Tyler Poppe

ECON 2010
March 6, 2015
Global Poverty
In the world today there are many problems. One problem that has been addressed
many times and has yet to be resolved is the problem of poverty. In 2011 15% of the
United States population lived in a condition of poverty (McConnel). This is an alarming
statistic that is unrecognized by much of the population. Many people live well and
barely recognize a poverty-ridden family. Often times the public may see someone living
in poverty and think that they do it to themselves, that they are either a drug addict or
criminal and that they deserve to be homeless. The world as a whole has an even higher
statistic of 21% of the population living in poverty (Global Poverty). Something needs to
be done to lower these percentages and help the population raise their standard of living
and help them get out of poverty. There has been a correlation between race, income, age,
and employment that has led to poverty. In this essay the options that exist to alleviate
and slow down poverty throughout the world will be discussed. The simplest way to
attack the issue of poverty will be by focusing on some of the main things that contribute
to poverty; inequality of income, race, disabilities and age, and education.
One of the main causes of poverty is the inequality of income throughout the
world. In the world the wealthiest 20% of the population has over 50% of income, while
the lowest 20% has just over 3.2% of total income (McConnel). This is a huge
discrepancy between the two. The solution could possibly be more taxes to those making
more money. As this money is redistributed to society there will be more opportunity for
jobs to be created within the economy. The government will be able to create more jobs

with this money. Another option would be for these people to have more incentive to
invest this money and keep it circulating within the economy. This may be done with tax
breaks for those who are willing to invest their money, or possibly profit sharing within a
company so that the income is distributed to many hands and not just one pair. Income
inequality must be alleviated in order to be able to seriously consider alleviating the
symptoms of poverty.
A huge correlation that has been shown is race and poverty. The minorities seem
to make up a huge part of the population that is living in poverty. If this continues
generation after generation will continue in poverty. Those of minority have been known
to already have a disadvantage as far as employment opportunities go. Children being
raised in a state of poverty and being a minority face an uphill battle. Some steps that
could be taken in order to help reduce the correlation of race and poverty would be more
laws, making prejudice against race illegal in the hiring process. Another step that can be
take in order to help the minorities fight out of poverty would be to help them to receive
and value education. Many of the public schools that have high minority rates could be
improved and have much higher education levels. Also the opportunity to receive a
secondary education and college degrees would help them. More grants could possibly be
made available for those that are of a minority background. These options would help
minorities get out of poverty.
Education is a variable that has been well known to increase the standard of living
for all those that receive more education and gain knowledge. If the government can find
a way to make education more accessible and valued this could help to alleviate the
problem of poverty. This is difficult because the more accessible education is the less

valued it often becomes. Possible options would be increasing the level of education so
that there is more entrepreneurial ability. With more of this ability there will be more
education and more jobs. With more jobs poverty will be alleviated and society as a
whole will be better off.
Finally, some of the main groups that are hurt by conditions of poverty are the
disabled and elderly. These groups face continual challenges, as they are not able to work
and provide for themselves. These groups heavily rely on the government to supply the
things that they need to keep them out of poverty. A few programs that have been
designed to keep these groups out of poverty are Medicaid and Medicare. With programs
like these the elderly and disabled are provided for and kept out of poverty. A possible
option is to continue to fund programs like these and make these programs available to
more people to eliminate poverty within these groups.
There are many options available that could greatly help to alleviate poverty from
within the world. The main thing that needs to be looked at with all of these ideas is that
resources are allocated efficiently. The more that resources are allocated efficiently the
more likely it is that society will be producing the maximum amount of goods and
everyones needs will be met. It is highly unlikely that the world will ever really
eliminate poverty as a whole. But with these ideas it will become less and less prevalent
and society can eliminate suffering throughout the world to a certain extent. Compliance
from differing groups will be needed and unity needs to be accomplished to achieve this
common good. Government has been known to impede progress many times and often
complicate things more than they should. A bi partisan approach will be needed in order
to accomplish these goals. The simplest way to attack the issue of poverty will be by

focusing on some of the main things that contribute to poverty; inequality of income,
race, disabilities and age, and education. The world should begin to focus on these issues.

Works Cited
"Global Poverty." (2015).
McConnel. McConnel, Microeconomics. 20th Edition. 2011.