Free Essay

Essay : on Ways to Tackle Poverty

In: Social Issues

Submitted By melissa141
Words 514
Pages 3
Examine the ways in which government policies attempt to deal with the problem of poverty (24marks)
There are four approaches used to help deal with poverty these are the social democratic, new right, third way and Marxist. This essay will include the different ways in which the government policies attempt to deal with the problem of poverty. A Social democrats way of dealing with poverty is by offering universal benefits, which essentially means benefits that everyone is entitled to. This is useful when dealing with the problem of poverty because it creates no social stigma in receiving benefits. For example if there was no universal benefit than because people might feel humiliated of taking it as they don’t want to be labelled, which may discourage people of claiming benefits that they are entitled to. This is also proven by the low amount of people of taken up means benefits. In the 1980s no means benefits had more than 80% take up. The downfalls of universal benefits are that it creates a ‘benefit culture’ where everyone is depending on benefits as a way of living and don’t try and get out of it. This creates a poverty trap in society.
Alternatively , the new right approach supports the means tested benefits which is suggests that benefits should only be restricted to those who are very poor and need it the most. This is useful when dealing with the problem of poverty because it’s cheaper than the universal and the government doesn’t waste its money as it’s only paid for those who need it. Also it reduces the potential of a ‘benefit culture’ people try to get out of benefits more and get a job due to social stigma or other reasons. The disadvantages of means tested are that some people might not get the benefits they are entitled to due to lope holes or problems with the system. Also fear of social stigma in society might put people of in applying for benefits that they are entitled to. Another disadvantage is the process of applying for benefits is very complicating and complex especially someone who’s English is not their first language.
The new right believes that the indirect cause of poverty is the welfare state so it suggests that it stopped to deal with the problems of poverty. Stopping the welfare state helps to deal with poverty because in order for entrepreneurs and owners of successful business to be rewarded is to keep taxation as low as possible. This is done by minimizing the government and reducing expenditure. The welfare state is the largest area of the government spending eg. Employing a burden of people to work for the services and deliver the benefits. Without the expenditure of welfare payments taxes could be much lower. However the disadvantages are that if the government abolishes the welfare state would actually increase. the welfare state and the minimum wage help to protect workers from exploitative employers. If there was no welfare state society would be unequally split between the wealthy minority and a mass of the poor.

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Landfil and Economics

...June 2014 - Context 1 - Essay Model Answer: The key here, as it always is, is to understand what the question is asking and then making sure that we answer it. An idea here would be to try to simplify the question, so that we really understand what it is asking us. I think what is asking could be summed up with: Should governments stop food from being used to produce biofuel. The main starting point has to be the structure of the essay. Here the acronym DIC ED S P A C applies: Definition In Context Explained Diagram Solutions Problems Alternatives Conclusion The obvious definition from the question is probably Government Intervention. Government Intervention occurs when a governing body decides to manipulate a market, usually to prevent a market failure. In this case the market failure could be seen to be poverty and inequality as there is evidence in the text that, due to rising food prices, more and more people are unable to afford food, one of the basic needs for survival. Clearly, as I am referring back to the text, this is in context. Next up I need an explained diagram. I need this diagram to explain why there is a problem in this market, so I will show that as more crops are being demanded for biofuels, this leaves less available for food. It is clear that as the amount of fossil fuels reduces, but the world population increases, there is more of a demand for energy sources. This is shown in diagram 1: Diagram 1: From...

Words: 2089 - Pages: 9

Free Essay

Charities Are Outmoded Institutions That Have No Contribution to Make to Modern Society. What Is Needed Are Social Enterprises. Discuss.

