Poverty Does Not Really End with the Lack of Money - Essay Example

POUR or POOR The term poverty has always been associated with money and the lack of it. And most of the time, it ends with the issue of money. Itis also oftentimes equated to insufficient resources. Webster also dictates that poverty may cover a range from extreme want to an absence of material comforts. However, poverty does not really end with the lack of money. It would be more accurate to deal on one's ability or inability to obtain it. Actually, money is just a tool a medium of exchange, a measure of value, or a means of payment*. One cannot simply define a word such as poverty by putting together the words related or associated to it. It could be more effectively defined by looking at its cause and effect and association to other related aspects. Rather than just simply looking at the insufficiency of resources, we must focus on the efforts exerted and the conditions that brought about the insufficiency. There is also truth in saying that poverty should not be measured by money alone. Two people could obtain the same amount of money but one could be deemed poor in possessions because of misallocation. This also deals with how money is spent. In a study by Christophe Muller, he posed the question whether poverty measures are a real economic phenomena or only hidden consequences of methodological choices. He also stated that there is a difference between being poor in a poor community and being poor in a wealthy environment. Thus, it could be established that defining poverty lines is such a tall order. We cannot just simply apply the same measure everywhere and all the time. (3) One would be shocked at how many factors affect not only poverty but also our understanding of poverty. Technically, other factors such as inequality, taxation, and income distribution should also be considered in evaluating economic conditions. In his paper, Defining Poverty Lines and Identifying the Poor, Peter Sanders purports that the government has a stake on the people's welfare particularly in its policies on wages and social benefits. In reality, the government should not take on the burden of ensuring the people's financial welfare but the most that it could do is formulate sound policies to ensure equality and economic security. (5) Then, there is the question if poverty could be accurately gauged by a certain measure or statistics alone. Definitely, this is not so true since poverty could not be defined as something quantitative but more so qualitative. Poverty is also suggestive of the quality of life or living conditions. (6) Sanders further claims that in a so-called outcome-oriented perspective, poverty is not measured but rather experienced by those who fall to it. Poverty does not become potent when it is gauge but rather when it felt. History tells us that it is not only the poor who complain about life becoming more and more difficult but also those who are well off. The worst kind of poverty happens when the people and government could not afford to have or provide themselves good education. It could also be said that poverty in a nation is also indicative of its social and political system and the stability of its laws and policies. People really do have different notions of poverty and this is most times subjective. This is further elucidated in the study done on DSS clients. This further makes the idea of solving this social condition impossible especially if those stricken by poverty do not realize or recognize that they are poor. In addition, this disparity could happen on the other extreme, when the wealthy think that they are poor. A nation would have to be clear at establishing the poverty line or define the standards of living before it could effectively define poverty. Destitution does not just concern our needs and wants but also how we manage our resources or income. It was also discussed how poverty per se is not a single entity but something that could take different forms and just like every social issues, it has evolved. Now, in a paper entitled GLOBALIZATION AND POVERTY, Ann Harrison venture to defining poverty in relation to globalization specifically in the light of trade and capital flows. It was cited that if globalization would continue then poverty would no longer be an issue of subsistence but rather of inequality. This further shows that poverty is not just defined but also best described by its effects such as unemployment, illiteracy, peace, and order, and others.(3) The study further clarifies that the face of poverty is different for every country depending on the nation's standards. But then, if we would look closely, we would also realize that it is not really the lack of money but the lack of ability or opportunity. (5) In every study that has been made, there is always likely the possibility of associating poverty with varied things. This is not something off beam since poverty does really relate and affects so many different aspects of our existence. It is not only interrelated or interconnected but also intertwined with so many economic, social, and even spiritual issues. Just like in his research title, MARTIN RAVALLION associated poverty with growth and inequality. He stressed that economic growth does not affect inequality the same way it affects poverty. Growth could alleviate the conditions of the poor but it is not a guarantee that the