What does poverty mean?

Poverty in its simplest is the lack of basics requires for life. The basics begin with food, shelter, and clothing and clean drinking water. Without these, humans cannot sustain life over an extended period of time. We always hear about the children in countries like Africa and South America who are living in whats called poverty. If their families arent earning very much, they cant miss out the things like a proper education because they might have to work, enough food to avoid malnutrition and proper clothing to keep them away from nakedness and disease. According to an estimate, about 25,000 people die every day of hunger and hunger related causes. Yet there is plenty of food in the world for everyone. The problem is that hungry people are trapped in severe poverty. They lack the money to buy enough food to nourish them. Being constantly malnourished, they become weaker and often sick. This makes them increasingly less able to work, which then makes them even poorer and hungrier. This downward spiral often continues until death for them and their families. More than 80 percent of the worlds population lives in countries where income differentials are widening. The poorest 40 percent of the worlds population accounts for 5 percent of global income. The richest 20 percent accounts for three-quarters of world income. Around 27-28 percent of all children in developing countries are estimated to be underweight or stunted. The two regions that account for the bulk of the deficit are South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. If current trends continue, the Millennium Development Goals target of halving the proportion of underweight children will be missed by 30 million children, largely because of slow progress in Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Based on enrollment data, about 72 million children of primary school age in the developing world were not in school in 2005; 57 per cent of them were girls. And these are regarded as optimistic numbers. Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names. Less than one per cent of what the world spent every year on weapons was needed to put every child into school by the year 2000 and yet it didnt happen. Infectious diseases continue to blight the lives of the poor across the world. An estimated 40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, with 3 million deaths in 2004. Every year there are 350500 million cases of malaria, with 1 million

fatalities: Africa accounts for 90 percent of malarial deaths and African children account for over 80 percent of malaria victims worldwide. Some 1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation. Almost two in three people lacking access to clean water survive on less than $2 a day, with one in three living on less than $1 a day. More than 660 million people without sanitation live on less than $2 a day, and more than 385 million on less than $1 a day. Access to piped water into the household averages about 85% for the wealthiest 20% of the population, compared with 25% for the poorest 20%.1.8 billion people who have access to a water source within 1 kilometer, but not in their house or yard, consume around 20 liters per day. In the United Kingdom the average person uses more than 50 liters of water a day flushing toilets (where average daily water usage is about 150 liters a day. The highest average water use in the world is in the US, at 600 liters day.) Some 1.8 million child deaths each year as a result of diarrhea.The loss of 443 million school days each year from water-related illness. Close to half of all people in developing countries suffering at any given time from a health problem caused by water and sanitation deficits. Millions of women spending several hours a day collecting water. To these human costs can be added the massive economic waste associated with the water and sanitation deficit. The costs associated with health spending, productivity losses and labor diversions are greatest in some of the poorest countries. Sub-Saharan Africa loses about 5% of GDP, or some $28.4 billion annually, a figure that exceeds total aid flows and debt relief to the region in 2003.

Kinds of Poverty
Though, poverty is of many types, but four major types of poverty are as follows: 123456Economic poverty. Bodily poverty. Mental poverty. Spiritual poverty. Cultural Poverty Societal Poverty

7- Absolute poverty 8- Relative poverty 9- Ultra poverty Now, well discuss each of them in turn.

Economic poverty:
Economic poverty is basically connected with the hunger. It constitute to the lack of economic needs of man. The facts that are a cause of economic poverty are divided into following sections: Hunger concepts and definitions Number of Hungry people in the world Does the world produce enough food to feed everyone? Causes of hunger Progress in reducing the number of hungry people Micronutrients

Hunger concepts and definitions:

