Solutions to Poverty

·         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.