Poverty in Relation to Welfare

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For a group of people in every country, poverty is an unfortunate way of life. Without a doubt, those living in poverty would not live this way if there was a way to get out of it. Since most, if not all, of one’s income would go towards housing, food, utilities, insurance, and other necessities, it would leave very little to none at all towards the steps needed to gain better, higher paying employment. Those steps can include improving ones education to increase job prospects. One way state governments have chosen to aid those in poverty is through the implementation of welfare programs. These programs help those in poverty by providing housing, food, and/or money. This creates more breathing room and allows more of one’s own money and time to be put towards the proper steps for gaining the skills for better employment. However, how effective these programs are at lowering the poverty rate is limited to how much is spent on those programs. The effectiveness of a program that only gives those in poverty very little to help would be small, while a program that gives more, helps more. I theorize that countries that spend more on their welfare programs have a lower poverty rate than those that spend less.
To begin, we must define what poverty is in order to have a clear view of those who are considered impoverished. There are two main approaches to this. The first approach works in terms of absolutes. It assumed that there is a minimal standard of living, and that this standard is universal. This could be understood by the concept of ‘enough’. According to this approach, there is ‘enough’ food, clothing, and shelter, plus s few extras to get you by (Stein 1971, 5). One example of this is the concept of a ‘poverty line’. Those that f...

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...it could be significantly less expensive than in the US. The second option, and probably the overall best option, to improve one’s education is also very possible. The parent does not have to worry about losing money by not staying at home when it could be necessary. It also gives the child, through the allowances, a fair chance gain an education and not become impoverished as their parent(s) were, and reducing the future poverty rate.

Works Cited

Ozawa, Martha N., 2004. “Social Welfare Spending on Family Benefits in the United States and Sweden: A Comparative Study.” Family Relations 53 (April): 301-309.
Stein, Bruno. 1971. On Relief: The Economics of Public Welfare. New York: Basic Books Inc., Publishers
Smeeding, Timothy. 2006. “Poor People in Rich Nations: The United States in Comparative Perspective.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 20 (Winter): 69-90.

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