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TEN SOLUTIONS TO

POVERTY
Somalias famine brings issues of global poverty to the
forefront
Prachi Kamble, Staff Writer
The recent famine in Somalia brought the fate of eighty percent of
the worlds population to the spotlight. With catastrophic events
such as this famine, poverty resurfaces yet again in the global
consciousness. A consciousness that is mostly preoccupied with the
rapid advances of its more exciting urban economies. Questions are
then raised on the prevalent quality of poverty and the horrors of its
consequences.
The causes of poverty are manifold. War, disease, famine and
unemployment being the big players. What steps can then be taken
towards addressing the massive social issue of global poverty that
has afflicted humanity for centuries?
1. Employment generation
Carefully and extensively planned employment programs funded by
the government can spur growth in jobs. Industries requiring
substantial labour forces can also be given significantly larger aid
from the government. Focus should be placed on developing
companies that offer sustainable and long-term jobs to the
community. Companies should also budget sufficiently for employee
training and related community programs, so that employees and
prospective employees can keep their skills relevant and up-to-date.

2. Drawing on various social institutions to fund poverty


fighting programs e.g. charities, research institutions,
U.N. , non-profit organizations, universities.
Money funnelled from every organization available adds up to
powerful sums that can produce tangible change. When
organizations develop an interest, albeit vested, they tend to be
more strongly motivated. Organizations that have a concrete goal to
achieve with strict project plans are able to efficiently concentrate
their efforts into producing change. For this reason charities with
numerous middlemen organizations should be discouraged to
ensure money reaches those in need. Importance should be given to
organizations that follow the teach a man to fish ideology rather
than the give the man a fish one, unless in extremely dire emergency
circumstances.
3. Transparency in government spending
Where and how a government chooses to spend taxpayers money
and its own revenue should be visible to the media and the common
man. This makes governments accountable for their actions and
inaction becomes easier to pinpoint and address. It also discourages
corruption in government systems. For example, transparency will
be especially beneficial to civilians whose government might be
allotting money to its nuclear weapons program instead of to its
poverty programs.
4. Cancelling impossible to repay world debts
Many developing countries are trapped in the cycle of constantly
repaying debts that are impossible to pay off. This ensures that they
never get a chance to develop and become self-sufficient. The
priorities of these countries are therefore unnecessarily skewed and
the citizens of these debt-ridden nations are devoid of any hope for a
better future.

5. Prioritizing programs that target fundamental human


rights
Every individual should have access to housing, food, clean water,
healthcare and electricity. Technically governments should only
move on to other projects after they have made sure that programs
that provide these basic amenities to their people are up and
running. This might prove to be the hardest step yet.
6. Taxing the rich more and the poor less
Redistribution of wealth will be an imperative step in eradicating
poverty. The rich get richer while the poor get poorer. Taxing
methods need to be tailored to an individuals financial bracket to
ensure that upward social mobility becomes an absolute possibility.
7. Building self-sufficient economies
Creating reduced dependence on oil, external financial aid and
imports will help to ensure that alleviation of poverty remains on an
upward but permanent curve, as opposed to a temporary revivalist
injection in a dying economy. Steps in this area include investment
in local infrastructure, transportation and schools that keep the ball
of development rolling. Projects to launch new industries and
businesses will also need monetary encouragement.
8. Education
As much as poverty is a social condition it is also a mental and
psychological cage. With education, impoverished populations are
able to visualise their way out of poverty and are able to work
towards it in an organised and reliable manner. Education provides
training to tomorrows workforce and thus fortifies the economy
against poverty. Education in rich populations about poverty
invokes sentiments of compassion and a sense of responsibility to
the misfortunes of the rest of the world. Education also has the
power to bring about social changes such as fights against racism

and sexism both conditions that happen to be linked intrinsically


with poverty.
9. Involvement of the media
The media has the power to draw the eye of the global conscience to
issues of poverty. It becomes too easy to forget the state of the less
fortunate when the world is advancing at lightning speed. With
effective media coverage of poverty-related catastrophes, the
demand for social change rises collectively all over the world.
10. Microfinancing
Microfinancing makes financial services like insurance, savings and
loans available to individuals in developing nations who wish to run
their own small businesses. These individuals, suffering from lack of
employment opportunities and financial backing from governments
or banks, are able to create a profitable means of survival through
microfinancing. Flourishing small businesses, in turn, create jobs,
provide much needed services to their communities and help
stimulate the economy for the long run.
The path to fighting poverty is long and chock full of hurdles. There
is a lot of work to be done and not a single second to waste.
ARB Team
Arbitrage Magazine
Business News with BITE.

