have continued to ask for money. For most of those 70 years welfare fed the mentality that the best way to get money was to ask. I believe welfare as it was first started, failed miserably and created millions of dependents in poverty instead of independents above poverty. The welfare reform of 1996, I believe has helped the poor escape from the trap of poverty and is a more beneficial way of dealing with the poor.
Even though poverty is a huge issue in America, there is hope for the impoverished. If the government stresses the seriousness of poverty and teaches people how to save money, poverty will decrease. Living in Poverty is our own fault. “It is based on bad choices, not a bad economy. The poor are getting poorer because of the lack of education, and knowledge of their futures; which is the second demographic characteristic of poverty. The ranks of the impoverished overflow with high school dropouts who are at a great disadvantage in today’s increasingly knowledgable economy’’ (Malanga 1).
The economy is like a well oiled machine. If all the cogs and gears are turning, the machine will be able to function optimally, but when one gear causes an issue, the whole system is affected. The gears that have rusted or have been nudged out of place in a machine are similar to what unemployment is like in the economy. Unemployment occurs when people are without work and actively seeking work (Resolution concerning Statistics of the Economically Active Population, Employment, Unemployment and Underemployment, Adopted by the Thirteenth International Conference of Labour Statisticians). Therefore, the unemployed are similar to the rusted gears of a
Social welfare is an expansive system proposed to maintain the well being of individuals within a society. This paper will explain the progression from the feudal system and church provisions for the poor before the Elizabethan Poor Law to the gradual assumption of the responsibility for the poor by the government. A responsibility assumed not out of humanity and concern for the poor, but as a process of standardizing the ways in which the poor were to be managed. The history of social welfare reflects differences in values as they relate to social responsibility in taking care of the needy. Our society has been influenced by values like Judeo-Christian humanitarianism and the economic doctrine of laissez faire. Our present social welfare structure is also influenced by these values.
There are a multitudinous number of both economic and social difficulties associated with unemployment. One fundamental reason why the government particularly stresses on reducing unemployment levels is as a result it poses a great cost on the economy. Not only does it affect the economy, but also it poses a great threat towards the living standards of the unemployed people itself. This could lead to many receiving less or no income based on whether or not they receive unemployment welfare benefits from the government. Reduction in income, would lead to a less disposable inc...
Over the years, the Philippines has gone from being one of the richest countries in Asia to being one of the poorest. It has experienced growth and development since World War II. The current administration under President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is aiming for a more rapid growth in the coming years. In 2004, the Philippine economy grew by 6.1% surprising everyone. In 2005, the Philippine peso appreciated by 6%, the fastest in the Asian region for that year. At present, the administration is meeting its expected target growth and is continually looking positive for the future.
In this essay, I will be talking about how the changes in demographic characteristics of Indonesia over the past 10 years can affect its economy in terms of unemployment, GDP (Gross Domestic Product), and poverty. Unemployment is an economic condition marked by the fact that individuals seeking jobs but remained unhired. A country's GDP is the total market value of all final goods and services produced in a country. Poverty is when the income of people is below the GNP (Gross National Product) per capita of a country with scarcity of means and subsistence.
The Philippines overcame many obstacles in history that reshaped the political environment of modern times.
In order for any country to survive in comparison to another developed country they must be able to grow and sustain a healthy and flourishing economy. This paper is designed to give a detailed insight of economic growth and the sectors that influence economic growth. Economic growth in a country is essential to the reduction of poverty, without such reduction; poverty would continue to increase therefore economic growth is inevitable. Through economic growth, it is also an aid in the reduction of the unemployment rate and it also helps to reduce the budget deficit of the government. Economic growth can also encourage better living standards for all it is citizens because with economic growth there are improvements in the public sectors, educational and healthcare facilities. Through economic growth social spending can also be increased without an increase of taxes.
... of revenue collection of the machinery of redistribution, important though these are. An optimal financing mix should do three jobs well: (i) generate the resources needed to establish and strengthen appropriate social protection systems; (ii) ensure that the incentives generated by the financing modalities reduce child poverty and child vulnerability; and (iii) secure legitimacy for social protection institutions and policies. Section three examines the main issues involved in financing social protection in low income countries, beginning with a discussion of trends in sub-Saharan Africa, and the issues raised by the current global crisis; followed by a discussion of alternative policy strategies adopted in three Latin American countries: the use of natural resources in Bolivia; budgetary surplus policies in Chile, and borrowing in Mexico. Section four concludes.
The Philippines has long been a country with a struggling economy. Ever since World War II, they have struggled to have a steady government and labor system. Independence did not bring any social changes to the country. The hacienda system still persists in the country, where large estates are farmed by sharecroppers. More the half the population are peasants and 20 percent of the population owns 60 percent of the land. Although the sharecropper is supposed to receive half of the harvest, most of the peasant's actual income goes to paying off debts to the landowner. Poverty and conflict strained the industrial growth of the country with many Presidents trying to fix the problems, but failing to do so. Factors that have faced the country are there is almost 9 percent unemployment, and the country suffers from the consequences of a balance of trade deficit. With the resources that the Philippines have, they are capable of pulling themselves out of the economical hole they are in and being up to par with their successful neighboring countries.
A. A. The Philippines People, Poverty and Politics. New York: The New York Times. St. Martins's P, 1987. 1-225.