·
Charities:
The primary way of stopping poverty, absolute poverty, would be through the use
of charities. Charities run based on donations from the public, whether it be
in the monetary format or through materialistic possessions in the intention to
give this as a form of aid to those less fortunate in order to give them the
same basic rights that others in society have. This includes, clean water, food
and even shelter. In the UK, we are a country where absolute is said to have
been fully eradicated however charity would still help as there are some that
are not as privileged as the richest and live in condition below those that are
recommended. Charity, stands more as an international ideology, and occurs in
all countries over the world and proves to work effectively as we can see a
gradual decrease in the levels of poverty over the globe. The same is done
through the use of NGOs.
·
Welfare
State: A secondary way of reducing poverty, particularly in the UK, is the
Welfare State. The welfare state in the UK is aimed at tackling the issues for
those who are financially troubled or even practical support for those who need
it most. This serves a system whereby the government undertakes the key
responsibility of protecting the health and the well-being of its many citizens.
It does this by means of providing grants, pensions, other benefits and the NHS
which plays the largest part. Our Welfare State provides support in the form of
money transfers such as income support for those who are unemployed. This means
that families that have a very low income coming in, or no income, can still
have access to the basic human rights. In addition to this those who are
retired or cannot work due to disability might often find themselves in poverty
due to their inability to find a source of income. However the strength of the
welfare system means that in the UK this problem is tackled and there are
schemes such as the state retirement pension that aid the situation. As a
result of this, this prevents the poorest members of society into falling into
further financial problems and maybe even absolute poverty.
·
Education:
As much as this may seem unrelated, education is vital in reducing the key
issue of poverty even in the UK, where the education system is said to be very
respectable. Education means that people
build a foundation for their success in the future. Although the primary cause
of poverty still stands at income inequality, this is all rooted back to the
education that some receive and the lack of it for others. With a good schooling,
it is inevitable that it will create a stronger workforce that works on the
basis of skilled labour pool. With this, the overall output of the economy is
likely to increase which should consequently result in higher wages and more
and more people working their way up the ‘work ladder.’ With this, we can
ensure that everybody has the access all basic rights and everyone earns enough
to live a fruitful life. Due to this, education will mean that there is less
poverty as fewer will be stuck in the low paying jobs. There are many countries
where some do not receive and education at all and these are the countries
where the high levels of illiteracy means that the poverty levels are highest
due to a lack of an income for families.
·
Progressive Taxation: Another
solution to the long lasting issue of poverty is progressive taxation.
Progressive taxation is the mechanism in which the taxing authorities ensure
that the individuals with the largest incomes pay the most in taxes and the
lowest earning pays the least. This is a system that has already been
implemented in the UK, however, the lowest of earners claim that it is still
not strict enough as many are use a ploy known as tax avoidance. By doing this
they avoid paying taxes on some or all of their income by using havens such as
Switzerland and as a result the government do not get enough money to support
the system. However if this was made stricter and the bands were increased from
the current standings of 20%, 40% and 45%, then there will be greater revenue
for the government which can be reinvested in to reducing the poverty rates.
·
Cancelling
large world debts: In order to tackle an issue as big as poverty, the
primary step to take is to attack the root causes. Governments could begin by
cancelling the immensely large world debts that are unlikely to be paid off by
this generation. In the UK national debt is currently at 75% of GDP and due to
poverty, the government spending still remains greater than government taxation
meaning that poverty is only likely to rise. However if these large debts are
cancelled then this money can be reinvested in to areas such as education that
will help to reduce poverty or healthcare which will help to reduce the impacts
of poverty.
·
Microfinancing:
This is a modern way of reducing the impacts of poverty and their long lasting
effects on society. Through Microfinancing, poorer member of society, often
those that are unemployed will be given grants and subsidies towards running
their own businesses to allow themselves to get back on to the employment
ladder, whilst also promoting growth in the UK economy. In periods of recovery,
like we are in now, this would be beneficial as this is likely to increase
investment in the UK and aggregate demand which results in a greater real
output and greater GDP.