movement would have to be equal or similar for both the rich and the poor. It does not necessarily improve or eradicate inequality. Though rising inequality might be a cause of alarm since a bigger gap would likely mean a lower status or condition for the poor not unless those in the higher part of the graph is in an extremely high position. (12) Then, poverty could also signify how much the underprivileged falls from the average standards of living. The study also illustrate that when inequality is low, the poor would obtain a higher share of the gains. Indigence is not just simple quantifiable. It is also observable. It does not only happen for one simple reason or cause but is attributable to so many factors. It could be further observed that a lot of studies equate defining poverty to setting a measure or a standard. In their work entitled, On the Definition and Measurement of Chronic Poverty, Aaberge and Mogstad defined chronically poor as those with persistent inability to pursue welfare due to lack of economic means. Even a higher income would not mean a better status for both poor and rich if the standards of living had gone up. It does not mean higher purchasing power. Income could only be deemed good in relation to current expenditures, which paved the way to their valid claims that the poor are those who spend more than their income, which is manifested in their borrowing and saving behavior. (2-4) This would lead us back to the discussion of differentiating needs from wants, which is one method of putting sense to our financial condition. Michael Lipton and Martin Ravallion, in their study on poverty and policy claim that biases against the rural sector and the urban informal sector is also a factor in the issue about poverty. Poverty worsens, especially in the rural areas when they do not get the provisions that they deserved. First, because of the fact that they are less accessible than those in the cities and there is a higher tendency that they would get less and merit a less better treatment. (18-19) However, this might be the untrue in some cases especially if the influx of people to the city would result to a higher density of population, something that urban areas could not surely manage, in the eventuality that this aspect of governance is not controlled or could not be regulated. According to the study, there is also a likelihood that younger families or marriages are prone to poverty. This is due to the idea that the couple is just starting to establish a household and are likely to be also new in their careers. This is also the time when the children are young and would require a lot of care and incur a lot of expenses. At this time, the children are all dependent to the parents until such time that they get an education, considering education is costly especially in developing countries.(18-19) So far, it would appear that the different studies about poverty yielded different results and came up with different definitions and interpretation of poverty. Nevertheless, the truth is they are all related and these valid definitions and interpretations should be recognized to bring forth the most comprehensive view of poverty. Sayed Afzal Peerzade wrote about poverty in the Islamic viewpoint. The shariah dictates that poverty is dynamic, something that defies time and space limitations. He gives one good definition of poverty: Poverty is one of the major problems the world is confronting today. It is described as both a cause and an effect of many of the socio-economic evils of our society. It is defined as a condition of life characterized by hunger, disease, squalor, malnutrition, and mental and physical distress. According to the World DevelopmentReport 1990 of the World Bank (1990), poverty symbolises the inability of a person to attain a minimum standard of living. (1) We should all be aware that poverty is not just a physical or social condition. The gravest evil of poverty happens when it affects our psychological and spiritual well-being. It would be too easy to define poverty as we perceive it, through the things that we see and hear around us. The most accurate perception would be those that are felt and experienced. What is important is that a man should not get used to the idea of an eternal poverty just like a chronic disease. He has to rise up from the condition that he is in and must believe and find a way out of this economic stranglehold. Works Cited Peerzade, Sayed Afzal. The Definition and Measurement of Poverty:An Integrated Islamic Approach. Bijapur, India: Centre for Islamic Studies , 1990. Muller, Christophe. Defining Poverty Lines As A Fraction of Central Tendency. Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Econmicas, S.A. 2005. Sanders, Peter. Defining Poverty Lines and Identifying the Poor . Sydney: SPRC, University of New South Wales, 1998. Harrison, Ann. Globalization and Poverty . Cambridge: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2006. Ravallion, Martin. "Growth, Inequality and Poverty: Looking Beyond Averages" . World Development (November 2001): 1-32 Aaberge, Rolf and Magne Mogstad. On the Definition and Measurement of Chronic Poverty Bonn: Institute for the Study of Labor, 2007. Lipton, Michael and Martin Ravallion. Poverty and Policy . The World Bank: Policy Research Department, 1993. Authorized Mary Stach. A Traveler's Guide to San Francisco. Boston: Harper, 1996. Read More