...Charities are outmoded institutions that have no contribution to make to modern society. What is needed are social enterprises. Discuss. Introduction In this essay I will start by looking at definitions of both “Charities” and “Social Enterprises” before going on to look at a short history of the development of the voluntary sector in the UK. I will then move on to examine the arguments suggesting that charities have become outmoded and the perceived benefits of social enterprises as an alternative approach. In the final section I attempt to critically assess these arguments and to draw some conclusions. Some definitions Charities are essentially organisations established to provide some form of public good, with most of their funding being generated through donations from individuals, companies or government departments. In the UK a charity must be registered with the Charity Commission and the purposes of the charity must meet the “public benefit requirement”. Its purposes will be defined in its governing document or constitution, and ALL of its purposes must be exclusively charitable. This is the main distinction between charities and social enterprises. This latter term is used to describe a wide range of organisations which are run as businesses (and often constituted as companies rather than charities) but don’t exist purely to make money for their stakeholders. Instead they have other goals such as to benefit the community, the environment or any other social interest...

Words: 3419 - Pages: 14

Premium Essay

Poverty

...This essay looks at how is how personal prejudice, cultural assumptions and structural power relations ignite oppression and discrimination. I have chosen to look at this in relation to poverty and race. This essay aims to define discrimination and oppression, and relate this to what is evident when talking about poverty and race and discuss the implications for the young people I work with. The literal meaning of discriminate is to identify a difference. When the term is used in a legal, moral or political sense it is generally used to refer to unfair discrimination, this refers to the process where a difference is identified and used to impose unfair treatment. Oppression is the outcome of unfair treatment. associated with discrimination has oppressive consequences for the people so affected. It is important to note the differences between anti/discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice are primarily semantic, rather than theoretical or ideological. What is paramount is that as care and social workers we all must tackle this issue head on, without fear of opening a can of worms. Poverty is an issue that has been talked about for many years in Scotland. Nethetheless, in despite severity of the situation, and regardless of the impact on our youth, and ultimately the future of our country. Even though legislation put in place to ensure the well being of our children, it can be argued that not enough is being done to tackle the issue. Poverty is an issue which raises...

Words: 2061 - Pages: 9

Free Essay

Youth Crime

...the topic of youth crime had caught more attention all over the world, more specifically, it’s a growing concern due to the increasing social influence, such as offending, re-offending, hate and drug crime. What’s the reason for youth crime? What’s the exactly effect of youth crime? Is there any effective solution that can help young people decrease the crime rate? These are the three parts we will clarify in this essay. First of all, from my point of view, the reason caused youth crime is mainly connected with the family. Nowadays, due to the parents in most the families need to work for their economic reason, lack of time caused less communication between children and parents, children might be neglected and feeling cannot get support from the parents when they need, they don’t have enough life experience for the right justice, so that they are easy to lost themselves when they meet some problem in their life, so that they use their own way, which is easy to cause the crime, to solve the problem. Besides, the other factor is the increasing levels of poverty around the world. We have seen with globalization the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, and this inevitably means that those who are poorer will have to resort to illegal means to get what others have. Of course, this caused youth crime of the children from the poorer families. As the consequence, youth crime caused quite serious social effect, not only in short term, but also in long term. From short term...

Words: 497 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

...and parts of Eastern Europe as people demanded more rights and freedom from oppression. Additionally, the advent of globalization which was brought about by rapid technological developments especially in the field of Information Technology (IT) led to interconnectedness among nations and economic interdependence. In my opinion, globalization and economic interdependence have been beneficial to most people in the world. However, the contemporary world is faced with several challenges which constitute threats to future global stability, security and prosperity. 2. This essay will portray my personal views of those threats that I perceive to be the most potent and thus represent the modern equivalents of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. In my view, the main drivers of change in today’s world are poverty, religious extremism, technological advancement and climate change. POVERTY 3. I believe that poverty is perhaps the underlying reason for most conflicts in the world today. A vast majority of the world’s population lives in very poor conditions without access to basic amenities such as food, shelter and primary health care. This is evident in developing countries where inequality is rife and the wealth of the state is not equitably distributed among the...

