Response to scholarly article pt. 1

In this blog I will be responding to a scholarly article I discovered about the complexities of poverty and what social policies could be favored in attempting to deal with poverty.

What can the government do to eliminate poverty? There are already many conventional strategies all around the world, but they just aren’t making the cut, an example would be, “there are attempts to boost the income of the working poor, such as minimum wage or income support. Some training programs try to prepare people for better paid employment. Redistributive transfer payments from the wealthier to the less wealthy, such as welfare support for unemployment or disability are common, as are individual payments to all who qualify, independent of wealth, like child support or tax breaks for those with children” (Wolff). Simply this isn’t enough.

We need a change that will include providing goods for all, this includes free healthcare, and education, subsidized public transportation, capital grants, and so on. But the problem is this involves putting more money into these policies and money is limited.

To avoid relative poverty, it is important to have equality. This means equality with income and wealth. In the article it states, “An important anti‐poverty strategy can be to take at least some necessities out of discretionary spending, as is common with education and health care. Subsidized housing, effective cheap public transport, and affordable childcare are other similar strategies” (Wolff). This conveys the idea of redistribution.

The article also states that the government could make it so individuals can have a cheaper social life by, “providing community centers, evening classes, public parks, sports facilities, and so on”.

The last point that was made in the article is also a little new to me, the author suggests it would be helpful to introduce the concept of “corrosive disadvantage.” This is defined as, “where one disadvantage, such as drug addiction — leads to others and “fertile functioning,” which is where the possession of an advantage, such as a supportive social network, brings cumulative benefits” (Wolff). After reading and understanding this, it would probably be a better option if social policy avoided this and encouraged the generation of fertile functions. An example of this would be insisting that school uniforms are inexpensive or even subsidizing school trips to make it easier for families of lower income to participate.

In conclusion we need to consider human needs, including the need for a social life, to fit in with others and to have the occasional luxury. Governments have an obligation, based on respect for all, to arrange political and economic life so that all can avoid poverty.

Wolff, J. (2019). Poverty. Philosophy Compass/ Volume 14, Issue 12/ e12635