Poverty

Poverty

 

Abstract

Poverty is a term used in describing the living conditions of people in the society. It is usually measured based on basic living conditions like nutrition, health care, shelter. Social theories like structural functional theory and conflict theory explain the functions and the causes of poverty in the society. The causes of poverty include gender, racism, personal choices, unemployment and low wages. Though poverty is a social issue, it is not limited to social functioning as economic empowerment is essential. The creation of employment and increase in wages can help in the eradication of poverty. Poverty can be measured but the process or technique has been criticized like in the article The Mismeasure of Poverty. The research on poverty is important as it highlights on the different approaches to poverty.

POVERTY

The article The Mismeasure of Poverty addresses poverty which is a social issue. Though governments have put measures of combating poverty in place, poverty is still a major challenge in the society. For instance, the report by the Census Bureau indicates stability in poverty in the U.S (Danziger, 2013). Perry (2002) defines poverty as when “Individuals, groups, and families lack resources to obtain food, partake in the activities, and have the living amenities and conditions that are customary, or widely approved or encouraged in the society they belong” (p. 102). Though most people in the society are aware of causes, effects and ways of eradicating poverty, majority are unaware that it can be addressed effectively. This research seeks to explain the reality of poverty in the society by analyzing the underlying theories, the known and unknown issues on poverty and the importance of the research through the eye the article: The Mismeasure of Poverty.

The Mismeasure of Poverty in Relation to Sociology

The Mismeasure of Poverty fits in the field of sociology as it highlights sociological theories like the conflict theory and the structural functional theory of poverty. The terms “inequality and equal” are used to describe poverty. Social functions involve human activities thus sociology highlights the contributions of human activity in the society. Since poverty is as a result of human activity, it qualifies to be a sociological issue. Also, social functions require interaction or relationships. Social interactions or relationship is a sociological issue as people interact at different levels in the society (Kendall, 2011). For instance, the family structure, kinships and marriages are social relationships. However, poverty influences the formation of relationship in the social ladder based on equality or inequality of the people. The use of the term “poverty” also implies social classification of some people as poor while others are rich. The classification of poverty like the category of low-income families or the poor is part of social stratification which is a sociological issue.

The term “poor” is used in the article to describe indicate inequality. The structural functional theory explains that all things in the society have a function and purpose (Kendall, 2011). This implies that inequality and poverty serve a specified function in the society.  For instance, without inequality, there is no social growth as poverty offers social mobility in the different of the social ladder (Danziger, 2013). Thus, poverty encourages people like the “poor” to move along the social strata. Additionally, poverty guarantees inequality which ensures that some members in the society are unemployed. This helps in maintaining social order.

In the process of enacting human action, inequality due to imperfect competition influences social power (Perry, 2002). From a sociological perspective, inequality creates class. The article also addresses the antipoverty measures like employment and increased wages that can decrease the rate of unemployment leading to increased productivity (Danziger, 2013). This implies that the antipoverty measures will encourage people to disconnect themselves from poverty. The movement from poverty indicates social mobility which can be understood from a sociological perspective. Social mobility refers to the ways in people progress, diminish, or depart unchanged in their economic status (Kendall, 2011). The presence of high level mobility indicates that people can easily leave poverty. Thus a poor person has high life chances to improve his/her economic welfare under the influence of social mobility. This implies that the higher the level of social mobility, the easier for people to abandon poverty (Kendall, 2011).

Known and Unknown Aspects of Poverty

The known aspects in the article include the increased rate of poverty based on measures of poverty. For instance, in 2011-2012, the poverty rate in the U.S was 15% (Danziger, 2013). The report also notes that the official measure of poverty is quite higher than the 11.1% rate in 1973 (Danziger, 2013). According to Danziger (2013), poverty is due to unemployment and low wages. Perry (2002) also notes that low wages could be due to personal choices like dropping out of school.

Based on the article, poverty can be addressed by utilization of “antipoverty measures with policies that lower the unemployment rate and increase wages” (Danziger, 2013). It can also be eradicated by offering equal education for all, addressing racism, and gender in relation to employment (Perry, 2002). This will help in improving the living standards of people.

However, the exact measures of poverty are unknown. Perry (2002, p. 103) argues that the definition of a common ground for poverty is important as the common measurement is based on “consumption-based material as opposed to well-being, welfare, and happiness.” The report indicates that there is differing opinion on the measure of poverty in the society as the government has been spending a lot of money (up to $15 trillion) in the fight against poverty (Danziger, 2013). Also, the measures the government has under taken in the eradication of poverty like the introduction of “food stamps” by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as subsidies to low-income families reduces food insecurity and poverty (Danziger, 2013). Danziger (2013) adds that SNAP has also led to decrease in the rate of poverty among the adults. Also, the “earned-income tax credit” on low income families aimed at reducing the rate of poverty among poor people has not been considered in measuring the rate of poverty. This makes it difficult to make exact conclusions on the factors to be considered when measuring poverty.

Importance of the Research

The research is important as it addresses poverty which is a social issue. The culture of poverty has been in existence for generations leading to stereotyping of poor people. The causes of poverty like unemployment and low wages lead to poverty. However, if the right environment like employment is created, social mobility would help them move through the social strata hence reducing poverty. Thus this research is important as it addresses the reality of poverty hence ways of eradicating poverty like inability to access education and minimum wages which reinforces the culture of poverty can be addressed.

Additionally, the research is important as it highlights the different causes of poverty like unemployment and low wages. Thus it lays a foundation for research on how addressing these issues can help in eructating poverty. Finally, since the article clearly indicates that poverty has not been measured appropriately, more research can be done to establish the methods of measuring poverty and the rate of poverty in the society. The means of identifying “the poor” and the measuring material should be identified (Perry, 2002)

Conclusion

In conclusion, The Mismeasure of Poverty addresses poverty which is a sociological issue. Poverty is due to human action and involves interaction of people in the society. Though poverty has been stereotyped, the inequality it creates is important for economic growth as it creates social classes. When factors like unemployment and low wages are addressed, social mobility will be encouraged leading to people leaving poverty.  The society has reinforced the culture of poverty thus this research is important in addressing how people can disengage from poverty through education and offering reasonable minimum wages.

 

 

References

Danziger, H.S. (2013). The Mismeasure of Poverty. Retrieved from             http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/18/opinion/the-mismeasure-of-poverty.html?_r=0 on      October 9, 2013.

Perry, B. (2002). The mismatch between income measures and direct outcome measures of            poverty. Social Policy Journal of New Zealand, 101-127.

Kendall, D. (2011). Sociology in Our Times. California: Wadsworth. Retrieved from             http://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=T77FX4l5uLUC&oi=fnd&pg=PR3&dq            =Poverty+from+a+sociological+perspective&ots=r_AsO5-frV&sig=eAYWxMtHV-            64PaJCdpImnIip090&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Poverty%20from%20a%20sociologic  al%20perspective&f=false on December 7, 2013.

 

 

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