What is the root of poverty and how can we help in the long term?

Question

educated answers only!

it is not laziness, thats a myth in america. But in the world some of the hardest workers are poor

Answer 1

As an economist, maybe I can help.

There are a handful of causes of poverty and most of them can be attacked directly.

The first and single largest is education, and in particular, the education of women. Education permits higher levels of personal productivity. This produces more product for employers and makes their capital more valuable. It is a myth that business owners want to pay low wages. The truth is that a business owner wants to pay the highest wage possible to the extent that makes a worker more efficient and productive. Human capital makes physical capital, like factory equipment, more valuable. That in turn becomes profits to the owners.

It is important that women are educated for three reasons. First, many of the brightest and most gifted people are women, if you fail to educate them then the society loses their value. Second, when women compete with men for salaries it forces both groups to be more productive and competitive increasing the salaries of both groups, supply effects held constant. Third, a more educated woman is more likely to have control over her reproduction. Since there is a relationship between number of children and wealth per capita, having the number you desire instead of the number that appear is wealth creating.

The second one, also controllable, is government restrictions in the marketplace. For example, one of the most well studied sources of poverty is the minimum wage. Although it would appear to do the opposite, it actually creates nasty poverty. In a perfectly competitive market, businesses would pay employees their "marginal product of labor." If a minimum wage fixes a wage above the market clearing wage, then employers would have to pay workers more than the value to the customers of what they produce. Imagine a $10 minimum wage for a worker who produces $9 per hour in terms of what a customer will buy. That person cannot continue employment even though they would gladly and willingly work at $9 per hour or even less. So, to start out, you create unemployment. However, it gets worse. The people still employed get to improve their skills with on the job training. The competitors of the unemployed person are not standing still, they are improving and the involuntarily unemployed person is standing still. Finally, this person must now effectively become a ward of the state through social programs, cutting their sense of self worth. Society is filled with these restrictions and limitations. End restrictions on work and labor and you will reduce poverty. It is true that some people will get horrible wages, but they can then learn on the job and improve their skills, they can still receive social benefits if it is structured correctly, and can become competitive.

Finally, corruption and control of private property are deeply important. These are more difficult to discuss on Yahoo Answers and reducing corruption and improving the strength of private property rights is complex.

Answer 2

Obscene wealth and the legal methods of obtaining it, like paying wages that workers can not reasonably live on. People would see how 'unimportant' some jobs are if no one would do them until a living wage was offered.

Answer 3

Human apathy, ignorance, culture and wealth - especially wealth because those who possess wealth guard and control it to prevent it from falling out of their hands and into the hands of others who do not possess wealth.

There are, therefore, no ways to help poverty because it is entirely a man-made issue and many wealthy men will not voluntarily help other men escape from poverty.

Answer 4

Laziness. Oh sorry, this isn't a politically correct answer even though it's true and will probably get all thumbs down.

I'll tell you what you want to hear instead.

White people keepin a brotha down. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go to my white meeting where we'll be discussing how to keep blacks in poverty

Answer 5

For every person in the world who lives in greed, there is a person who lives in poverty.

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