Poverty is where an individual has very little or no money, which results in not having what they need to live.
There are many cause of poverty such as being unemployed for a long period of time, low pay, poor or lack of education, gender and being homeless. Or living in certain areas where services and sources are very limited, also large families due to the cost of living is higher and their income is low. Those who experience poverty find life as a daily struggle, they also have limited life chances as they sacrifice essentials such as food, appropriate housing, heating and clothing. Anyone who has been living in poverty can also suffer psychological effects as well, such as very low self-esteem and can sink into depression if they do not seek help.
There are two types of poverty which are relative and absolute poverty, relative poverty is where an individual’s income is below average to maintain a standard of living. They may not be able to afford a healthy diet or adequate housing; this type of poverty is mostly linked to unemployment. It is also about the participation within society as well, however different places and societies have a variety of different levels or measures of poverty.
Absolute poverty can be described as extreme poverty as income is below a certain level, to be able to maintain certain standards of living. As some individuals do not have enough money to buy basic items like food, shelter or heating. Therefore, if there is a change in economic growth then absolute poverty should reduce, also this kind of poverty exists all over the world especially third world countries.
Living in poverty can effect an adult or child’s life chances, as some parents who live in poverty do not support their children to do well at school. Or encourage them to finish school and go to college, which will lead to poor job aspects or even low paid unsecured employment. It also means that their diet will be unhealthy and poor which will lead to obesity plus other health issues, as those who receive benefits are more likely to eat a variety of foods saying they are unable to afford fresh produce such as fruit and vegetables. By not having a healthy diet can affect the way are brains work, as children are not getting the nourishment they require to grow up healthy.
I can relate to those who live in poverty, as a child my parents were out of work so the relied on benefits as a way of income. All my clothes were from the cheapest of cheap shops, I only had one coat and one pair of shoes. At school I was bullied due to this, also my diet was very poor as we eat basic food which was unhealthy as I was given sweets rather than fruit. My parents both smoked and they would go round the streets picking cigarette ends and take out the tobacco to make roll ups, as they did not want to spend what little money they had on cigarettes. As I child I never went on holiday with my parents or on school trips, and the only day I got a meal cooked from scratch was a Sunday when we went to our grandparents. We lived in a flat in a poor estate which had a high crime rate, so when people realised where I lived the associated my family to those who lived there.
In the UK there is an estimated thirteen people living in poverty, around two million of those are children. With some children living in extreme poverty in most cases, which again can effect education and health which has been mentioned earlier.
Child poverty can also effect a child’s health as they are more likely to suffer from persistent illness, also infant mortality is higher. Children aged 5 are able to receive free school diners, these children tend to do well at school however it is only a small percentage that receive free school meals. Poverty can have a great impact on family life, as most cannot afford to let their children go on school trips or to even take their children on holiday as to most living in poverty see this as a luxury rather than a necessity. The government has made a claim the under the Child Poverty Act 2010, all child poverty will have ended however by 2021 more children will be in poverty as a result of the coalition government.
Inequality happens when there are differences between groups of individuals within society, these can be due to income and wealth, health, gender or race. As those who are poor live in undesirable places where crime levels are high, have restricted help to health care and education. Inequality also shows how recourses are shared throughout society, also the income difference between the rich and the poor. Inequality shows the issue of poverty is linked to resources are distributed and redistributed within society. The government ensures that individuals have a minimum income, and to have all the available resources to all services therefore giving maximum wages.
Inequality and age
Over the past few years’ pensioners living in poverty has fallen, however there is still over one million living in poverty. Having state and private pensions in place, will hopefully prevent pensioners living in extreme poverty.
After the war saw the introduction of the welfare state, which was brought in to combat poverty by setting up the national health service, free education and full time jobs. This all saw the setup of the government giving out benefits to those in need, this is known as social security. However, the welfare state did not combat poverty as the percentage of those living in poverty in the UK, is higher than that of other European countries. Majority of people now rely on handouts from the government, such as money for being out of work, working tax credits to boost income and family tax credits. However, the government has said that benefits will be getting cut in the five years, so that the government can save money. So those who are living on benefits will become worse off, therefore will still be living in poverty with no means of escape.
There are the deserving poor who are individuals that are poor and living in poverty, though not fault of their own due to illness, having an accident, their age or no work available due to closure of a factory.
Then there is the undeserving poor these are the individuals who are lazy and do not work, or they have personal issues such as alcoholics which are very happy to live of the state handouts.
Funtionalism and poverty
As functionalists sees society as functioning system, as all parts work together like a human body. They argue that poverty is seen as a balance in society, as society needs a mix of both rich and poor people. Functionalism interprets each part of society in terms of how, we contribute to the stability of society.
Marxism and poverty
Marxists sees poverty as an iequality, as there say there needs to be a radical change in the structure of society. The capitalists in society will become richer and the poorer will become poorer. According to Marxist the majority causes of poverty is inequality, therefore poverty is a result of capitalism. It is thought to be that the lower class were exploited by the upper class.
Conclusion
There we have I have looked at the cause of poverty and how this can impact an individual’s life, how poverty can be a problem for some people who are on low wages. How inequality can impact the elderly and how society contributes to these inequalities, the difference between undeserving and deserving poor how some are lazy and do not want to work plus there’s those who may be unable to work. It’s surprising how many adults and children live in poverty in this day and age.