Does Austerity Has Had A Corrosive Effect On The Disabled, Poor

Unemployment is seen as one of the possible reasons for the increase in poverty rates, despite the increase in welfare payments. Whilst it is likely that this startling increase in unemployment levels is partly responsible for the increase in poverty, it still

Over the last two decades the Australian population has faced a number of economic instabilities that has seen the gap between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ increase. To determine who the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ are an in-depth investigation will be performed examining the circumstances under which the gap can be manipulated. The economic wellbeing of individuals is largely determined by their command over economic resources (ABS, 2009). The wellbeing of individuals who are classified as ‘haves’ are usually people who are asset rich, contain bonds, shares and are fairly affluent. The wellbeing of individuals who are classified as ‘have nots’ are usually the working poor, who have little assets and little investments i.e. bonds. These

The Gini coefficient is the most widely used measure of inequality, comparing the dispersion of income throughout a nations citizens. Over the past few years the Canadian Gini coefficient has been steadily increasing. In a study completed by Picot, G and Hou, F of Statistics Canada it was found that “Income inequality typically rises in recessions, as it did in the early 1980s and 1990s, and therefore might be expected to fall in economic expansions. But this did not occur in the late 1990s’ expansion, and this period instead displayed the largest rise income inequality in the past three decades.” This rise in income inequality continues to burden Canadian residents, increasing social determents of health within the country.

How have social policies and changes to the Australian welfare state affected the aged population.

In ”Why the Rich Are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer” Robert Reich talks about the growing gap of higher class and the lower class of today’s society. He states that the rich are getting richer because they are the ones trying to take over the lower paying jobs.Along with that, the poor are getting poorer because of many losing their jobs due to competition with other countries because they are willing to work for less money. With today’s society it is common to replace low paying jobs with machines that end up cheaper and more efficient. Reich uses a metaphor to describe how the economy is doing for the rich and poor. This essay is informational and mature. In choosing this topic, Reich was reaching out to the older audiences by using

In the essay, “Too Poor to Make the News,” Barbara Ehrenreich discusses how the recession in the early 2000s affected both the Nouveau Poor and the actual poor. Ehrenreich explains that the conditions for those that were already poor didn’t change. Those that belong in the Nouveau Poor group have had to make sacrifices such as giving up private jets and taking less expensive vacations. These are luxuries that these people had to give up. They aren’t essentials that are needed to live a healthy life. Those that are actually poor struggle to provide for themselves and their families on a day to day basis. Ehrenreich stated that “the already poor which is an estimated 20 to 30 percent of the population struggle to get in the best of times. This

This theory also focuses on inequality which is an important part of this argument because: at the start of 1980 the rate of unemployment started to rise to 3% and 20% by 1990; in other words, unemployment rose by 23% in 10 years. Within this rise resident’s homes were foreclosed and thus started the increase of problems of poverty and social inequality.

Employers should hire disabled workers and pay them at least minimum wage. People, that are willing and capable of working should be able to have a job that is enough to keep them off the streets. One of the nation's best-known charities, Goodwill is a multibillion dollar company where the executives make six figure salaries. This is company is just one of many that are allowed to pay their disabled workers far less than minimum wage, with as little as 22 cents an hour. This is aloud in the workforce because of the federal law known as Section 14 (c). “If they really do pay the CEO of Goodwill three-quarters of a million dollars, they certainly can pay me more than they’re paying,” says Harold Leigland. A legally blind citizen who hangs clothes

She notes that the open housing market is at fault for the poor not having affordable places to live; this due to the inability for them to compete with the wealthy. She goes further to discuss the government’s position with poverty and the minimum waged worker. Ehrenreich then explores the possible reasons for which people are stationary in their placement as low-waged employees. Moreover, she speaks about the underprivileged being practically invisible to the upper-middle-class and how politicians do very little to improve the conditions of the working poor. In the end, Ehrenreich hopes that those who are working tirelessly to earn a meager salary will eventually emerge from their inefficient lifestyles and demand to be paid what they are

There is a problem plaguing the United States: economic inequality. The financial gap between the rich and poor is widening and it only continues to increase. Not only is the rich becoming richer but the poor is becoming poorer. If some type of change doesn't happen it will cut the middle class. Although this is not a concerning matter to some, to others it's a huge concern and it continues to be a daily problem. Because economic inequality hurts the United States economy, the government should take steps towards reducing the gap between the rich and poor.

Five decades and $24 trillion since President Lyndon Johnson launched the War on Poverty, the welfare system continues to fail the poor. Poverty rates remain stagnant, and self-sufficiency is discouraged. The federal government runs more than 80 different programs to help low-income Americans meet various needs. They provide housing, food, energy, healthcare, day care, education and more. While these programs have succeeded in providing significant material relief, they have failed in helping struggling Americans move beyond the need for government assistance.

Created by Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression, the idea of welfare was to help those who are living in poverty and need help to feed their families. Since then, welfare has helped people in many ways, such as unemployment insurance and food stamps. However, with over 4.4 million people, Welfare has evolved from a program that is designed to help people who have fallen on hard times, into a large scale program that often keeps more people down than it helps lift up. It has become a program where people are encouraged to be dependent on the government.

250). Additionally, the poverty rate calculated in 2014 stands as 14.8 percent of the population, and have fluctuated only modestly over the years (De-Navas-Walt & Proctor, 2015, p. 12). What is even more staggering is that from 2000 to 2012, 34.5 percent of the population has suffered at least one spell of poverty lasting at least two months (p. 14). What these statistics appear to suggest is that despite the noble aims of such reform, they seem to appear to be insufficient in rewarding work to ultimately ameliorate poverty. This leads some to argue that the root problems can be attributed to how wages in the low-skilled labor sector are depressed and therefore too low for poor workers to take advantage of the EITC, suggesting that increases in the minimum wage would help compound the anti-poverty effects of the EITC (Neumark & Wascher, 2011, p. 713).

Marilyn Geewaxs’ article, “More Jobs, Less Inflation Drive Down ‘Misery’- So Where’s The Joy?”, is truly eye opening. It provides a roadmap to better understand the material presented in the article. This made it easier to read and comprehend the information, avoiding any possible frustration created by a lack of understanding. The writing was simple, yet bold. Information was effortlessly portrayed, but there was a tang to it that allured the attention of its readers, including myself. This is the reason I was highly attracted to this article, and the reason it was selected for my review.

Wilkinson & Pickett, (W&P) assert that society on the whole would be healthier, more successful and happier if the gap between the affluent and the poor was tightened. The ‘Spirit Level Book’, written by them in 2010, is one of the most influential books on social policy to date and it argues that not only does inequality affect the ones down the bottom of the ladder but everyone across the board. Affluent countries perform better when social indicators are more equal across society. This essay will assess the validity of Wilkinson & Pickett’s conclusions by comparing the works of authors that support similar arguments, to the work of authors who disagree with them. A comparison of these different approaches, with a critical look at what