Hunger is a term which has three meanings: The uneasy or painful sensation caused by want of food; craving appetite. Also the exhausted condition caused by want of food the want or scarcity of food in a country a strong desire or craving World hunger refers to the second definition, aggregated to the world level. The related technical term (in this case operationalised in medicine) is malnutrition. Malnutrition is a general term that indicates a lack of some or all nutritional elements necessary for human health There are two basic types of malnutrition. The first and most important is proteinenergy malnutrition--the lack of enough protein (from meat and other sources) and food that provides energy (measured in calories) which all of the basic food

groups provide. This is the type of malnutrition that is referred to when world hunger is discussed. The second type of malnutrition, also very important, is micronutrient (vitamin and mineral) deficiency. This is not the type of malnutrition that is referred to when world hunger is discussed, though it is certainly very important. [Recently there has also been a move to include obesity as a third form of malnutrition. Considering obesity as malnutrition expands the previous usual meaning of the term which referred to poor nutrition due to lack of food inputs.2 It is poor nutrition, but it is certainly not typically due to a lack of calories, but rather too many (although poor food choices, often due to poverty, are part of the problem). Obesity will not be considered here, although obesity is certainly a health problem and is increasingly considered as a type of malnutrition.] Protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) is the most lethal form of malnutrition/hunger. It is basically a lack of calories and protein. Food is converted into energy by humans, and the energy contained in food is measured by calories. Protein is necessary for key body functions including provision of essential amino acids and development and maintenance of muscles. Number of hungry people in the world:

925 million hungry people in 2010

No one really knows how many people are malnourished. The statistic most frequently cited is that of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, which measures 'under nutrition'. The FAO did not publish an estimate in its most recent publication, 'The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2011' as it is undertaking a major revision of how it estimates food insecurity (FAO 2011 p. 10). The 2010 estimate, the most recent, says that 925 million people were undernourished in 2010 (FAO 2010). As the figure below shows, the number of hungry people has increased since 1995-97.. The increase has been due to three factors: 1) neglect of agriculture relevant to very poor people by governments and international agencies; 2) the current worldwide economic crisis, and 3) the significant increase of food prices in the last several years which has been devastating to those with only a few dollars a day to spend. 925 million people is 13.6 percent of the estimated world population of 6.8 billion. Nearly all of the undernourished are in developing countries.

Number of hungry people, 1969-2010

Source: FAO

In round numbers there are 7 billion people in the world. Thus, with an estimated 925 million hungry people in the world, 13.1 percent, or almost 1 in 7 people are hungry. The FAO estimate is based on statistical aggregates. The FAO first estimates the total food supply of a country and derives the average per capita daily food intake from that. The distribution of average food intake for people in the country is then estimated from surveys measuring food expenditure. Using this information, and minimum food energy requirements, FAO estimates how many people are likely to receive such a low level of food intake that they are undernourished.3 Under nutrition is a relatively new concept, but is increasingly used. It should be taken as similar to malnutrition. (It should be said as an aside, that the idea of undernourishment, its relationship to malnutrition, and the reasons for its emergence as a concept is not clear to Hunger Notes.) Children are the most visible victims of under nutrition. Children who are poorly nourished suffer up to 160 days of illness each year. Poor nutrition plays a role in at least half of the 10.9 million child deaths each year--five million deaths. Under nutrition magnifies the effect of every disease, including measles and malaria. The estimated proportions of deaths in which under nutrition is an underlying cause are roughly similar for diarrhea (61%), malaria (57%), pneumonia (52%), and measles (45%) (Black 2003, Bryce 2005). Malnutrition can also be caused by diseases, such as the diseases that cause diarrhea, by reducing the body's ability to convert food into usable nutrients.

According to the most recent estimate that Hunger Notes could find, malnutrition, as measured by stunting, affects 32.5 percent of children in developing countries--one of three (de Ones 2000). Geographically, more than 70 percent of malnourished children live in Asia, 26 percent in Africa and 4 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean. In many cases, their plight began even before birth with a malnourished mother. Under-nutrition among pregnant women in developing countries leads to 1 out of 6 infants born with low birth weight. This is not only a risk factor for neonatal deaths, but also causes learning disabilities, mental, retardation, poor health, blindness and premature death. Does the world produce enough food to feed everyone? The world produces enough food to feed everyone. World agriculture produces 17 percent more calories per person today than it did 30 years ago, despite a 70 percent population increase. This is enough to provide everyone in the world with at least 2,720 kilocalories (kcal) per person per day according to the most recent estimate that we could find.(FAO 2002, p.9). The principal problem is that many people in the world do not have sufficient land to grow, or income to purchase, enough food.

