Cause and Effect Essay

The Effects of Poverty

            " The effects of poverty can be felt at every level of society – from the individual living in poverty to the political leader attempting to provide solutions. Whether it is health conditions or increased crime rates, poverty reaches just about every aspect of life." Cleveland, (2014) Poverty has been around for quite a long time; however, despite its long existence, it is far from being eradicated. The effects that poverty has on society are numerous; yet, a thorough scrutiny of four of the effects can help us to better understand the severity of the problem. Needless to say, the order in which they are presented is not a hierarchical order. Neither of the effects is considered less affecting than the other; instead, they merely complement one another.  

            Poverty makes a huge impact in the economy of a country. The amount of people living in poverty influences employment rates at a grand scale. According to Cleveland, (2014), "unemployment hinders a country from developing into a strong economic system. A high unemployment rate can impede a country from progressing in all aspects." South Africa, with the highest unemployment rate in the world (24.50%), is a clear example of how unemployment affects the economy of a country which then leads to the increase of poverty. Patton, (2015) writes, "As economic activity improves, companies require additional workers, and unemployment falls. If unemployment remains high for an extended period, it may become structural, resulting in a myriad of problems." Basically, if unemployment goes up, poverty decreases, and the economy of a country thrives.

            Education is also highly affected by poverty. Poverty often prevents parents from being able to purchase basic things such as clothes or school supplies for their children to attend school. But material things are the least of the concerns concerning poverty and education. Recent studies have shown that children that grow up in poverty have a huge disadvantage compared to children who grow up in middle or rich class households. In 2015, Bergland, (2015) stated, "Previous research has shown that lower-income students tend to suffer from more stress in early childhood, have less access to enriching educational resources, and receive less exposure to spoken language and vocabulary in early life. When all of these factors coalesce, they can lead to changes in brain structure, cognitive skills, and low academic achievements." Ultimately, children living in poverty are less likely to graduate from high school let alone from college.

            Society is no exception to the effects of poverty, as a matter of fact, the effects of poverty on society are massive. Countless amounts of people are homeless and live in the streets because of poverty. Horvath, Hightower, Bacham, & Fuller, (2012) said, "People in poverty that need the help the most are the ones not speaking up." Not surprising, the poorer a country is the higher its crime rates are.

 "When people are unemployed and homeless, social unrest may take over and lead to increases in crime. When people have nothing and no money to buy necessities, they may be forced to turn to theft in order to survive. …It is clear that poverty has far-reaching effects on all people. By improving global poverty, economies could prosper, health could improve, and countries can develop into strong global presences. " Cleveland, (2014)

One of the most severe consequences of poverty is how much it affects health. It is very clear that diseases and sicknesses are characteristic in people living in poverty for the reason that they don´t have the money needed to preserve a hygienic and healthy living environment. The food they eat is not near being fulfilling or nourishing, it is just enough to keep the hunger pangs away. The same goes for the sanitation conditions; these are people that barely have enough to purchase food, let alone cleaning supplies. Consequently, people living in poverty do not receive the necessary nutrients to fight off diseases and therefore, have higher chances of contracting diseases more often than not. Annan, (2016) remarks, "The biggest enemy of health in the developing world is poverty."

It is easy to believe that poverty is quarantined to one country, one region, or one neighborhood; but the truth is that poverty is spreading at record levels among various groups. Countless efforts have been done to end poverty or at least diminish it; however, at the end of the day all these efforts do not matter if nothing is being done about corruption. Sadly, enough, poverty and corruption go hand-in-hand, if one of them disappears, so will the other. A vast majority of people around the world are being affected by poverty and thus, are experiences one or all of the effects previously stated. Until something is done to try to vanquish corruption, the effects of poverty will not disappear and more and more people will be subjugated by poverty. The recently passed away Mohammad Ali Mohammad, (2016) once remarked, "Wars against nations are fought to change maps; wars against poverty are fought to map change."

Bibliography

Annan, C. 2. (2016). World Health Organization (WHO). Retrieved June 29, 2016, from World Health Organization (WHO): http://www.who.int/hdp/poverty/en/

Bergland, C. 2. (2015, July 21). Psychology Today. Retrieved June 27, 2016, from Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-athletes-way/201507/childhood-poverty-has-detrimental-impacts-brain-structure

Cleveland, H. 2. (2014, July 2). The Borgen Project. Retrieved June 27, 2016, from The Borgen Project: http://borgenproject.org/5-effects-poverty/

Horvath, M., Hightower, C., Bacham, S., & Fuller, C. (2012, September 5). The Face of Poverty. (A. Menendez, Interviewer) The Huffman Post. The Huffman Post. Retrieved June 29, 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/04/best-books-about-poverty-america_n_1855338.html

Mohammad, A. 2. (2016). Do One Thing. Retrieved June 30, 2016, from Do One Thing: http://www.doonething.org/quotes/endpoverty-quotes.htm

Patton, M. 2. (2015, December 28). The Five Highest Unemployment Rates In The World. Forbes. Retrieved June 27, 2016, from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikepatton/2015/12/28/the-five-highest-unemployment-rates-in-the-world/#39e9a92c273d