“Solutions to Poverty”

Policies & Perspectives

Assessment Criteria

• Outline and critically evaluate different explanations of social inequality and poverty.

• Outline and critically evaluate research evidence relating to social inequality and poverty.

MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY

Nelson Mandela - 3rd February, 2005• http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=1NennMCLG7A

MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY

• Urged the government and international decision makers to make meaningful policy change on three critical and inextricably linked areas: trade, debt and aid.

Trade justice

• Fight for rules that ensure governments, particularly in poor countries, can choose the best solutions to end poverty and protect the environment.

• End export subsidies that damage the livelihoods of poor rural communities around the world.

• Make laws that stop big business profiting at the expense of people and the environment.

Drop the debt

• The unpayable debts of the world's poorest countries should be cancelled in full, by fair and transparent means.

More and better aid

• Donors must now deliver at least $50 billion more in aid and set a binding timetable for spending 0.7% of national income on aid.

• Aid must also be made to work more effectively for poor people.

MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY

• On January 31, 2006, the majority of the members of the campaign passed a resolution to disband the organisation

• The British coalition had only agreed to come together formally for a limited lifespan, to correspond with Britain holding the presidency of the EU and G8.

Evaluation

• The relief is spread over some 40 years, amounting to $1 billion per year; The net present value of the deal is about $17 billion.

• It is tied with many economic conditions that have caused poverty and debt misery in the first place;

• These conditions are undemocratically imposed by rich countries and their institutions, and promote what has historically been unequal trade;

• What countries get in debt relief, they will lose in future aid. (Give with one hand, take with the other)

http://www.globalissues.org/article/541/g8-summit-2005

Poem

• More Precious than Gold

More Precious than Gold

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayg8NriNEdU

The Child Poverty Act 2010

• In March 2010 the Child Poverty Act was passed, legally binding the government to a commitment to eradicate child poverty in Britain by 2020.

• For the first time ever, government and local authorities have been set targets to end childhood poverty for good.

[online] http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/9/contents

Child Poverty Act targets

The Act imposes a legal duty on current and future governments to move towards four UK-wide targets by 2020 as follows:• Relative poverty – for less than 10% of

children to live in relative low income families. • For the purposes of this target, low income is

defined as an equivalised net income below 60% of the UK median.

http://www.cpag.org.uk/content/child-poverty-promise-and-child-poverty-act

Combined low income and material deprivation

• For less than 5% of children to live in material deprivation and low income families.

• For the purposes of this target, low income is defined as an equivalised net income below 70% of the UK median.

Absolute poverty

• …for less than 5% of children to live in absolute low income families.

• For the purposes of this target, absolute low income is defined as an equivalised net income below 60% of an adjusted base amount, with the base year being 2010/11.

Persistent poverty

• … for fewer children to live in relative poverty for long periods of time, with the specific target to be set at a later date.

• For the purposes of this target, a long period is defined as three years or more

Child Poverty duties

• The Act also imposes a range of duties on local authorities. They are obliged to undertake a child poverty needs assessment and must co-operate with partner agencies with a view to reducing child poverty. These agencies include:– district councils– the police and criminal justice systems– transport authorities– health authorities

http://www.cpag.org.uk/content/child-poverty-promise-and-child-poverty-act

Current Situation

In 2011/12:• 17% of children (2.3 million) were in

households in the UK with incomes below 60% of contemporary median net disposable household income before housing costs (BHC),

• 27% (3.5 million) after housing costs (AHC).

Historical Comparison

• Compared to 2010/11, this represents a fall of 0 percentage points (no change in numbers) on a BHC basis and a fall of 0 percentage points (no change in numbers) AHC.

Historical Comparison

• Compared to 1998/99, this represents a fall of 9 percentage points (1.1million) on a BHC basis and a fall of 7 percentage points (0.9 million) AHC.

