If One Suffers, We ALL Suffer.

Inequality at its finest, economic discrimination is becoming more conspicuous than ever before. There are many faces and sides to poverty. An extremely flexible term, poverty is applicable to thousands of Canadian citizens. In 2005, 10.8% of all Canadians had after-tax incomes lower than the Low Income Cut-Off (more than 3.4 million people).  The most obvious characteristic of poverty is low income. However, poverty is undoubtedly also associated with the lack of choices applicable to basic necessities like food, clothing, shelter, heat, and other utilities. “Poverty is about well-being, including access to health, pharmacare, dental care, education, safe and rewarding work, and the opportunity to engage in community life and activities that are good for the soul.”

There are many underlying causes of poverty, and linked with those causes are the barriers that make poverty so difficult to overcome. Because of its multi-dimensional complexity, poverty can be challenging to solve. The lack of affluence is depicted in many ways; a non-discriminatory term, poverty plagues citizens in many intricate ways. Impoverished people aren’t necessarily homeless and living on the streets. They can be home-owning citizens that depend on government aid (such as welfare programs) to meet their basic necessities. Poverty can be caused a wide variety of factors, both personal and structural. In one of many examples, the lack of sufficient income could be the result of a lack of education, and  in the competitive industries of the modern world, it is of utmost importance to obtain the necessary education/skills required for your trade or industry. There could also be many exterior influences impacting the lack of income, such as the lack of government aid programs, etc. There are many barriers and obstacles in overcoming poverty, such as discriminatory hiring processes, substance abuse, lack of education and resources, gender inequality, etc. Minority groups can be subjected to discrimination on the basis  of their mental/physical capabilities, sex, race, and education (or lack of).For example, “Immigrants and newcomers, aboriginals, and people with disabilities generally experience higher rates of poverty. Women are more likely to be poorer than men, and in particular female single parents.”

As a middle-class citizen, I see myself as being very blessed to have all of my basic necessities met at all times; for example, food has never been a luxury, but merely a basic component of every-day life. In the modern consumerist society, it’s troubling to see so many people living below the poverty line. Constantly stereotyped, they face the harshness of being deemed as the “society’s burden.” Degraded and harassed, these people are not being treated with equal dignity and respect. Just as sexism, racism, and heterosexism marginalize humans, economic discrimination oppresses millions worldwide in many obscure and subtle ways. In this country, we should focus on becoming a more egalitarian society- a place in which “inequality is unjust and justice requires a society to move steadily toward greater equality.”  The Canadian Government should take the necessary steps in aiding and creating programs and policies to further help its citizens. However, “Government action is also the expression of our collective will to do something about poverty,” and frankly, Canadians should never tolerate seeing their fellow citizens living in such low and impoverished standards.

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~ by bczihaly on January 11, 2010.