Poverty, Hunger, and Homelessness - Research Paper Example

History and Political Science Poverty, Hunger, and Homelessness Poverty refers to a situation where individuals lack basic needs to run smoothly in their day-to-day life. The basic human needs include food, shelter, water, clothing, health care, and education. This report expounds on how poverty, hunger, and homelessness have developed roots in countries, their effect on the economy, and the strategies laid down to curb them. Poor communities lack resources to acquire food due to the unemployment and the economic constrains. According to Nelson (13), the climate change is one of the roots of poverty among communities. This is because it results in hunger, droughts, and floods. Lack of shelter is a global challenge and comes from an inadequate income which does not allow people to afford the available housing. Conflicts, overpopulation, natural disasters are among the factors that lead to hunger, poverty, and homelessness in underdeveloped countries. Criteria of Poverty and Homelessness Poverty may not always refer to the lack of financial resources only. Poverty goes beyond the amount of money that one owns. Several measures that constitute the criteria for identifying poverty among people have come up. The measurement and analysis of the poverty level proves its significance for analytical, cognitive, and policy-making purposes, as well as for evaluating and monitoring purposes. Various concepts of well-being exist, and this report focuses on three of its aspects. Firstly, the poverty state where an individual possesses inadequate resources to meet their daily needs. It is based on the comparison of individual’s income, consumption, education, and other constituents. Secondly, this report focuses on inequality in the distribution of income among the population. This argument is based on evaluating the premise that in the society individuals occupy different positions. Finally, the welfare-being evaluation of the overall level of inequality, in terms of monetary and non-monetary dimensions of the population, shows the poverty level (Coundouel 77). The World Bank estimates that in developing countries, millions of families survive on 1.25 dollar a day or less. In addition, it indicates that poverty and hunger results from poor economic and political systems in a country. The federal government uses the income threshold to establish the poverty level in a community. The Census Bureau for Statistical Purposes uses the thresholds to establish poverty. According to Coundouel (78), the government classifies people according to “their residence, ethnicity, and other demographic characteristics”. A state of homelessness is when a person does not have a permanent residence. Poverty Level in Terre Haute According to the United States Bureau of Statistics and Census, the poverty level in Terre Haute is estimated at 25.2%. Indiana ranges around 14% when compared to the national poverty level of 15%. According to Nelson (24), the poverty level in Terre Haute exceeds Indiana’s average and the national average. The Indiana’s government uses a below the poverty line as an economic benchmarking and a poverty threshold. This shows that a majority of the population lives in poverty. Homelessness Level in Terre Haute Homelessness in Terre Haute is at seven percent with Indiana’s homelessness at eleven percent. The high rate of homelessness is immensely contributed to by inadequate finances and inadequate incomes which do not allow people to afford building of good housing. The National Shelter Shelter rate comparison between Terre Haute and Indiana shows that Indiana rates exceed those of Terre Haute. Fifty eight percent of homeless people in America live in shelters and makeshift housing. The financial and economic crisis in America has led to the increasing rate of poverty and hunger. In 2011, over seventeen million people faced a crisis of food shortage. Arguably, the poverty level in America ranged around fifteen percent in the same year of 2011. The United States of America Statistics Bureau shows that the hunger level in America surpasses the hunger level in other countries. Specifically when we compare America with a country like China, America triples China by the hunger rate (Nelson 54- 60). Programs Available to Assist with Poverty Eradication Poverty, being a community calamity, is challenging to fight single-handedly and, therefore, needs charity programs to assist in the process. The economic growth alone cannot manage to reduce poverty, improve the life quality, and create jobs unless it is inclusive. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) includes one of the programs that help in curbing poverty. Together with UNDP’s help in managing globalization, it becomes an essential ingredient of the economic growth. UNDP works to improve the economic growth and the standards of living of people by giving everyone a chance and opportunity to grow. The Urban Partnership for Poverty Reduction program improves the living conditions of millions of people in Bangladesh. In Egypt, UNDP assists the government to implement an innovative cash transfer program that benefits approximately twenty-five thousand households. The Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) involves a program, which aims at assisting the low-income earners and plays a significant role in family improvements. TANF focuses on families with dependent children and pregnant women in their last trimester. TANF became one of the block grant programs that helped needy people to secure a job. In addition, TANF provides financial aid to poverty affected families and helps the beneficiaries to find a job. This program exhibits effectiveness because the federal government controls its management in every state. This helps in finding the eligible families that deserve assistance. The U.S. Health Services assists this program through funding some of its projects in order to enable it to reach the unfortunate people in the underdeveloped communities (Nelson 38). Conclusion on Hunger and Homelessness Hunger hinders the development of many countries, and this calls for immediate actions by individuals and other stakeholders. Poverty and hunger are interrelated. This is because a prolonged hunger results in poverty in a country. Notably, hunger affects people in their daily lives. It leads to mental impairment, poor health, inability to work and study, and, thus, accelerates the poverty rate. According to Souter (17), strategies such as agricultural ones will pull the world from humanitarian interventions and emergencies. This is because it will assist the poor to be self-sufficient. Social and political instability in many countries result from and in hunger. The homelessness that affects many communities occurs because of ethnic conflicts and the political imbalance, resulting in the evacuation and forced migration from their land (Souter 21). This homelessness goes with all the calamities related to poverty. The World Bank estimates that in developing countries, many poor families survive on 1.25 dollars a day. As a result, the programs fighting poverty must increase their effectiveness to reach more poor people. Programs such as Urban Partnership Poverty Reduction work to improve the standard of living of many poor urban dwellers in countries like Bangladesh (Souter 28-32). Political Philosophies of Utilitarianism, Libertarianism, and Egalitarianism Poverty calamities have led to the categorization of people into two primary