The Cause for Poverty

[Nakosis]

What do you believe causes poverty?
What do you believe the solution is?

I don't at this time have a position to advocate. That may change, but I am curious about what other people think.

 

[PureX]

Greed causes poverty. Greed denies us the ability to share the bounty. Hence ... excessive wealth and excessive poverty.

 

[ImmortalFlame]

By and large, the biggest indicator of whether or not you will live in poverty is... Whether or not you were born into poverty.

Greed causes poverty. Greed denies us the ability to share the bounty. Hence ... excessive wealth and excessive poverty.

Yeah, basically this. We could talk for weeks on end about schooling, zoning, access to services, etc., etc., but really the only reason any of those things are even an issue in the first place is [see above].

We have the resources. We have the means. We have the homes. Western society has everything it needs to end poverty overnight. The reason it doesn't is because of a lack of willingness on the part of the people who have those resources, who have those means, and who own those homes to put them to use for that specific end without a profit motive.

So, yeah. PureX basically summed it up.

 

[Onoma]

It's a good question !

I myself have experienced the extremes, having sunk so low as to have been addicted to hard drugs and living on the streets as a teen, having been raised in a home without running water, gas, electric or phones, etc, and conversely, I have found myself living " on top ", making great money, sleeping on expensive mattresses, etc

I've rubbed elbows with all walks of life and found myself in the middle of many pleasant and/or unfortunate circumstances, and the personal conclusion I came to is that " poverty " is mainly a state of mind, because it takes that person making the conscious decision to make things better for themselves

I would offer that many people around the world living " in poverty " according to the ideal american middle class definition, probably don't start to consider themselves " poor " until they start comparing to what other people have

 

[Daemon Sophic]

Greed causes poverty. Greed denies us the ability to share the bounty. Hence ... excessive wealth and excessive poverty.

While this is largely correct and is a major factor in what causes poverty; I don’t think that anyone can try to simplify this issue into a one-liner or a few-liner.
Albeit that greed of the rich does lead to many of the other factors involed in poverty’s roots.

 

[Secret Chief]

The greater the permitted wealth inequality, the greater the poverty. As the rich can get even more obscenely rich the people at the other end get pushed even further down. Countries that have a narrower permitted band between top and bottom curtail that tendency.

At least that's my simplistic line.

Causes of poverty - Wikipedia

 

[ImmortalFlame]

While this is largely correct and is a major factor in what causes poverty; I don’t think that anyone can try to simplify this issue into a one-liner or a few-liner.
Albeit that greed of the rich does lead to many of the other factors involed in poverty’s roots.

What else would you propose?

 

[icehorse]

While this is largely correct and is a major factor in what causes poverty; I don’t think that anyone can try to simplify this issue into a one-liner or a few-liner.
Albeit that greed of the rich does lead to many of the other factors involed in poverty’s roots.

I would say that there will always be some people who are greedy and lack empathy. Our economic systems MUST recognize this inevitability and include checks and measures to keep these people from succeeding. And I don't mean not succeeding at all. I think we need to reward invention and innovation. But we do not need multi-billionaires who do not pay their fair share of taxes.

Sadly, the checks and measures the US had 50 or 60 years ago (which were working to make a great country), have been allowed to be degraded. We need to get those checks and measures back in place.

 

[Nakosis]

Greed causes poverty. Greed denies us the ability to share the bounty. Hence ... excessive wealth and excessive poverty.

Ok, so Warren Buffet possesses about 80 billion dollars. He earned it through his financial dealings.
Is that wealth or greed?

 

[Nakosis]

I would say that there will always be some people who are greedy and lack empathy. Our economic systems MUST recognize this inevitability and include checks and measures to keep these people from succeeding. And I don't mean not succeeding at all. I think we need to reward invention and innovation. But we do not need multi-billionaires who do not pay their fair share of taxes.

Sadly, the checks and measures the US had 50 or 60 years ago (which were working to make a great country), have been allowed to be degraded. We need to get those checks and measures back in place.

What about this idea?
Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.

 

[Secret Chief]

Why would an extremely rich country have such high levels of poverty? Does Jeff Bezos need all that money?

 

[ImmortalFlame]

Ok, so Warren Buffet possesses about 80 billion dollars. He earned it through his financial dealings.
Is that wealth or greed?

They are essentially synonymous. Greed isn't "not greed" if it's money that has been earned. Greed is the refusal to share wealth (to various degrees), regardless of how it is accrued.

 

[ImmortalFlame]

What about this idea?
Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.

Education is part of it, but look at how educational institutions are wrapped up in greed. In places like America, half of the funds for schools come from local property taxes. What this means is that areas with lower overall property value will have less well funded schools, and areas with higher property values will have better funded schools. Essentially, if you are wealthy (or, at least, live in a wealthy neighbourhood) you are more likely to receive better quality schooling, and if you are poor you are less likely. Then higher education is almost entirely wrapped up in income inequality. Those who can afford to go to the best schools can go, while those who cannot (regardless of merit) are unable.

