The Luck of the Poor
A person in poverty, we tend to imagine is someone who is poor and cannot afford a roof over his head. However, poverty can be a relative term that can include more than just the destitute and homeless. The definition of poverty depends on who we ask the question, how it is understood and who responds. For example, for the average middleclass person, not being able to afford a first class ticket makes him feel poor and on the other hand being able to afford a meal may make the homeless man feel like a million dollars. The broad point here is that poverty can depends on what the person’s idea of subsistence is; his basic needs and what he feels deprived of.
In the U.S. the poverty line sets the threshold of income at $ 21,200 dollars for a family of four. That amount is deemed necessary a family to meet minimal food, housing and other basic needs. No one wants to be poor, so how do people fall into poverty? A combination of factors than can be broadly divided into two categories can be blamed for poverty. Individual causes such as lack of responsibility and motivation, poor choices can lead to poverty. Structural causes such as lack of adequate health care, poor educational systems, lack of jobs, social and political structures that includes the exploitation by people in power.
I believe that structural causes are more to blame for poverty than individual causes. Individual causes such as poor choices, health issues and conflicts can lead to poverty but structural causes such as lack of good governance, lack of education, expensive healthcare, inequality, detrimental social and political practices shoulder more of the blame. Without progress in these sectors, the poor do not have the opportunity to change their lives, and will forever be caught in a viscous cycle of a low income leading to low education leading to low income.
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