Words: 1504 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

The Capability and Monetary Approach to Poverty

...capabilities approaches to poverty with monetary approaches. What are the strengths and weaknesses of each? In your view, which is better for understanding poverty? Explain your answer. “What a weary time those years were- to have the desire and the need to live but not the ability” (Bukowski, 1982). Poverty affects billions of people worldwide, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia. Defining poverty is almost as difficult as eradicating it. For the purpose of this essay, I will take poverty to mean the state of being exceptionally poor. Furthermore, poorness will be defined as an extremely low quality of life, which culminates as a result of social, political and economic factors. In order to examine the strengths and weaknesses of each approach, it is necessary to identify who these are strengths and weaknesses for; a strength of an approach may be considered a weakness from a different perspective. Governments and international organisations, with a common goal of lifting poverty from disadvantaged countries, are the main focus of this essay. Leading policy makers around the world have adopted a “uni-dimensional perspective on poverty” (Wong, 2012) which largely focuses on a lack of income. This definition provides the basis for the Monetary Approach to poverty. However, this is an exceptionally constricted view of poverty, disregarding many social and political factors that contribute to the current, bleak situation. The Capabilities Approach to poverty provides a far better...

Words: 1937 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Why Are Environmental Failures Considered to Be an Example of Market Failure?

...be an example of market failure? Environmental problems are considered to be an example of market failure because environmental problems not only compound poverty and low standards of living, but the problems of common access resources or weak regulations result in massive negative externalities and a significant threat to sustainability. Market failure is defined as when community surplus is not maximized due to problems preventing resources from being allocated in an optical manner. Negative externalities, also used in this essay, is defined as a decision or a product that leads to it having a larger society cost than private cost. This essay will be split into different parts to tackle this problem: 1) Examples of market failures and environmental problems 2) Explanation of environmental problems as negative externalities 3) Allocative inefficiency and overproduction at free market price due to marginal social cost being larger than marginal private cost There are different ways of market failures. Firstly, the lack of public goods is a market failure. Public goods are goods that would not be provided at all in a fee market. Since they are goods that are of benefit to the society, the lack of public goods in the free market is considered to be a market failure. (…) However, the main focus of this essay would be on the existence of externalities, which is a type of market failure as well as the negative externalities of consumption. There are also different...

Words: 642 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Overpopulation in India

...Overpopulation in India, Causes, consequences, solutions Felipe Benjumea Juan Casares EAS Overpopulation occurs when the number of people living in an area exceeds the limit the area is capable of having. In other words the relationship between the human population and its local environment is unbalanced. This is problematic because as individuals, we rely on a local area for subsistence; therefore, we are limited by the productivity of a given area. If productivity does not meet our demands, nature will be in charge of balancing the scale. However, we as humans are animals of reason. Therefore we are capable, through technology and culture, of living in an area that should, in theory, be unable to support us. And what makes it worst is the fact that, regardless of political (countries) and geographical barriers, we all share a common home called mother earth. Therefore overpopulation affects the individual area suffering from it, and, because of globalization, the rest of the world. However, the countries most affected by extreme population are of course the countries suffering from it. In our world there are many countries, principally, Asian countries that reside under this “deplorable” conditions of overpopulation. To understand overpopulation, it is necessary to analyze the underlying reasons behind it, the consequences of it, and most importantly the solutions for it. Like mentioned above, culturally and geographically, Asian countries are more prone to suffer...

Words: 1458 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Child Labor in Egypt

...Shahd Goneid ID : 151981 Group : E Dr. Nancy Nour Child Labor in Egypt Due to gaps between rich and poor in the recent years, Child labor arose. Employment of children under the legal age and keeping them from attending schools is remarkably increasing. Working children issue is a threat that has a negative economic effect on every country throughout the world, especially in the development of nations. Africa and Asia combined account for over 90 percent of total child Labor (ILO, n.d). Child labor remarkably develops from country sides and rural areas where there is high capacity that leads to ignorance and poverty. Talking about Africa, Egypt in specific, the estimated number of working children in Egypt is almost 1.6 million (Feteha, 2011). The following essay will tackle down the causes, the effects, the previous solutions and their limitations of this problem as well as a suggested solution will be provided to rectify this widespread problem. According to Ragab(n.d) , in order to exempt their families’ members from education, food and clothing cost, young girls are usually sent as domestic maids to homes of the county’s elites ;moreover, they maybe also daughters of doormen, servants, or porters, usually oriented from country sides. Girls at that part are bound by their employers’ commands as they send the girl’s family income, leaving her dependent which is a cause to child labor. One of the effects of this issue that can occur due to labor at early age is...