classes that of the poor, and the rich; where the majority lacks basic needs, while others live lavishly. In many countries, this division of people gives a distinct characterization of people. Some people take pleasure in a remarkably considerable power of selection, while others face deprivation of acting, and always survive under the living circumstances worthless of a human person (Mill 23-27). The government has tried to intervene in various ways to reduce the observed gap in many developing countries. The government tries to make equal the basic human need provision among its citizens. There are various ethical perspectives concerning the governmental role in providing individual rights. These ethical perspectives include Utilitarianism, Libertarianism, and Egalitarianism. Utilitarian Perspective The Utilitarian perspective focuses on giving a say to everyone in the society building. The government must distribute the wealth in a way that impacts the community greatly. Mill argues that for the government to bring benefits for the whole country in a commendable way, it must distribute the resources in a strategic plan (28). The utility principle deals with maximum satisfaction derived from the combination of resources. For a utilitarian, a just distribution of wealth will result in a maximum satisfaction of the whole community. This connotes that if giving all the wealth to few people results in more satisfaction than any other allocation of wealth, that mode of allocation of all the wealth to an individual seems the most favorable morally and just. This may differ from the principles of economics, because an economist believes that an equal distribution of resources yields maximum economic development. The utilitarian approach advocates the principle of diminishing marginal utility on taxing, when the wealthier people get heavier taxation than the rest, and resources are provided to the underprivileged people who get subsidies to lessen the level of income disparity and maximize satisfaction. Utilitarianism does not reveal the quantity of pleasure, but the quality of happiness (Mill 34). Libertarian Perspective The fundamental doctrine of libertarianism portrays that people have a strong claim to have the serene enjoyment of their own people, as well as an accomplishment of their voluntary agreement with others. Libertarians argue that the resource distribution should be communitarian in nature, voluntary, and non-state sponsored. It does not advocate the ownership of properties. Their arguments against redistribution show a strong affirmation of personal property. They view the possession of property as a form of giving a power to have the property any time. According to Rothbard (23), libertarians believe that property owners can keep anything that comes on their way and, thus, leave others without anything. From this perspective, the amendment with the distribution of resources and possessions evenly using an apparatus like a progressive income tax intrudes into the possession rights. The government should offer equal chances to all the individuals to look for a material possession without controlling their property rights (Rothbard 29). Egalitarian Perspective This perspective responds to the equality in resource distribution. Egalitarianism is one of the fairest perspectives of the wealth distribution. It shows how everyone must get an equal proportion and treatment. Its foundation is all the people must be equal. In many societal situations, egalitarians advocate for the distribution of benefits. Egalitarianism, to some extent, faces objections because its principle tends to undermine an incentive and infringe justice. This injustice occurs when in the society hardworking individuals get an equal share with those who do not work. Thus, it seems to promote laziness to some extent (Rothbard 24). Conclusion on Ethics This paper has observed how various philosophies have different views concerning the means of wealth and resource distribution. In addressing poverty, the government must balance individual rights to property ownership. Thus, the libertarian perspective seems more favorable and applicable to curb the countries’ hunger and shelter problems that lead to poverty. Poverty affects people in the community in different ways. Therefore, this makes it a national disaster since it has an impact on the whole community. Poverty starts immediately when parents neglect their role in providing education rights to children. This shows that education is one of the aspects that determine poverty level in the society. Before the community finds ways to reduce the poverty level, it must deal with its root causes. When a community lacks educated people, the level of innovation goes down, and the community does not experience technological changes. In order to curb poverty, the government and other stakeholders must heavily invest in education. Good governance can improve a country’s wealth. For many years, efficient implementations of strategic plans that can eradicate poverty have not taken place yet. This is because of the non-performing political leaders. To enable the establishment of a strong leadership team that will fight poverty, citizens must practice democracy in voting. A state needs innovative and reformist leaders who will embrace technological development and research that a country needs to make a step forward in poverty eradication. Political leaders should avoid corruption and spread peace messages that create a favorable environment for investments. Thus, reducing conflicts internally and externally enables a country to pull down the factors leading to poverty. Many citizens blame institutions for the high poverty levels in their country. However, an external factor may have catalyzed poverty in the country. Individuals, at their own capacities, must get involved in the plans to get themselves out of the poverty bracket. Citizens need to venture into activities that add value to their life. Starting from the youths, who spend most of their time for leisure, they need to realize the significance of working hard while still young. In addition, the utilization of resources should get into practice. Land is one of the most significant factors of production. In some countries, it stays idle and underutilized, and this results into a zero income despite its size. Banks and other financial ventures must get involved in providing facilities to low income earners and encourage investments among the citizens. According to this research, poverty, hunger, and homelessness have proved to integrate fear in individuals of many states. However, this paper has come out with a solution. Poverty is solvable if everyone plays their roles effectively. There is more hope for the modern countries that embrace new technology. Works Cited Coundouel, Aline, Jesko S. Hentschel, and Quentin T. Wodon. Poverty Measurement and Analysis. Sourcebook for Poverty Reduction Strategioes. Vol. 1: Core Techniques and Cross-Cutting Issues. Ed. Jeni Klugman. Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 2002. 29-70. Print. Mill, John Stuart. "The Principle of Utility." Ethics and Moral Philosophy: Taylor and Francis, Ltd, 1861. 31-35. Print. Nelson, Alex Winter. The Atlas of World Hunger. Chicago: University of Chicago, 2013. Print. Rothbard, Murray N. The Ethics of Liberty. New York: New York University Press, 1998. Print. Souter, Justice David H. "Harvard Commencement Remarks." Campus and the Community. New York: Havard University Press, 1885. 2-3. Print. Read More