ASU Current World Problems Discussion
#1 Response:
The first description explores the concepts of wealth and poverty along with strategies to address poverty. It highlights the perspective that wealth is often associated with financial freedom and having the ability to meet one’s needs without struggle, even if the income is not extraordinarily high. This perspective emphasizes the importance of having savings and being able to manage bills comfortably. On the other hand, poverty is defined as lacking the necessary financial resources to meet basic needs. The role of geography in economic distribution and growth is also discussed, noting that coastal regions and areas with navigable waterways tend to be wealthier. Strategies to combat poverty are categorized into two approaches: increasing incomes for those with low earnings (Strategy 1) and addressing the broader impact of low income on various aspects of life (Strategy 2). The second approach aims to improve overall quality of life and reduce the disadvantages associated with poverty. The description concludes by acknowledging that certain demographics, such as black single mothers without a two-parent household, are particularly vulnerable to poverty.
#2 Response:
The second description delves into the relationship between geography, wealth, and poverty. The author’s viewpoint is that geography plays a significant role in determining a country’s wealth due to factors like access to natural resources, climate, and economic growth. The distribution of resources and the presence of factors like disease burdens and agricultural productivity can impact income levels. The wealthiest countries are often found farther from the equator, while areas experiencing extreme poverty are mentioned, such as Nigeria, Ethiopia, and India. The description also references a poverty eradication approach outlined by Reeves, focusing on raising the income of those with low earnings and reducing the secondary effects of low income on various aspects of life. The idea is that increasing income can directly reduce income poverty, and addressing knock-on effects like education, housing, safety, and healthcare can help combat poverty more comprehensively. The description concludes by highlighting that women and children are often disproportionately affected by poverty, attributed in part to factors like gender wage gaps and women’s role in childcare responsibilities.
Both descriptions offer insights into different aspects of wealth and poverty, including their definitions, the role of geography, and strategies for addressing poverty. They touch on the nuanced nature of poverty and the various approaches that can be taken to alleviate its effects.
QUESTION
Description
Respond to each
#1wealth and poverty
Most personal finance experts tend to equate wealth with financial freedom. Some experts think that you’re wealthy if you don’t have a lot of debt and you have enough income to do what you want. You could consider yourself wealthy even if you have a pretty low income. That’s provided you have a decent amount of revenue stashed away in your savings account, you never really struggle to pay your bills, and you’re able to spend pretty freely if there’s something you want to buy. In that sense, you could be wealthy without being rich. poverty, the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions. Poverty is said to exist when people lack the means to satisfy their basic needs. We have found strong evidence that geography plays an important role in shaping the distribution of world income and economic growth. Coastal regions and those near navigable waterways are indeed far richer and more densely settled than interior regions, just as Smith predicted. Moreover, an area’s climate can also affect its economic development. Here are two tactical methods for fighting poverty. Increase the incomes of persons with low incomes as part of strategy 1. Reduce the negative consequences of low income on housing, education, safety, health, and medical treatment. Policies under Strategy 1 aim to lower the number of people living in poverty, typically through transferring income directly. Policies under Strategy 2 aim to lessen the negative effects of income poverty on people’s quality of life in general. Anti-poverty measures under Strategy 1 are required but far from sufficient. We must put more effort into Strategy 2 and reduce the importance of poverty. According to Disadvantage writers Jonathan Wolff and Avner de-Shalit, the goal of Strategy 2 initiatives is to “declutter disadvantage.” There will always be disparities across all dimensions. black single mothers that dont have a two parent household is mostly affected by poverty.
#2
Poverty is the state of living without the basic necessities of life for example money or a reliable supply of food
In my opinion, geography does play a major role in wealth. I say this because geography includes the number of natural resources, the distribution of world income and the overall economic growth of the world. Geography plays a significant role in shaping the wealth of a country. Some countries lack resources due to not having access to renewable or nonrenewable natural resources like fresh water, fossil fuels, fertile soil or timber based on their geographic location. The location and climate can affect income levels and growth due to transport costs, disease burdens, and agricultural productivity. Wealthiest countries are located farther from the equator. Some of the countries wealthiest areas are located in Northern Europe, the United States and Canada. Places that experience extreme poverty due to geography include Nigeria, Ethiopia, and India.
There are some approaches to eradicating poverty as referenced from Reeves includes, “raising the income of those with low incomes and reducing the knock on effects of having a low income on housing schooling, safety, and healthcare” (Reeves, 2015). Being able to raise the income in my opinion can reduce the number of people experiencing income poverty, which this would have a positive effect on eradicating poverty. This will help to increase more money into low income families pocket and decrease the amount of people falling into poverty. Also, being able to reduce knock-on effects would possibly reduce poverty in a broader, multidimensional sense by reducing the correlation between income poverty such as education, housing, or healthcare. In my opinion this will benefit in low income families by improving schools in neighborhoods, investing in quality affordable housing and sub-sizing health insurance and pre-k. These things will help to benefit and reduce poverty positively. I would say that women and children are the most common group of people to be affected by poverty. I believe this is often due to women staying home more than men to take care of the children. Also, female head of households is more likely to live in poverty than male head of households due to women suffering from the gender wage gape.
Source: https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/two-anti-poverty-strategies