Poverty as a Social Problem and Its Policy

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Poverty as a Social Problem and Its Policy

Communities are faced with different social problems that human beings have to navigate in life. Some of such issues are self-inflicted, such as drug abuse, while others, such as crime, affect the innocent people in a community. In this discussion, the main focus is on poverty and how policy can be implemented to remedy this social challenge. According to Alcock (1997), poverty refers to a situation where human beings cannot afford basic needs such as clothing, shelter, food, education for their children, and even health care services. Poverty is incongruent with social ethics because it affects how people should live; it denies improvised people an opportunity to live a quality life, an aspect that is highly advocated for by social work values.

According to Fisher (1992), the history of poverty is extensive and can be traced even before the period of slavery in the United States. Poverty, during the medieval period, was considered as a lack of properties such as land and the inability to control factors of production. Many slaves ended up plugging into poverty because they could not afford land and could not even take their children to school, leading to a long poverty chain. However, over time, Fisher (1992) indicates that governments have continually reduced poverty through job creation by encouraging local industries, government training, and instilling welfare programs to support poor people. People affected by poverty take a long time to recover unless adequate measures are put in place to boost disadvantaged groups' employment.

One of the main policies to cushion people against poverty is social welfare programs. According to Segal (2010), social welfare primarily aims to help needy people afford basic things that they need in life. Additionally, social welfare is identified in statutes both at the state and federal level in the United States. The policy aims to...