Poverty Reduction Policies - Essay Example

Poverty Deduction Brief introduction to the policy problem It would not be a mistake to suggest that living in society should be regarded as an irreplaceable prerequisite for the development of the inner potential of a human being. Indeed, if it had not been for the presence of other people, a lot of abilities which are regarded as characteristic would not have evolved. Nevertheless, there might be situations when a part of the population is not able to prosper in the society and, quite the opposite, struggles to satisfy the most basic needs. Poverty is the phenomenon that comes to mind right away in this case. In spite of the fact that there is no social environment which does not feature poor people, the issue of poverty is often regarded as the one what must be solved by the government for the benefit of the entire society. This paper will analyze poverty reduction policies. History of social welfare policy in this area It is quite obvious that governmental policies that were designed to raise the well being of the entire population were initiated since the dawn of the United States. While they may have a varying degree of success, it is obvious that the second half of the previous century is the time when the government decided to make it one of its highest priorities. For example, the scholars often refer to several pieces of legislation that were introduced by Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 as War on Poverty (Lerner, 2012, p. 93). Indeed, this is a rather important point in the history of social welfare policy as it features such acts as Social Security Act, Food Stamp Act, The Economic Opportunity Act and Elementary and Secondary Education Act which shaped the development of war on poverty for many decades. Alternative proposals to address this problem To begin with, one might note that there is a special program is that widely known and is developed to help people escape poverty. It used to be known as Food Stamps Program, but the contemporary name of it is Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. According to it, any household in the country that is eligible for this program is able to receive additional money in a form alternative to US banknotes that will be used to buy food. One of the major points lies in the fact that a household can include from one to an infinite number of people, so literally anyone is able to apply ("Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program", 2014). Of course, there is a logical restriction: the amount of money that the household make should be reasonably low. Another policy that should be taken into account is called Job Corps. As one can easily guess from the very name of it, this is a program that provides people with job so that they could have a career in a particular trade. It is aimed at teenagers and people in their early twenties and provides them will vocational training that will be latter required to start working ("Eligibility factsheet", 2014). There are additional requirements when it comes to eligibility, such as being a legal resident, not use drugs and have low income. In other words, this policy allows people who various low income neighborhoods to become a valuable contribution to the work force and escape poverty. Rational policy analysis Now, it may be beneficial to analyze the policies in question. Speaking of the former one, it is logical to outline the following kind of thinking: the introduction of food stamps allows people to spend less money on food and direct the remaining money to other necessary areas. Indeed, nutrition is one of the fundamental needs that people experience and it occupies a significant part of a household budget as other needs might be waived and this one cannot. This means that the government is filling to help people relieve this burden and live fuller lives. Furthermore, there are restrictions on the kind of products that can be purchased with the help of food stamps and they exclude items that are harmful to the organism. As a result, the government stimulates people to have a healthier lifestyle which is likely to have a positive impact on the quality of their lives. Speaking of the second policy, it is understandable that it does not affect the issue of poverty directly, but contributes to the emergence of the conditions that ultimately reduce it. Indeed, the idea behind Job Corps focuses on the fact that a working man can not be poor. In other words, if a person has a stable source of income in the form of a job, the former should be able to make a decent living. That is why the young people from low income areas are granted with a great opportunity to be able to learn a profession with the help of which they will be making their living. As this results in the understanding that poverty and unemployment are closely connected and the former might be dealt with while affecting the latter. Political ramifications There is no doubt that each of these policies has political ramifications that should be explored. As for the Food Stamps Program, one may note that it is able to divide the society in two. A part of the population will see it as a positive policy which as carried out by the government to help the needy. On the other hand, there is a vast number of people who are skeptical about the welfare state and argue that socialism as well as elements of it are incompatible with the American way of life. It is obvious that such division represents the two major parties of the United States. Indeed, the issue of poverty has always been one of the most controversial ones and defined the political spectrum of the country. The political ramifications of the second policy are somewhat similar to the previous one; however, there is a slight difference. While distribution of food stamps does resemble the socialist approach to governing, Job Corps is less centralized and is more aligned with the free market economy. In other words, the teenagers who are given the proper education and ability to work, might finally reject it of become a valuable contribution to the labor force, it is up to them which option to choose. Furthermore, there will be no privileges to them: the graduates of this program will have to experience the competition that exists in the job market in full. With this in mind, one may note that the society will generally support this policy as it resembles the American lifestyle more than the previously mentioned one. This means that similar initiatives are likely to receive support of the majority of the population, including the two parties. Conclusion Having examined all the points that were mentioned in the paragraphs above, one is able to come to the following logical conclusion: there are several approaches when it comes to poverty reduction in the United States. While the problem has been existing for a considerable period of time, some of the most important changes can be witnessed in the second half of the previous century with Lyndon B. Johnson starting his so-called War on Poverty. The two policies that were addressed in the paper are the Food Stamps Program and Job Corps. The represent two different approaches: the former directly helps the fool to relieve the financial burden of buying food and the latter provides young people with the necessary education and opportunities to work. References Eligibility factsheet. (2014). Retrieved June 11, 2015, from http://www.jobcorps.gov/Libraries/pdf/eligibility_factsheet.sflb Lerner, M. (2012). A companion to Lyndon B. Johnson. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-SNAP (Food Stamps). (2014). Retrieved June 11, 2015, from http://dhs.georgia.gov/sites/dhs.georgia.gov/files/47.pdf Read More