Solving Poverty in America - Essay Example

The current case analysis aims to present an evaluation of the current situation through a stakeholder analysis using ethical theories. From case facts, it was revealed that poverty affects different segments of society: children, minority groups (particularly African Americans and Hispanics), women, widows, the homeless, and other groups who could have lost their jobs, became ill, or met some unfortunate and fortuitous events. Thus, the factors that were deemed contributory to poverty include job loss, misfortune, illness, lack of income despite working full-time, insufficient government support, ineffective welfare programs, break-up of marriage, the need to support children alone, and even laziness or indolence.

Section 2: Stakeholder Analysis

            Children were identified as being significantly affected by poverty. Case facts revealed that the causes of poverty in children include poor nutrition, reported exposure to environmental toxins, as well as the presence of stress hormones that negatively impact children’s growth. Accordingly, “children are the poorest age group in the nation. In 2012, children were 60 percent more likely to be poor than adults ages 18-64, and nearly two-and-a-half times more likely to be poor than seniors” (Children's Defense Fund, 2014, p. 22). Thus, children who remain in poverty

have been noted to sustain negative impacts including the inability to finish education, avail of health benefits, and be preponderant to exposure to criminal activities. Concurrently, another stakeholder in poverty is women, especially those who got divorced, were left by their spouses, got widowed, or needed to support their children on their own. As such, women were noted to apply for more welfare and financial support. Likewise, other factors which were noted to be contributory to the poverty of women is the unequal and discriminatory labor rates, when compared to their male counterparts, even for similar job positions. Finally, minorities were also revealed as relevant stakeholders in poverty. Due to the inability to access equal opportunities for jobs, health care, and other economic resources and privileges, minorities tend to be more exposed to criminal activities than their White counterparts.

Section 3: Analysis Based on Ethical Theories

            The dilemma of poverty could be explained in terms of the inability of society, particularly policymakers, to adhere to distributive justice. As emphasized, “distributive justice is a central concept in the catholic tradition and is closely linked to the concepts of human dignity, the common good, and human rights. Considered an ethical principle, distributive justice refers to what society or a larger group owes its members in proportion to (1) the individual needs, contribution, and responsibility; (2) the resources available to the society or organization; and (3) the society or organization’s responsibility to the common good” (Khali, 2000, p. 8).

Section 4: Conclusion and Recommendations

            Using this information, it could be deduced that solving poverty would require an interplay of collaborative factors through the assistance of various social, economic, and political practitioners of society. Since several segments or stakeholders of society are affected by the dilemma, there is a need to focus on the causes of poverty for each segment, the confounding effects, an analysis of the pros and cons if this segment remains within the poverty level, and how long-term repercussion would continue to be a burden to society. Distributive justice is required as the ethical framework to assist in the redistribution of resources, according to the needs of the individuals and family members, as well as the total resources of the country seen to be beneficial for the greater good.