Words: 1189 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

How Has Feminism Attempted to Achieve Women’s Liberation, and Has the Battle Been Won?

...How has feminism attempted to achieve women’s liberation, and has the battle been won? This essay aims to outline how feminism has and continues its attempt to achieve women’s liberation.This essay will reflect the current situation in Europe. The essay begins by describing the first and second wave of feminism, providing an overview of the ideas of some important feminist thinkers and activists. It then introduces the third wave, modern feminism and concludes with some remarks regarding the development of feminism insofar as it affects modern organizations willing to tackle gender inequality. The concept defined as the ‘first wave of feminism’ finds it origins in the mid-nineteenth century, with the ‘suffragettes’—as those pioneers were called—and their struggle to achieve equal political rights. These women’s central aim was to obtain the right to vote, even if that meant they had to protest through various hunger strikes, as they did in London. The ‘second wave of feminism’ focused on ending all forms of sexism, and it fought both psychological and sexual oppression towards women. Among others, Betty Friedan realized that women felt frustrated due to the oppression that came from their perceived role in society, namely that of staying at home. The patriarchal culture started to be criticized by many radical feminists. This second wave was very marked by Simone De Beauvoir and her work, The Second Sex. She believed “one is not born a woman, one becomes one”. Eva Figes wrote...

Words: 1171 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Healthcare

...This essay will focus on exploring the changing approaches and attitudes to welfare since the Poor Law, thus establishing the measures introduced or policies implemented to enable society to lead a sustainable livelihood. In addition, it will identify the individuals who were influential in the creation of a welfare state by examining six different concepts, namely: the 1601 Elizabethean Poor Law, The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, New Liberalism, Fabianism, Thatcherism and Blairism. The removal of monasteries and church welfare led the parliament to pass the first act for the relief of the poor. The 1601 Old Poor Law was a response to the issue of poverty by the state on a national scale, providing relief to the sick/elderly/disabled; able-bodied and children/orphans. Administered by parishes, it “sought to assist the 'settled' poor, who were expected to accept whatever work or relief the parish offered.” (www.victorianweb.org/history/poorlaw/elizpl.html) There is an implication that a safety net was provided for those who had fallen on hard times, however they had no freedom of choice regards the type of employment they took on, their dietary intake, clothing etc. They were reliant on relief and were susceptible to exploitation through cheap labour. “Each parish looked after their own poor and a poor rate was levied on householders” (Moore; 2000). The lack of uniformity in system suggests that treatment and rules differed from parish to parish, however, parishes were likely...

Words: 1486 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Test Paper

...Chemistry FLE Bahasa Indonesia:Chinese Language | Ms. Syafrina MachfudMr. Suresh Ms. Syafrina Mr. Abner (Upper secondary), Ms Jaimi (Lower Secondary)Mr. Jeff (Upper secondary) and Ms Moneth (Lower Secondary)Ms. Titik (upper secondary), Ms Ice (Lower Secondary)Mr Gao WG (Upper secondary), Gao DZ (Lower secondary) | Note: Please contact your subject teacher for specific subject requirement | 1. Background To celebrate the World Food Day on 16 October 2013, the IDP will derive the ideas from the Global Food Crisis. More than 842 million people in the world are undernourished. The Global Food Crisis presents a challenge to those working to alleviate world poverty. The full extent of its causes and effects are still far from totally understood and there is significant debate about the most effective and fairest ways to tackle the Crisis. What is clear is the extent of rising food prices. For example between the start of 2006 and mid 2008 the average world price of wheat rose by 136% and rice by 217%. Price rises of this magnitude are a shock to any household budget, but they have had an especially severe impact on the 2.7 billion poor people in the world. Poor people typically spend 80% of their incomes on food. They face a desperate crisis when prices rise so rapidly. 2. Objectives: 2.1 Explore the causes, impact and solutions of the...

