Change Your World Week Winter 2022 (Archived)

Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income, it can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. Poverty is not just a local statewide or even national problem, it is global and in every country of the world. There are many root causes to poverty, whether that is, lack of jobs, warfare or conflict, the effects of weather, lack of infrastructure in a country, or the lack of education it is a serious problem that many people throughout the world face today. One of the biggest if not the biggest root cause, is a lack of good education. According to the UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report, if all students in low-income countries left school with elementary reading skills, roughly 171 million people could be lifted out of poverty. This means that those who actually learn the basic principal of reading could result in a 12% global poverty cut. This of course is not 100% but it is a start and something that is simple to put into action. The lack of food and water is also one major root problem when it comes to poverty. Without access to the basic needs such as food and water it is almost impossible to break free from the grip of poverty. When a person living in poverty doesn’t have enough access to the basic needs of everyday life, what little money they do make is all spent on the things needed just for survival, which in turn means saving money and breaking this cycle is again almost impossible. With the covid 19 pandemic more than 97 million people are living on less than $1.90 a day. The global poverty rate has now increased from 7.8% to 9.1% and 163 million more are living on less than $5.50 a day. This virus had a serious impact on the world of course but the poor and elderly were the most at risk of a financial downfall and were the ones trying their absolute hardest just to afford the basic needs of everyday life.

            Poverty not only harasses the person going through it, but it also affects those who are close to someone in poverty and society as a whole. It is a well-known fact that poverty leads to increased dangers when it comes to health. Working environments of poorer people often hold more environmental risks for illness and disability, such as a lack of access to clean water. An example of this is the city of Detroit. Detroit is known as the poorest city in the United States and has an annual income of $27,838 and a poverty rate of 37.9%.  The population of Detroit according to recent data is 661,193 and of that population, 19% of these people are living in extreme poverty, meaning they don’t earn enough money for basic needs, that being food and clean water. Poverty is a very dangerous thing and something that is hard to go through but especially when children have to go through it, even here in the United States it is one of the biggest issues that needs to be dealt with. The United States has one of the highest rates of child poverty among high income countries. Even before the pandemic almost 10 million children in the United States lived in poverty. Poverty has proven to influence a child’s development and how they turn out when they mature. Low-income parents face steep challenges when trying to meet basic financial needs. Many poor families are not only cash-constrained, but they also have little to no savings and lack access to low-cost sources of credit. When these parents are faced with income shortfalls, they are often forced to cut back on the basic essential needs for themselves and their children. Poverty is not something that can be taken lightly and certainly not something that can just be swept under the rug just because you personally may not be going through the battle. It is time for lasting change.

What are people saying about the issue from both sides? I think everyone deserves equal pay, some employers may want to still want the old way of doing things but it has made a huge impact on peoples lives.

 The Equal Pay Policy Solution to Poverty

The change in policy that I think would best address poverty is equal pay across the entire world for everyone. Women try to make it in this world and must work harder than men to support themselves. Women struggle more and are always at a disadvantage compared to men's pay.

I think this policy would address the poverty problem because according to the article, On Equal Pay Day, women are trying to make a dollar out of 83 cents, “The Biden administration has said it is set on ending the gender pay gap for federal workers and contractors. Biden issued an executive order that would prevent federal agencies from asking about an applicant's salary history in the hiring process." "Pay transparency creates accountability and accountability, well, that drives progress," Harris said about the order, adding that it will help "build a more fair, more efficient, and more equitable economy." From the same article, “over their lifetimes, Latinas working full-time, year-round stand to lose more than $1.1 million, and Black women will miss out on close to $1 million.”

Michigan Gov. Whitmer sets ‘equal pay’ rules to boost women in state hiring, “Closing gender gaps would have sweeping implications for families and children in the state, including the 284,000 Michigan families that were headed by a single female parent in 2010, according to the U.S. Census.”

Existing laws and public policies have fallen short of solving the problems according to  

The National Women's Law Center, which conducted its own research using data from 2020, says "unequal pay pervades 94 percent of occupations, and shortchanges women hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of a 40-year career." This is a huge problem for not jut woman but for all workers equally. How many women are struggling to get out of abusive homes and men use money to control them and the children. When will we be equal? Women have to run to family or shelters because they cannot  afford to live alone with their children. It is a horrible across the world fact.

