7 misconceptions about poverty that keep you from conquering it

1. The poor are just lazy and don't want to work

The real cause of poverty lies in the structure of the economy. Large corporations are creating more and more low-paid jobs with little or no social security. Most often, this is an unpleasant and not prestigious activity, even by the standards of underdeveloped countries, which, moreover, does not guarantee career growth. As a result, the poor are not only not lazy, but are forced to work in several places at once.

Such people often cannot save for the future. For example, a huge number of Russians do not have savings even for a couple of months of life without a paycheck. By the way, the same can be said about 37% of US residents.

And, as practice shows, poverty creates poverty, and it is not so easy to break out of this circle of unequal opportunities. For example, in the United States, only one in 25 children from a poor family can achieve a high level of income in the future, and in Denmark - one in six.

Children from poor families are more likely to repeat the fate of their parents. The latter simply cannot provide the child with everything necessary. For example, pay for clubs or buy something you need to study. It turns out the so-called poverty trap.

Scientists believe that in low-income families, children can develop a special type of thinking. They get used to the constant lack of funds and in the future they try not to make financial decisions that are risky from their point of view with a long-term perspective. That is, such people do not really think about the future, since they are focused on survival in the present. And they will most likely consider their desires unrealizable.

2. Benefits for the poor will destroy the economy

Distributing targeted support is the easiest way to increase the income of the poor. Benefits with well thought out terms of payment can motivate people and become a springboard for getting out of adversity. Such financial assistance can indeed reduce the level of poverty.

There is no evidence that benefits harm the economy and that benefits affect people's reluctance to work. The poor themselves, for the most part, want to be self-sufficient, and not live on handouts from the state. Many people, on the contrary, are embarrassed to ask for help, as there is a stereotype about “parasites on the benefit”.

3. There is no poverty in rich countries

Poverty arises not only because a country earns little (that is, its GDP per capita is lower than the global average). Another important indicator is the level of inequality. For example, the USA is a very rich country. The average income there is almost six times higher than the world one. But at the same time, the United States is one of the leaders in the number of poor. Their number is estimated by the National Census Bureau at no less than 34 million people.

The World Bank uses the Gini index to assess the level of inequality. With its help, the stratification of society is calculated, that is, how all income is distributed between different groups of the population. It is believed that the lower the Gini index, the less inequality in society. For comparison, in 2018 it was: in Brazil - 53, 9, in the USA - 41, 4, in Russia - 37, 5, and in Norway and Finland - only 27, 6 and 27, 3, respectively.

Poverty misconceptions: how the Gini coefficient is calculated

It turns out that if a country has a large GDP and a Gini index, a significant part of its population can live in poverty.

4. People in poor countries cannot be happy

The poverty of a state does not always mean that its inhabitants are unhappy.

For example, there is the so-called happiness index. It takes into account life satisfaction as well as positive and negative factors affecting citizens. Costa Rica is ranked 16th in this ranking. It turns out that the inhabitants of the country are happier than the population of Great Britain, the United States and France, which, on average, are 3-5 times richer.

The top 50 also includes Guatemala, El Salvador and Kosovo, although the income of citizens of these countries is almost three times lower than the world average. At the same time, Japan was only in 56th place, Portugal - in 58th, and Russia - in 76th.

In fairness, it should be noted that the top of the list is still occupied by countries with high prosperity - Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, and the bottom, on the contrary, is Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan. But here the fact is that the conditional level of happiness of the population is influenced not only by well-being, but also by the stability and democratic nature of political institutions, social guarantees, the absence of wars, and much more. Therefore, countries where everything is relatively calm fall to the top of the list, and where not very much - to the end.

5. The poor have little money, but better health

It may seem that poor people, despite their low income, live in conditions that make them healthier. For example, they do not sit in the office, but move a lot. Or they live in rural areas, where the ecology is better. But actually it is not.

Poverty is both a cause and a consequence of poor health. The poor often do not have enough money for medicines and paid treatment. Often, the funds that poor people are forced to spend on these purposes could help them improve their living conditions. For example, to make food more varied, to rent a better house, or to leave hazardous production.

Therefore, the poor live on average 10-15 years less.

6. Poverty can be "insured"

Some people think that poverty is somewhere far away and it is quite possible to be guaranteed protection from it. For example, invest in stocks, buy real estate, or build a successful business.

However, a single car accident can rob you of your health, your job, and those close to you who can help. Financial crises bring down even the most stable businesses. And a default can equate to zero all accumulated savings. Thus, 59% of Americans are at risk of falling below the poverty line at least once. And it is not always easy to return to the old income level.

7. Poverty cannot be defeated

It is believed that it cannot be overcome. However, there are several examples that prove otherwise.

In 1993, 56.7% of China's population earned less than $ 1.9 a day. In 2016, there were only 0.5% of them. That is, hundreds of millions of Chinese have come out of absolute poverty in just 30 years. The country's leadership even proudly announced that China announced a complete victory over absolute poverty / RIA Novosti that it won over poverty. And all thanks to the large number of able-bodied people and rigid centralized government.

According to the World Bank, Cambodia, Mexico, India and other countries are making great strides in the fight against poverty. Infrastructure development, urbanization, broad social support for the poor, and investment in local businesses are mainly helping.

There are examples of relatively successful combating inequality. The experience of Norway and Finland, with their small populations, may not be indicative, but Germany and France, for example, have also made progress in this area. In them, the Gini index is one of the lowest in the world - about 32.