The problem of poverty and ways to solve it. Poor people

The problem of poverty in modern society is one of the most important among the social. This phenomenon is complex, provoked by various causes and prerequisites. Its role is played by culture, economics, psychology, the mentality of nationality. Often, poverty is directly related to the geographical location of the terrain, historical vicissitudes and other conditions of formation, development of the range, the state. An analysis of poverty is a task that is being solved by economists and sociologists all over the world, but the ultimate solution has not been found.

Theoretical basis

Poverty is a state of a group of people when there is not enough material stock to keep consumption at an acceptable level. Sociologists talk about poverty, analyzing the incomes of families and individuals. The average level of income is necessary to provide a person with everything necessary in the light of the realities of our world; Technical, technological, cultural level of development.

Poverty in the world is assessed by calculating and comparing the most important indicators. This is the income of the population, its ability to make purchases, the living wage. This takes into account the development of the social group through standard indicators. In sum, the system makes it possible to assess how much inequality there is in society, how significant the poverty of the population is.

Who are we talking about?

Proceeding from the terminology introduced in the EU, poor people are those who have inessential social assets, culture, material resources. Since these values are small, people are excluded from the minimal normal way of life typical of the state. The number of people living below the poverty line is an indicator that allows assessing the social, economic level of the country's development. It is believed that among other social indicators this is the most significant.

Practically in any modern country there is a system of social protection. One of the most significant areas of work of such an institution is the fight against poverty. However, practice shows that the effectiveness of a social institution in many countries is far from sufficient.

Levels of poverty

In sociology they speak of several stages. The simplest option is low incomes. This means that, out of basic needs, a certain percentage of the population can not satisfy one or two. When it comes to three to four unsatisfied needs, it is classified as poverty.

Deprivation is a concept that applies to people who do not have the capacity to meet five or more vital needs. If the level of poverty is so great that a group of people developed by the EU specialists can not afford the overwhelming majority, it is called a deep hopeless poverty.

Theory and Reality: this is important

Of course, sociology has long been concerned with the lack of benefits in society, but poor people still exist. Many are beginning to doubt whether there is any use in sociologists in particular and science in general. Nevertheless, the theoretical approach is important for the practical solution of the problem.

The definition of the poverty line is extremely accurate - it is a guarantee that it will be possible to find effective social assistance methods. At the same time, one must understand that with a large percentage of the poor in the country, the budget bears enormous expenditure on social institutions and assistance, and this reduces the well-being of better-off citizens.

We differentiate concepts

Allocate relative poverty and absolute. The first one assumes that the citizen's position is assessed, focusing on the level of income in the state on average. Absolute poverty is a term applied to a situation where a certain percentage of the population does not have access to essential needs. They are usually referred to as housing, food, clothing.

Officially, poverty is assessed by comparing the income of a person with the subsistence minimum established in the state. At the same time, the problem of poverty is considered based on the concept of "relative". This method allows you to assess not only the monetary stocks, but also the level of health, the percentage of infant mortality, the average life expectancy and the opportunity to learn.

Society, economics and social strata

The problem of poverty is viewed from the point of view of sociology and economics. The economic one is the one that involves analyzing the percentage of those who work relative to the unemployed, as well as assessing the ability to provide a decent standard of living for themselves and the family of those who work. The less socially protected are the groups of the population, the higher the probability of social poverty.

Social stratification has a close connection with the problem of poverty and the presence of social inequality. Inequality implies that the resources present in the deficit are distributed unevenly among people. Assess the distribution of prestige, finance, power, access to education. But one must understand that poverty is peculiar only to a certain part of the population, while inequality extends to all citizens of the country.

Poverty, away!

Considering the causes of poverty, we can assume that social policy can cope with them. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure large incomes for the broad layers of the population while raising the standard of living. In order to infuse large amounts of money into the social sphere, it is necessary to regularly allocate money from the budget of the country, regions, municipalities. Additionally, finance can be obtained from extrabudgetary funds and special social funds. At the same time, one must understand that the causes of poverty are not only the lack of budgetary money, but also the social system of the country as a whole.

Realizing the social policy, it is necessary to pay attention to different sources of financing, as well as reforms. The budget for them is formed both by the state, and by businessmen, ordinary inhabitants of the country.

Poverty in Russia: this is actual

In the Russian Federation, poverty is one of the most important social problems. Of course, much attention is paid to it, it is covered in the media, politicians, scientists consider it. And yet the situation is improving very slowly. Poverty in Russia is a classic topic of the scientific work of sociologists and economists.

Analyzing the level of security in the country, it is necessary to pay attention to the concept of "subjective poverty". It involves assessing a person's access to basic needs. From this, poverty can be defined as a concept not only social or economic, but also spiritual.

Poverty: The theory is complete and abbreviated

It is possible to characterize poverty in the broad meaning of the word or narrow. The first option presupposes the state of the country, connected with money vicissitudes, social sphere and politics. The lower the GDP, the poorer the country is. But in a narrow sense, poverty is a state of a citizen when he has no opportunity to satisfy basic needs.

