How would it be possible to eradicate poverty on a structural level? What resources would it require and to what degree of magnitude? What kinds of behaviors would we teach our children so that they might sustain the process? What are the moral implications? What personal responsibilities would be absolved and on what terms? Would we take on additional responsibilities? Would we, collectively, be held at greater risk of failure as a nation? What are the things that cannot be anticipated?
In spite of any questions, there must be some respite for the poor as their numbers rise. We have effectively established that seemingly no combination of goodwill, charity, or education can eliminate the problem of poverty. So it is structural in nature, and the ever-increasing population is slowly edging the underpriviledged towards a cliff. Perhaps the minimum wage needs to be raised. Perhaps more of the nation's GDP should be spent on social programs. But on what exactly and how much will it cost? Judging by the political deadlock on these questions, there isn't an easy answer.
It should be clarified that we mean to eradicate poverty to the degree that small pox was eradicated; So that it simply cannot exist and you will find it nowhere.
Should we desire to remain basically capitalist, than a guaranteed minimum income may be a contender for the solution, but even this holds significant detriment.
So, without rebooting society itself, can it be done?
Honestly I don't think there is anyway to ever eliminate poverty. The only way to eliminate it would be to start over, and as soon this idea of no poverty started over, human nature would kick in and someone would want to be on top. People can't succeed if their is not someone on the bottom. I believe if a person wants to succeed they can. People choose to be where they are to an extent. Nothing is ever going to change.
ReplyDeleteI think Shelbie makes a great point, there cannot be people at the top without anyone at the bottom. Like we were discussing in class we will always have those "workers" and those "owners" if we were to stay in the same world we live in. The system that is in place today cannot be changed overnight.
ReplyDeleteI also don't think that poverty can be eradicated because unlike small pox, it is not a disease that can be cured with a vaccine. Poverty is a state, a situation where one lacks the resource to participate in a trading system. And in order to completely remove poverty, you would have to remove the trading system, which I think is impossible. The human race have used the trading system throughout history, maybe even back to the time of cavemen, where we would trade something for something else. It is an essential tool that allows us get resources that we couldn't have gotten otherwise. And as long as there is a trading system, there will be poverty.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the best way to go about it is maybe not eliminating poverty as a whole but making it where poverty the poverty level is very slim. the way today societal government is set up there will always be the richer and poorer. Hearing professor Johnson in class say quote that about 44 to 48% are the richest people in America kind of bothers me. Most people in America have to at least get about two to three jobs just to support their families and make it through their daily lives. Even though some people enjoy their jobs most people would list their jobs as alienated labor. The alienated labor doesn't make them rush to work everyday but make them thankful enough to receive monetary value to help them get by. Another crazy about this alienated labor is that some of these jobs don't offer healthcare or maybe have started to drop their health insurance for their employees. This too puts a lot of people in the poverty level. Minimum wage should be raised but you have to realize things like gas, groceries, light, water, gas bills etc. will have to be raised as well. Of course some states have already went through this process but not many. I also it has to do with greed the rich want to stat rich and the poor unfortunately will have to remain poorer until further notice.
ReplyDeleteIt seems highly unlikely that poverty can really be eliminated from society. To say that people won't drift downward until they reach the point of having no resources available to them is sort of the natural inclination for some people, in my opinion of course. I have no doubt that mankind has no great intention of eliminating poverty as an overall goal; people would rather help themselves first, and others second. Unless society as a whole becomes more important than the individual, then people will not be willing to make the necessary changes in society in order to ensure a kind of safety net for all people, below which nobody can possibly fall. So no, I don't think poverty can be eliminated from society without major changes on a societal level to human behavior, and I don't consider that a possibility; there are just too many people who would have to cooperate with absolute certainty. But that's just my pessimism showing.
ReplyDeleteTo fix such a difficult problem like poverty I believe there are two things that are mainly needed, but this doesn't mean poverty will be fixed. One is a higher minimum wage. With today's market, the price of living is higher than what people are getting at minimum wage. A person can't live like that. Second we need more jobs for the people to go into, ones that need no experience or special skills. Keep in mind even if we did all these things it by no way means we would get rid of poverty, as much as some preppie in poverty are trying to be out of it, others are lazy and addicts that have no want to move and and want to stay in poverty.
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