Words: 2932 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

Homelessness in American

...Homelessness in America Homelessness in America has always been an issue but it has become an even bigger issue over the past years. With a world filled with global conflict, disappearing jobs, higher education cost, and increasing poverty in America, the homeless need our help more than ever. Just last year, the national poverty rate rose to include 13.2 % of the population. Also, 3.5 million people were forced to sleep in parks, shelters, under bridges or in cars. Hunger and homelessness are increasing epidemics plaguing the United States. Because of the high cost of living, high unemployment rates, and low-wage jobs, countless Americans are forced to choose between food, housing, and other expenses. According to recent studies, money is being devoted to rent and utilities rather than food. 35% of the homeless population is families with children, 23% are U.S. military veterans, 25% are children under the age of 18, 20-25% suffers from mental illness and 30% have experienced domestic violence. 19.3 % of homeless people live in New York City and Los Angeles. New York City has been shown to have the highest number of homeless people in the country. The next biggest is Loss Angeles and then Seattle/King County Washington. As a result of doing nothing for the homeless, more people will become homeless. That means, more people sleeping on the streets, dying from hunger, and possibly an even higher crime rate. Economic factors play a huge role in the issue of homelessness. The...

Words: 1635 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Health and Social Care Unit 7

...and has disease, so the different institutions in society each have particular contributions to make. They work together and use methods of social control to deal with deviant members or groups, to ensure that society functions smoothly. Parsons (1902-1979) saw society as a system made up of interrelated institutions, which contributed to its smooth running and continuity. He thought that the main role of an institution is to socialise individuals and ensure that they understood the underlying values of their society and behave in acceptable ways. Murdock(1897-1985) did a study of the family, examined over 250 societies and concluded that in all societies the family performed 4 functions: * Sexual function which was allowed for the expression of sexuality in an approved context * Reproductive function which provided stability for the rearing children * Socialisation included the responsibility of teaching children the acceptable ways of behaving in society * Economic function meant that food, shelter, and financial security had to be provided for the family membersParsons(1951) argued that the family had only two basic functions which were: * The primary socialisation of children * The stabilisation of adult personalities | * It doesn’t address areas of conflict( dark side of the family) * Functionalist emphasise consensus and agreement and paint a positive picture of family does not seem to reflect many peoples experience of the modern world, where there are...

Words: 3703 - Pages: 15

Free Essay

Educational Cahnge

...of stone quarries, working in the fields 16 hours a day, picking rags in the city streets, or hidden away as domestic servants, these children endure miserable and difficult lives. They earn little and are made to work more. They struggle to make enough to eat and perhaps to help feed their families as well. They do not go to school. Many of them have been working since the age of four or five, and by the time they attain adulthood they may be irrevocably sick and deformed they will certainly be exhausted, and in this way they are debarred from enjoying the basic human rights, which are essential for the advancement of one’s personality. According to the statistics given by Indian government there are 20 million child laborers in the country, while other agencies claim that it is 50 million. Child labor is a conspicuous problem in India. Its prevalence is evident in the child work participation rate, which is more than that of other developing countries. Poverty is the reason for child labor in India. The meager income of child laborers is also absorbed by their families. The paucity of organized banking in the rural areas creates a void in taking facilities, forcing poor families to push their children in harsh labor, the harshest being bonded labor. That declaration stated that all ILO members have an obligation “to respect, to promote and to realize in good faith” a set of fundamental rights which include freedom of association the effective recognition of the right to collective...

Words: 2418 - Pages: 10