In order to cope with poverty, it is first necessary to determine the meaning of the term. This determines the choice of tools, methods of solving the problem.

Statistics: Russia

Based on information from statistical agencies, in the period 2000-2012 in the Russian Federation the number of poor people decreased by 18.3%, and the minimum estimate was 15 million citizens, that is, about 11% of the population. But then the number of people living below the poverty line began to grow, reaching 14.5% of the population, that is, about 21 million.

Poverty: causes and their classification

There are situations when the fact of his being below the poverty line does not depend on the citizen, but there are also those when people themselves bring themselves to such a situation. Economists identify several main causes of poverty in the country, grouping them as follows:

• Political (martial law);
• Medical, social (disability, old age);
• Monetary (devaluation, crisis, low level of wages);
• Geographical (uncomfortable areas, undeveloped areas);
• Demographic (high percentage of single-parent families);
• Personal (alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling);
• Qualification (lack of education).

Poverty in Russia: figures

GDP growth is directly related to the poverty level of the population. But it depends not only on him. For example, in 2013, GDP in our country grew up: the increase was 1.3%, and in the following year another 0.6% was added. Decrease in 2015 was 3.8%, and in the following year, the decline occurred by another 0.3%, which in total for all these years gave almost zero.

It would seem that the number of poor should not increase, since the situation returned to its own place. But in addition to the change in GDP, the currency depreciated twice, while the volume of imported goods increased. Influence was provided by inflation, economic sanctions of 2014. Totally, all factors provoked an increase in the percentage of the population below the poverty line.

Poverty in the world: a large-scale problem

Poverty is a problem that is relevant for all countries of the world, albeit to varying degrees. Traditionally, the palm of the championship is shared by the republics of Africa, the Asian countries, and even some European ones, do not lag behind them. But Switzerland, Luxembourg, Scandinavian countries, Australia retain a high standard of living from year to year. The situation in Russia, to put it mildly, is not rosy.

The Russian Federation positions itself as a great power, but this does not abolish internal problems. The territory of the country is huge, the industry is great and diverse, but GDP relative to other superpowers is low.

And how to fight?

Is it realistic to solve the problem of poverty? Attempts to eradicate poverty have been undertaken for a long time, they can be called an integral part of the country's politics, social and financial spheres, but it has never been possible to find an effective universal method for eliminating poverty and social inequality.

Two methods of combating poverty, which in modern times are widespread in developed countries, were invented. First of all, the state guarantees each citizen a fairly high minimum level of profit. Another way is timely and effective help to every person facing a difficult life situation.

Russia against poverty

In Russia, the situation is complicated by the fact that social poverty is accompanied by financial. This means that many citizens of the country have a stable job, but the level of wages is so low that they can not afford a minimum income. According to rough estimates, more than 30 million citizens receive less than 10,000 rubles a month.

In order to cope with poverty in Russia, it is necessary to intensify industry and ensure the stability of the economy in the country and in the world, to ensure a general increase in the level of wages. The level will grow if the meaning of life becomes higher, and this can be achieved by developing and implementing appropriate social programs. At the same time, it can not be guaranteed that the implementation of the above will give the desired result. This is the first step that will help determine what to do next.

And am I poor?

To assess the quality, the standard of living is rather difficult. Focus on per capita income is not the most correct option. You also need to understand that many people, talking about their income, downplay them or exaggerate. In addition, the family has access to resources outside of daily income. Also, families with the same level of income support the life of a different image, style, which affects the subjective understanding of poverty. Finally, money in different parts of the country is commodity-filled in different ways.

Some information on the standard of living can be obtained by studying human habitation, objects used in everyday life, equipment, clothing. These objects reflect the level, style, lifestyle, property, character of a person. At the same time, different economists perceive differently the criterion of providing resources, based on the potential of the property accumulated by the family.

Poverty and poverty: is there a difference?

Poor, poor, poor - the border between them is not always easy to conduct. One of the methods of valuation is the accumulated property. A number of scientists propose to classify "beggars" as persons below the poverty line who have debts and do not have the necessary property (equipment, furniture, clothes). The income of the poor is lower than that of the poor.

Analyzing what household items are needed to maintain a normal standard of living, usually allocate refrigerator, TV, vacuum cleaner, upholstered furniture and furniture for storage of things (slides, walls). If there are no two items on the list, you can safely say that a person lives outside poverty, that is, in poverty. At the same time, the quality of objects in such an assessment is often not taken into account, since the fact of presence / absence is sufficiently revealing. However, on this issue, the opinions of economists diverge.

Summing up

We must admit that the analysis of the phenomenon of poverty in Russia (and in the world) must be carried out by evaluating a complex of interrelated factors. You can not disregard the resource factor, that is, it is important to analyze what kind of property the family has access to. At the same time, the fact of obsolescence of household items is assessed.

The fight against poverty is a task for which there is no universal path. Politicians, economists, and sociologists should work closely, analyzing the current state and dynamics of the situation in the society, on the basis of which it is to develop such ways that will be effective in the realities of this state.