The Top 10 Solutions to Cut Poverty and Grow


the Middle Class
The Census Bureau released its annual income,
poverty, and health insurance report yesterday,
revealing that four years into the economic
recovery, there has been some progress in the
poverty rate as it fell from 15 percent in 2012 to
14.5 percent in 2013, but there was no
statistically significant improvement in the
number of Americans living in poverty.
Furthermore, low- and middle-income workers
have seen little to no income growth over the
past decade, as the gains from economic growth
have gone largely to the wealthiest Americans.
With flat incomes and inequality stuck at
historically high levels, one might assume that
chronic economic insecurity and an off-kilter
economy are the new normal and that nothing
can be done to fix it. But there is nothing normal
or inevitable about elevated poverty levels and
stagnant incomes. They are the direct result of

policy choices that put wealth and income into


the hands of a few at the expense of growing a
strong middle class.
The good news is that different policy choices
can bring different outcomes. When the
government invests in jobs and policies to
increase workers wages and families economic
security, children and families see improved
outcomes in both the short and long term.
Here are 10 steps Congress can take to cut
poverty, boost economic security, and expand
the middle class.
1. Create jobs

The best pathway out of poverty is a well-paying


job. To get back to prerecession employment
levels, we must create 5.6 million new jobs. At
the current pace, however, we will not get there
until July 2018. To kick-start job growth, the
federal government should invest in job-creation
strategies such as rebuilding our infrastructure;
developing renewable energy sources;

renovating abandoned housing; and making


other common-sense investments that create
jobs, revitalize neighborhoods, and boost our
national economy. We should also build on
proven models of subsidized employment to
help the long-term unemployed and other
disadvantaged workers re-enter the labor force.
In addition, the extension of federal
unemployment insurance would have
created 200,000 new jobs in 2014, according to
the Congressional Budget Office. Indeed, every
$1 in benefits that flows to jobless workers
yields more than $1.50 in economic activity.
Unfortunately, Congress failed to extend federal
unemployment insurance at the end of 2013,
leaving 1.3 million Americans and their families
without this vital economic lifeline.
2. Raise the minimum wage

In the late 1960s, a full-time worker earning the


minimum wage could lift a family of three out of
poverty. Had the minimum wage back then been

indexed to inflation, it would be $10.86 per


hour today, compared to the current federal
minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Raising the
minimum wage to $10.10 per hour and indexing
it to inflationas President Barack Obama and
several members of Congress have called for
would lift more than 4 million Americans out of
poverty. Nearly one in five children would see
their parent get a raise. Recent action taken by
cities and statessuch as Seattle, Washington;
California; Connecticut; and New Jersey
showsthat boosting the minimum wage reduces
poverty and increases wages.
3. Increase the Earned Income Tax Credit for childless workers

One of our nations most effective anti-poverty


tools, the Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC,
helped more than 6.5 million Americans
including 3.3 million childrenavoid poverty in
2012. Its also an investment that pays longterm dividends. Children who receive the EITC
aremore likely to graduate high school and to
have higher earnings in adulthood. Yet childless

workers largely miss out on the benefit, as the


maximum EITC for these workers is less
thanone-tenth that awarded to workers with two
children.
President Obama and policymakers across the
political spectrum have called for boosting the
EITC in order to right this wrong. Importantly,
this policy change should be combined with a
hike in the minimum wage; one is not a
substitute for the other.
4. Support pay equity

With female full-time workers earning just 78


cents for every $1 earned by men, action must
be taken to ensure equal pay for equal work.
Closing the gender wage gap would cut poverty
in half for working women and their families and
add nearly half a trillion dollars to the nations
gross domestic product. Passing the Paycheck
Fairness Act to hold employers accountable for
discriminatory salary practices would be a key
first step.

5. Provide paid leave and paid sick days

The United States is the only developed


country in the world without paid family and
medical leave and paid sick days, making it very
difficult for millions of American families to
balance work and family without having to
sacrifice needed income. Paid leave is an
important anti-poverty policy, as having a
child is one of the leading causes of economic
hardship. Additionally, nearly 4 in 10 privatesector workersand 7 in 10 low-wage workers
do not have a single paid sick day, putting them
in the impossible position of having to forgo
needed income, or even their job, in order to
care for a sick child. The Family and Medical
Insurance Leave Act, orFAMILY Act, would
provide paid leave protection to workers who
need to take time off due to their own illness,
the illness of a family member, or the birth of a
child. And the Healthy Families Act would enable
workers to earn up to seven job-protected sick
days per year.

6. Establish work schedules that work

Low-wage and hourly jobs increasingly come


with unpredictable and constantly shifting work
schedules, which means workers struggle even
more to balance erratic work hours with caring
for their families. Ever-changing work schedules
make accessing child care even more
difficultthan it already is and leave workers
uncertain about their monthly income.
Furthermore, things many of us take for granted
such as scheduling a doctors appointment or
a parent-teacher conference at schoolbecome
herculean tasks. The Schedules That Work
Act would require two weeks advance notice of
worker schedules, which would allow employees
to request needed schedule changes. It would
also protect them from retaliation for making
such requestsand provide guaranteed pay for
cancelled or shortened shifts. These are all
important first steps to make balancing work
and family possible.