• Dept for Work and Pensions [online] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/households-below-average-income-hbai--2

Evaluation of Measurement

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avJHYeFbo8c

• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/9856092/Government-child-poverty-targets-unincentivising-work-says-think-tank.html

So poverty still exists……

A cultural explanation blames the existence and persistence of poverty on the individual’s culture/behaviour/way of life.

Also known as:

Right-wing explanations‘Dependency’ explanations

The New Right perspective and the Culture of Poverty theory agrees with this view.

A structural explanation blames the existence and persistence of poverty on wider society, or the government

Also known as:

Left wing explanationsSocietal explanations

Marxists, Social Democrats and the ‘cycle of deprivation’ theory all agree with this view.

Lewis (1968) – The Culture of Poverty Theory

• Studied a poor community in Mexico

• Found their way of life was keeping them in poverty

• Children were taught different norms and values from mainstream society:

– ‘Fatalism’ – acceptance of their situation, rather trying to change it

– ‘Immediate gratification’ – spend any money they had immediately – did not save up for the future or stay on at school.

• Therefore, poor children grew up to be poor adults, who then brought up the next generation of poor children…

The New Right Perspective: Charles Murray (1989)

• A political and sociological perspective

• Associated with ‘Thatcherism’ from the 1980s

• A ‘right wing’ approach: – capitalism is the best way to run the

economy– People should be allowed to make as

much money as they like– The government should not interfere– ‘Lazy’ people should not be dependent

on government benefits!

The Marxist View of Poverty

• Poverty is caused by capitalism

• Poverty is inevitable under capitalism

• The bourgeoisie pay the proletariat low wages in order to maximise profit.

• The proletariat suffer from false consciousness, thinking their wages are fair and reasonable.

The Social Democratic View of Poverty

• A political and sociological perspective

• Believes capitalism is acceptable with government intervention

• Government should provide range of benefits for the poor

• The rich should pay high taxes to help the poor

• Key sociologist: Frank Field (1989)

Field

• When Field’s theory was published in late 1980s, New Labour pledged to abolish the poverty trap.

• Field’s research focused on citizenship and exclusion and that in recent history certain groups had been excluded from rights that citizens should enjoy

• These groups included the long term unemployed, lone parents, pensioners

Field was concerned about..

• The increasing gap between rich and poor • The increasing long term unemployed• The stigmatisation and blaming of the poor for

their poverty rather than reflecting on wider economic and social factors

• His solution to concentrate on a better organised and comprehensive welfare state

Policies that resulted…

– Tax credits now exist– Sure start provides some free nursery places for 3-

4 year olds etc. etc. etc.

• However, Murray would say that Field ignores the fact that there shouldn’t be lone parents in the first place, and that some people just don’t want a job.

The Functionalist Explanation of Poverty

Herbert Gans (1971)

• Poverty exists and persists because it is functional!

• Poverty performs 13 functions – some for individuals and some for society

Examples:

• Poverty creates jobs for the middle classes – police officers, social workers etc.

• Poverty helps the economy - out-of-date food, last-season clothes and old cars are all bought by the poor!

• Poverty ensures that all jobs are filled in society – the poor will take up dull/dangerous/dirty jobs that no one else wants!

The Coalition’s Welfare Reform

White Paper published in November 2010:

• The current system is too complicated because there are more than 50 different benefits/payment schemes available

• Need to reduce the number of people on benefits, especially the long-term unemployed.

The Coalition’s Welfare Reform

• To reform the benefit system & make “it fairer, more affordable and better able to tackle poverty, worklessness and welfare dependency” the coalition introduced a introduced a new benefit policy called universal credit.

Welfare Reform Act 2012

• The benefit cap will see couples and single parents receive no more than £500 a week in benefits.

• The limit for single people is £350, although there are some exemptions.

Bedroom Tax

• Welfare reforms cut the amount of benefit that people can get if they are deemed to have a spare bedroom in their council or housing association home.