Combatting Poverty: Strategies for Effective Solutions
Poverty and issues like homelessness can really happen to anyone, even without warning, this is why it must be ensured that their is sufficient support, reliable help and adequate solutions in place to prevent poverty and those in need of assistance. This is how to solve poverty essay in which the topic will be discussed.
Poverty can be hard to define and difficult to measure. It refers to a hardship struggled though, that which is unacceptable. Poverty encompassing many aspects such as ones material conditions; that is there need of goods and services, their deprivation of possessions, minimal to no income and or a low standard of living. An important aspect of poverty is the economic position of those in poverty, from their low income to inequality, their low social status to their finite resources. Lastly a major aspect of poverty is ones social position, this is the poor through social exclusion, the lack entitlement, or their dependancy on the government welfare or similar programs. With this mixture comes a lower quality of life, a lesser standard of living, a lack of life enjoyment within that population.
Extreme or absolute poverty is centred on the bare minimum standard needed to live, a standard which is far below what is consider normal, safe or healthy. Under the current measurement, a person is considered to be in extreme poverty if they have less than $1.90 US dollars a day to live on, this represents approximately 10% of the worlds population. This fixed line is based on the monetary value of a persons consumption and is set as an international line for poverty.
The international poverty line of $1.90 USD a day does however fall short as a standard of countries of greater wealth and expense. Relative poverty is measured in more comparative terms, typically the poverty line is set relative to society by way of a proportion of income or wealth. The Commission of Inquiry into Poverty 1973, or the Henderson poverty inquiry, was lead by the Chairmen, Professor Henderson by commission of the Whitlam Government. In the September quarter of 1973 the inquiry set the poverty line for a standard family (of 2 adults and 2 children) at $62.70 per week after tax, this was equivalent to 56.5 per cent of average weekly earnings. The average weekly earnings could be easily updated quarterly and so the Henderson inquiry confirmed the Henderson poverty lines as a relative measure of poverty in Australia. The Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research re-evaluated quarterly the latest figure for March 2017 stands at $959.25 per week (including housing) for a family comprising two adults, one of whom is working, and two dependent children. This poverty line relative to Australia’s economic situation is easily updatable and can be used to easily quantify the poverty in Australia.
While we work to solve extreme poverty around the world it is important to know from where it comes from in order to adequately prevent and deal with its entirety. Extreme poverty has a wide demography typically affecting those of people of lower education, indigenous peoples, households with long-term health problems or disability, unemployed families, people over 65 and particularly those living in disadvantaged areas and lower economic/income countries.
Poverty is widely varying in intensity, its causes, the way it began and much more and so the root causes of poverty can been explained in many ways to. According to Paul Spicker, author of Social Policy; “Pathological explanations are those which attribute poverty to the characteristics or behaviour of poor people.” This includes individualistic explanations where an individual has made bad choices, or chosen a poor lifestyle which has left them to such a position. Familial reasons, where poverty is intergenerational through the passing of a poverty stricken situation from one generation to the next where the price of exiting is far too high. Individualistic explanations centre on that the poverty was set induced to an extent. Structural explanations however explain poverty in terms of the society where it occurs. So this includes class-based explanations where poverty is the resultant of people's marginality in reflection of economic situations, from economic bust to recessions and depressions, economically based reasons people become impoverished. Paul Spicker also refers to ‘agency' views this is when poverty is attributed to the failures of public services and policy lead by the government, though failed welfare systems, poor management in response to affecting issues like the economic situation. There is also inequality, inequalities in the structure of society can lead to poverty through denial of opportunity and perpetuation of disadvantage this includes inequalities of income, wealth, race, and gender. Poverty can also come from war and famine, natural forces and mans own effect. Knowing these causes better help us understand how to solve poverty.
Throughout the world many are tackling poverty, the idea most prevalent is that economic growth will aid in lifting up those in poverty. Outside of economic growth most common approach to solving poverty is in Governments, Organisations and others trying using short-term interventions that which has long lasting effects to bring people out of poverty. Popular approach include migration, productive asset grants, temporary cash support, practical skills training, savings programs, as well as health education and services.
The United Nations (UN) Millennium Declaration was appointed in September 2000 by 189 countries there after supporting the framework for developmen. The World Health Organisation following the UN’s eight Millennium Development Goals (MDG) aims to and completed their first goal, “The target of reducing extreme poverty rates by half was met five years ahead of the 2015 deadline.” This was the first MDG that of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, with extreme poverty reducing from nearly half of the developing world to 14 per cent in 2015. Now the Sustainable Development Goals which have superseded the MDGs are targeting poverties end by 2030. While ending poverty is the goal, eradication by 2030 seems unlikely, according to the World Bank; with a fixed and constant rate of consumption per capita at an annual growth of no less than 4 percent in all developing regions/countries and a consistent distribution of income then a international poverty rate of 3 percent is attainable. This evaluation indicates the World Bank’s goal of eradicating global poverty by 2030 is a exceedingly ambitious target.
Experience from the swift and ongoing reduction of poverty in South East Asia has shown that economic growth alone is necessary, though not enough, to significantly decrease poverty. The United Nations has reported, that a considerable measure of this reduction is predominantly die to the rise in living standards in the East Asia and Pacific region which was connected with dramatic economic growth, especially in China. The conventional approaches including economic liberalisation and privatisation are raising questions as to their efficiency as wealth gaps extend, assets are monopolised, control over state assets passed over to corporations, this can prompt ignorance and deprivation of resources and information, keeping the people ready to work in low wages. Thereafter it can't be said a model of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation doesn't help bolster economic growth and thus a reduction in poverty. However governments need to aim for more developmental position, with application of unified economic and social policies to support inclusive progression and employment growth in addition to reducing inequality and promoting justice in society
One major new model of tackling poverty is know as “Impact Investing”. Impact investing has important potential in utilising the private sector to invest in initiatives that generate positive development results alongside financial returns. Global impact investing is growing sizeably, in 2016, 208 respondents to the Global Impact Investing Networks annual survey, combined investments being managed were USD 113.7 billion in impact investing assets. According to Impact Investing Australia the market is anticipated to reach between $US600 million and $US1 trillion within a decade with Australia operating a $32 billion market by 2022. There are 3 main areas impact investments are being made: In building business and social enterprises, Accessing physical assets such as property and infrastructure and in financing program delivery. These investments are intended to attack the issues facing society and create a positive change to the likes of poverty, homelessness, inequality, injustice and many more social issues.
This can be more readily applied and more accessible to eager Australian investors with assistance from the Australian Government, if they were to work closely with industry experts they could develop impact classes where they can support a framework enabling both investors and social enterprises to find common grounds to understand impact investments, and to better find the right capital and products. Such a framework that focuses on the wide array of financial returns and social impact accessible to investors, and perhaps bring about more investors willing to sacrifice financial returns for higher social impact. Another step that the government could bring about would be offering tax incentives to first time impact investors to encourage more investment into building social enterprises, supporting local communities, encouraging social community based events that seek to limit social exclusion. The government could also move to establish a pipeline of investable projects which can provide positive social and financial returns, allowing investors to readily and easily invest in Not for Profit organisations, social enterprises/businesses, all with the knowledge and expertise to make a difference to Poverty and homelessness inside Australia but lacking in the funds to make bigger changes.
Poverty and its correlating issues are widespread beyond the acceptable and many are working to solve this across Australia and the world. Through traditional method of economic growth we will see a reduction as we have seen in East Asia. With the increasing addition of modern advances against poverty also leading the way through impact investment. More input from organisations and governments alike will be needed to eradicate poverty and that will continue to be the aim for many.
