7 misconceptions about poverty that keep you from conquering it
Miscellaneous / / July 31, 2021
Benefits will not destroy the economy, and poverty can, if not be defeated, then ironed out.
1. The poor are just lazy and don't want to work.
The real cause of poverty lies in the structure of the economy. Large corporations createM. Roser, E. Ortiz ‑ Ospina. Global Extreme Poverty / Our World in Data more and more low-paid jobs with almost no social guarantees. Most often, this is an unpleasant and not prestigious activity, even by the standards of underdeveloped countries, which, moreover, does not guarantee career growth. As a result, the poor are not only not lazy, but are forced to work in several places at once.
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Such people oftenWho are the working poor in America? / Center for Poverty Research at University of California cannot save for the future. For example, a huge
Most Russians found themselves without savings during the crisis / STC "Perspektiva" the number of Russians does not have savings even for a couple of months of life without a paycheck. By the way, the same can be said about 37%Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2019 - May 2020 / Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System residents of the United States.And, as practice shows, poverty creates poverty, and it is not so easy to break out of this circle of unequal opportunities. For example, in the USA onlyM. Corak. Inequality from Generation to Generation: The United States in Comparison / The Institute for the Study of Labor Discussion Paper one in 25 children from a poor family can achieve a high level of income in the future, and in Denmark - one in six.
Children from poor families have higherM. Roser, E. Ortiz ‑ Ospina. Global Extreme Poverty / Our World in Data the likelihood of repeating the fate of the parents. The latter simply cannot provide the child with everything he needs. For example, pay for clubs or buy something you need to study. It turns out the so-called poverty trap.
Scientists believeA. K. Shah, S. Mullainathan, E. Shafir. Some Consequences of Having Too Little / Sciencethat in low-income families, children may develop a special type of thinking. They get used to the constant lack of funds and in the future they try not to make financial decisions that are risky from their point of view with a long-term perspective. That is, such people do not really think about the future, since they are focused on survival in the present. And they will most likely consider their desires unrealizable.
2. Benefits for the poor will destroy the economy
Distribution of targeted support isM. Roser, E. Ortiz ‑ Ospina. Global Extreme Poverty / Our World in Data the easiest way to increase the income of the poor. Benefits with well thought out terms of payment can motivate people and become a springboard for getting out of adversity. Such financial assistance can indeed reduce the level of poverty.
There is no evidence that benefits harm the economy, and payments affect people's reluctance to work. The poor themselves, for the most part, want to be self-sufficient, and not live on handouts from the state. Many people, on the contrary, are embarrassed to ask for help, as there is a stereotype about “parasites on the benefit”.
3. There is no poverty in rich countries
Poverty arises not only because a country earns little (that is, its GDP per capita is lower than the global average). Another important indicator is the level of inequality. For example, the USA is very richGDP per capita (current US $) / The World Bank state. The average income there is almost six times higher than the world one. But at the same time, the United States is one of the leaders in the number of poor. Their number is estimated by the National Census BureauU.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts no less than 34 million people.
The World Bank uses an index to measure inequalityGini index (World Bank estimate) / The World Bank Gini. With its help, the stratification of society is calculated, that is, how all income is distributed between different groups of the population. It is believed that the lower the Gini index, the less inequality in society. For comparison, in 2018 it was: in Brazil - 53.9, in the USA - 41.4, in Russia - 37.5, and in Norway and Finland - only 27.6 and 27.3, respectively.
It turns out that if a country has a large GDP and a Gini index, a significant part of its population can be poor.
4. People in poor countries cannot be happy
The poverty of a state does not always mean that its inhabitants are unhappy.
For example, there is a so-called index Happiness, trust, and deaths under COVID-19 / World Happiness Report 2021 happiness. It takes into account life satisfaction as well as positive and negative factors affecting citizens. Costa Rica is ranked 16th in this ranking. It turns out that the inhabitants of the country are happier than the population of Great Britain, the USA and France, which, on average, are 3-5 times richer.GDP per capita (current US $) / The World Bank.
The top 50 also includes Guatemala, El Salvador and Kosovo, although the income of citizens of these countries is almost three times lower than the world average. At the same time, Japan was only in 56th place, Portugal - in 58th, and Russia - in 76th.
In fairness, it should be noted that the top of the list is still occupied by countries with high prosperity - Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, and the bottom, on the contrary, is Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan. But here the fact is that the conditional level of happiness of the population is influenced not only by well-being, but also by stability and democracy of political institutions, social guarantees, the absence of wars and much other. Therefore, countries where everything is relatively calm fall to the top of the list, and where not very much - to the end.
5. The poor have little money, but healthier
It may seem that poor people, despite their low income, live in conditions that make them healthier. For example, they do not sit in the office, but move a lot. Or they live in rural areas, where the ecology is better. But actually it is not.
Poverty is S. Roberts. Key Facts: Poverty and Poor Health / Health Poverty Action both cause and effect of poor health. Poor people often do not have enough money for medicines and paid treatment. Often the funds that poor people are forced to spend for these purposes, could help them improve their living conditions. For example, to make food more varied, to rent a better house, or to leave hazardous production.
So the poor liveR. Chetty, M. Stepner, S. Abraham et al. The Association Between Income and Life Expectancy in the United States, 2001-2014 / JAMA on average 10-15 years less.
6. Poverty can be "insured"
Some people think that poverty is somewhere far away and it is quite possible to be guaranteed protection from it. For example, invest in stocks, buy real estate, or build a successful business.
However, a single car accident can rob you of your health, your job, and those close to you who can help. Financial crises bring down even the most stable businesses. And a default can equate to zero all accumulated savings. So, at least once they run the risk of falling below the poverty lineM. R. Rank, T. A. Hirschl. The Likelihood of Experiencing Relative Poverty over the Life Course / PLoS ONE 59% of Americans. And it is not always easy to return to the old income level.
7. Poverty cannot be defeated
It is believed that it cannot be overcome. However, there are several examples that prove otherwise.
In 1993, 56.7% of China's population receivedGDP per capita (current US $) / The World Bank less than $ 1.9 a day. In 2016, there were only 0.5% of them. That is, hundreds of millions of Chinese have come out of absolute poverty in just 30 years. The country's leadership even proudly declaredChina announced a complete victory over absolute poverty / RIA Novostithat overcame poverty. And all thanks to the large number of working-age population and tough centralized authorities.
According to the dataPoverty / The World Bank World Bank, Cambodia, Mexico, India and other states are making great strides in the fight against poverty. Infrastructure development, urbanization, broad social support for the poor, and investment in local businesses are mainly helping.
There are examples of relatively successful combating inequality. The experience of Norway and Finland, with their small populations, may not be indicative, but Germany and France, for example, have also made progress in this area. They have one Gini indexGini index (World Bank estimate) / The World Bank of the lowest in the world - about 32.
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