7. Invest in affordable, high-quality child care and early education

The lack of affordable, high-quality child care


serves as a major barrier to reaching the middle
class. In fact, one year of child care for an infant
costs more than one year of tuition at most
states four-year public colleges. On average,
poor families who pay out of pocket for child
care spend one-third of their incomes just to be
able to work. Furthermore, federal child care
assistance reaches only one in six eligible
children.
Boosting investments in Head Start and
the Child Care and Development Block Grant, as
well as passing the Strong Start for Americas
Children Actwhich would invest in preschool,
high-quality child care for infants and toddlers,
and home-visiting services for pregnant women
and mothers with infantswill help more
struggling families obtain the child care they
need in order to work and improve the future
economic mobility of Americas children.

8. Expand Medicaid

Since it was signed into law in 2010, the


Affordable Care Act has expanded access to
high-quality, affordable health coverage for
millions of Americans. However, 23 states
continue torefuse to expand their
Medicaid programs to cover adults up to 138
percent of the federal poverty levelmaking the
lives of many families on the brink much harder.
Expanding Medicaid would mean more than just
access to health careit would free up limited
household income for other basic needs such as
paying rent and putting food on the table.
Having health coverage is also an important
buffer against the economic consequences of
illness and injury; unpaid medical bills are
the leading cause of bankruptcy. Studies link
Medicaid coverage not only to improved health,
improved access to health care services,
andlower mortality rates, but also to reduced
financial strain.

9. Reform the criminal justice system and enact policies that


support successful re-entry

The United States incarcerates more of its


citizens than any other country in the world.
Today, more than 1.5 million Americans are
behind bars in state and federal prisons, a figure
that has increased fivefold since 1980. The
impact on communities of color is particularly
staggering:One in four African American children
who grew up during this era of mass
incarceration have had a parent incarcerated.
Mass incarceration is a key driver of poverty.
When a parent is incarcerated, his or her family
must find a way to make ends meet without a
necessary source of income Additionally, even a
minor criminal record comes with significant
collateral consequences that can serve as
lifelong barriers to climbing out of poverty. For
example, people with criminal records face
substantial barriers to employment, housing,
education, public assistance, and building good
credit. More than 90 percent of employers now

use background checks in hiring, and even an


arrest without a conviction can prevent an
individual from getting a job. The one strike
and youre out policy used by public housing
authorities makes it difficult if not impossible for
individuals with even decades-old criminal
records to obtain housing, which can stand in
the way of family reunification. Furthermore,
a lifetime banfor individuals with felony drug
convictionson receiving certain types of public
assistance persists in more than half of U.S.
states, making subsistence even more difficult
for individuals seeking to regain their footing,
and their families.
In addition to common-sense sentencing reform
to ensure that we no longer fill our nations
prisons with nonviolent, low-level offenders,
policymakers should explore alternatives to
incarceration, such as diversion programs for
individuals with mental health and substance
abuse challenges. We must also remove barriers
to employment, housing, education, and public

assistance. A decades-old criminal record should


not consign an individual to a life of poverty.
10. Do no harm

The across-the-board spending cuts known as


sequestrationwhich took effect in 2013
slashed funding for programs and services that
provide vital support to low-income families.
Sequestration cost the U.S. economy as many
as 1.6 million jobs between mid-2013 and
2014.Some relief was provided this January,
when Congress passed the Consolidated
Appropriations Act of 2014, but many important
tools to help low-income individuals and families
pave a path to the middle classsuch as adult
and youth education and training programs,
child welfare, and community development
programswere on a downward funding
trend even before sequestration took effect.
As Congress considers a continuing resolution to
fund the federal government past October 1 and
avoid another government shutdown, it should

reject further cuts to programs and services


such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition
Program for Women, Infants, and Children, or
WIC, which provides vital nutrition assistance to
pregnant women and mothers with new babies.
Thereafter, Congress should make permanent
the important improvements made to the EITC
and the Child Tax Credit as part of the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which
are set to expire in 2017. And it should avoid
additional cuts to vital programs such as the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or
SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, which
suffered two rounds of deep cuts
in 2013 and 2014.
Conclusion

It is possible for America to dramatically cut


poverty. Between 1959 and 1973, a strong
economy, investments in family economic
security, and new civil rights protections helped
cut the U.S. poverty rate in half. Investments in
nutrition assistance have improved educational

attainment, earnings, and income among the


young girls who were some of the food stamp
programs first recipients. Expansions of public
health insurance have lowered infant mortality
rates and reduced the incidence of low birth
rates. In more recent history, states that raised
the minimum wage have illustrated the
important role that policy plays in combating
wage stagnation.
There is nothing inevitable about poverty. We
just need to build the political will to enact the
policies that will increase economic security,
expand opportunities, and grow the middle
class.
Rebecca Vallas is the Associate Director of the
Poverty to Prosperity Program at the Center for
American Progress. Melissa Boteach is the Vice
President of Half in Ten and the Poverty to
Prosperity Program at the Center.

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