The policy has been tried elsewhere according to The U.S. national women's soccer team wins $24 million in equal pay settlement “"We are pleased to announce that, contingent on the negotiation of a new collective bargaining agreement, we will have resolved our longstanding dispute over equal pay and proudly stand together in a shared commitment to advancing equality in soccer," both parties said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

 U.S. Soccer has agreed to pay a lump sum of $22 million in back pay to the players, ESPN reports, which will be distributed in a manner proposed by players and approved by the court. The federation will also put $2 million into a fund for USWNT players' post-career goals and charitable efforts, with each player able to apply for up to $50,000. This is a great day for woman all over the world.

 The federation has also promised to provide an equal rate of pay between the men's and women's national senior teams in all friendlies and tournaments, including the World Cup.

“Several states, led by Massachusetts in 2016, have banned employers — public and private — from asking applicants about salary history. Lansing, which has been under total Republican control until this month, moved in the opposite direction.” From the Article  

Michigan Gov. Whitmer sets ‘equal pay’ rules to boost women in state hiring.

They have addressed equal pay problems, or have they fallen short “There’s not one magic solution to eliminate the wage gap,” she said. “But it makes sense that if you ask people what they were paid before, and that’s how you set their pay, we’re going to continue to perpetuate the same practices that have created a wage gap to begin with.”  

How are we supposed to save for the future and retirement with these laughable wages? Most employers do not give sick pay, vacation time, healthcare, and retirement options with the jobs out there today. 

Works Cited

Biden and Harris Announce Steps to Close Gender, Racial Wage Gaps.” Issues & Controversies, Infobase, 15 Mar. 2022, icof.infobase.com/articles/UmV1dGVyc0FydGljbGU6S0NOMkxDMFVMLU9VU1RQ. Accessed 5 Apr. 2022.

“Japan Considering Mandatory Disclosure of Gender Wage, Female Manager Ratio - Sources.” Issues & Controversies, Infobase, 24 Mar. 2022, icof.infobase.com/articles/UmV1dGVyc0FydGljbGU6S0NOMkxMMExJLU9VU0JT. Accessed 5 Apr. 2022.

“Michigan Gov. Whitmer sets ‘equal pay’ rules to boost women in state hiring” info based, January 9, 2019, Lindsay Vanhulle

https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/michigan-gov-whitmer-sets-equal-pay-rules-boost-women-state-hiring

“On Equal Pay Day, women are trying to make a dollar out of 83 cents”, NPR

By Vanessa Romo Published March 16, 2022, at 1:48 AM EDT https://www.michiganradio.org/2022-03-16/on-equal-pay-day-women-are-trying-to-make-a-dollar-out-of-83-cents

(Poorest Cities in America 2022, n.d.)ANALYSIS: The Link Between Poverty and COVID-19. (2020, July 21). AllSides. https://www.allsides.com/news/2020-07-21-1022/link-between-poverty-and-covid-19

Detroit by the numbers – the truth about poverty | Bridge Michigan. (n.d.). Retrieved March 13, 2022, from https://www.bridgemi.com/urban-affairs/detroit-numbers-truth-about-poverty

National Academies of Sciences, E., Education, D. of B. and S. S. and, Statistics, C. on N., Board on Children, Y., Years, C. on B. an A. to R. the N. of C. in P. by H. in 10, Menestrel, S. L., & Duncan, G. (2019). Consequences of Child Poverty. In A Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty. National Academies Press (US). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK547371/

Poorest Cities in America 2022. (n.d.). Retrieved March 13, 2022, from https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-city-rankings/poorest-cities-in-america

(Detroit by the Numbers – the Truth about Poverty | Bridge Michigan, n.d.)(National Academies of Sciences et al., 2019)

 ANALYSIS: The Link Between Poverty and COVID-19. (2020, July 21). AllSides. https://www.allsides.com/news/2020-07-21-1022/link-between-poverty-and-covid-19