Of course, there are ways to mitigate this to a degree. But, ultimately, if the absolutely wealthiest people in the country put a substantial quantity of their wealth into funding schools, it could significantly improve education for lower-income Americans. While some do work to support such causes, the kind of money people sit on could hugely change the education inequality in America virtually overnight if they chose to give more.

They choose not to.

And this is to say nothing of governmental systems which are more concerned with piling more money into national security than education or affordable housing. It's all part of that same tapestry.

 

[Heyo]

What about this idea?
Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.

The big fishing industry has just emptied the oceans and what is still left will be killed by global warming.

 

[Daemon Sophic]

What else would you propose?

Sickness (physical and/or mental), lack of opportunity, death, poor education (both academically, as well as poor parenting), drugs and alcohol both in the perspective worker or in their family.
All of which could be greatly alleviated with better taxing and infrastructure.

The conservative line has almost universally been “lack of motivation”. Which time and again has been shown to be a complete strawman. Offer people a job and they will work. Offer them respect, and they will return it. Often in abundance.

Again harkening back to @PureX post above, also consider that most people in poverty are already working a part-time or a full time job. It’s just that the “minimum wage” is too damn low. It was not meant to be a summer job pay for teens trying to buy a bicycle and cigarettes....it was supposed to almost support a small family’s very basic needs (rent/food/heat/electricity).

 

[Heyo]

As long as this stays the mantra of a country, no measures against poverty will be successful.

 

[PureX]

Ok, so Warren Buffet possesses about 80 billion dollars. He earned it through his financial dealings.
Is that wealth or greed?

He didn't "earn" anything. He captured it in an economic system that gave him every possible advantage at doing so. The more money he captured, the greater his advantages grew. And yet 80 billion still is not enough for Warren Buffet. He's still trying to capture and control yet more wealth. I would call that greed, in spades. Wouldn't you?

 

[ImmortalFlame]

Sickness (physical and/or mental), lack of opportunity, death, poor education (both academically, as well as poor parenting), drugs and alcohol both in the perspective worker or in their family.
All of which could be greatly alleviated with better taxing and infrastructure.

The conservative line has almost universally been “lack of motivation”. Which time and again has been shown to be a complete strawman. Offer people a job and they will work. Offer them respect, and they will return it. Often in abundance.

Again harkening back to @PureX post above, also consider that most people in poverty are already working a part-time or a full time job. It’s just that the “minimum wage” is too damn low. It was not meant to be a summer job pay for teens trying to buy a bicycle and cigarettes....it was supposed to almost support a small family’s very basic needs (rent/food/heat/electricity).

But, again, the ultimate cause of these issues could still be said to be greed. Perhaps, historically, lack of access to healthcare (or almost any resources) could meaningfully be attributed to varying factors due to a distinct lack of overall resources. People used to write well-respected polemics on how we should introduce social Darwinism to alleviate what they saw as the inevitable problem of food running out as the global population increased. Manufacturing and resources were limited, and that they could support an entire global population was not really conceived of.

But nowadays, that just isn't the case. Thanks to advancements, we HAVE enough food, enough resources, enough homes to support our global population and more. We HAVE the ability to provide healthcare, to provide opportunities, to provide education, to provide support and rehabilitation to every single person on earth. It simply isn't something we do, because most of us (not just the ultra-wealthy, although they carry the bulk of the responsibility) would rather retain that wealth for ourselves.

That being said, perhaps there is some truth in what you're saying to the extent that simply pinning everything on greed can be reductive, and it's much more helpful to examine the myriad of individual contributing factors and how we can assuage them, assuming that the vast majority of the world's population isn't going to change their minds on the value of personal wealth overnight. I will maintain that all of these problems are only problems as long as the wealthy decide that they want them to be, but I'll agree that there are more fruitful discussions to be had that may work in favour of tipping those scales somewhat without resorting to a global revolution.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Finances. Here you're trapped in a cycle. If you can work, you're not disabled. If you're disabled you can't work. So people get stuck because sometimes disability pays better than work. Then some people with disabilities who can work need to choose whether they want to depend on their job and risk their 100 healthcare. Or risk their healthcare cause they need a full time job to be more flexible with finances one can't be when on disability.

Then you have the same for homeless especially group homes. Unless someone takes you in and/or have a job long enough to apply for housing, you're out of luck. Then or depends on where you live. Some rather be homeless than live in a group home.

Pride is another. Some people feel degraded because they have to ask for things they once got on their own.

Some people say poverty is an individual choice. Get a job...is the idea is job is supposed to be gold. You're lucky here to get a retail if you haven't started early to get up to date experience.

How to fix it?

I'm honestly not sure. I don't feel it's a rich/poor thing. You still have bills just the shift is different. Tax bracket I think it's called. It's more lack of resources. I mean I don't want to be rich (if there is such a word) and rich most likely don't want to be poor. Why can't we just love comfortably.

 

[icehorse]

What about this idea?
Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.

But our problem is that the billionaires have taken all the fish out of the public pond, sigh/