What are the causes of hunger? Poverty is the principal cause of hunger. The causes of poverty include poor people's lack of resources, an extremely unequal income distribution in the world and within specific countries, conflict, and hunger itself. As of 2008 (2005 statistics), the World Bank has estimated that there were an estimated 1,345 million poor people in developing countries who live on $1.25 a day or less. 3 This compares to the later FAO estimate of 1.02 billion undernourished people. Extreme poverty remains an alarming problem in the worlds developing regions, despite some progress that reduced "dollar--now $1.25-- a day" poverty from (an estimated) 1900 million people in 1981, a reduction of 29 percent over the period. Progress in poverty reduction has been concentrated in Asia, and especially, East Asia, with the major improvement occurring in China. In Sub-

Saharan Africa, the number of people in extreme poverty has increased. The statement that 'poverty is the principal cause of hunger' is, though correct, unsatisfying. Harmful economic systems are the principal cause of poverty and hunger. Hunger Notes believes that the principal underlying cause of poverty and hunger is the ordinary operation of the economic and political systems in the world. Essentially control over resources and income is based on military, political and economic power that typically ends up in the hands of a minority, who live well, while those at the bottom barely survive, if they do. Conflict as a cause of hunger and poverty. At the end of 2005, the global number of refugees was at its lowest level in almost a quarter of a century. Despite some large-scale repatriation movements, the last three years have witnessed a significant increase in refugee numbers, due primarily to the violence taking place in Iraq and Somalia. By the end of 2008, the total number of refugees under UNHCRs mandate exceeded 10 million. The number of conflict-induced internally displaced persons (IDPs) reached some 26 million worldwide at the end of the year . Providing exact figures on the number of stateless people is extremely difficult But, important, (relatively) visible though it is, and anguishing for those involved conflict is less important as poverty (and its causes) as a cause of hunger. (Using the statistics above 1.02 billion people suffer from chronic hunger while 36 million people are displaced [UNHCR 2008]) Hunger is also a cause of poverty, and thus of hunger. By causing poor health, low levels of energy, and even mental impairment, hunger can lead to even greater poverty by reducing people's ability to work and learn, thus leading to even greater hunger. Progress in reducing the number of hungry people: The target set at the 1996 World Food Summit was to halve the number of undernourished people by 2015 from their number in 1990-92. (FAO uses three year averages in its calculation of undernourished people.) The (estimated) number of undernourished people in developing countries was 824 million in

1990-92. In 2010, the number had climbed to 925 million people. The WFS goal is a global goal adopted by the nations of the world; the present outcome indicates how marginal the efforts were in face of the real need. So, overall, the world is not making progress toward the world food summit goal, although there has been progress in Asia, and in Latin America and the Caribbean. Micronutrients: Quite a few trace elements or micronutrients--vitamins and minerals--are important for health. 1 out of 3 people in developing countries are affected by vitamin and mineral deficiencies, according to the World Health Organization. Three, perhaps the most important in terms of health consequences for poor people in developing countries, are: Vitamin A Vitamin A deficiency can cause night blindness and reduces the body's resistance to disease. In children Vitamin A deficiency can also cause growth retardation. Between 100 and 140 million children is vitamin A deficient. An estimated 250,000 to 500 000 vitamin A-deficient children become blind every year, half of them dying within 12 months of losing their sight. (World Health Organization) Iron Iron deficiency is a principal cause of anemia. Two billion peopleover 30 percent of the worlds populationare anemic, mainly due to iron deficiency, and, in developing countries, frequently exacerbated by malaria and worm infections. For children, health consequences include premature birth, low birth weight, infections, and elevated risk of death. Later, physical and cognitive development is impaired, resulting in lowered school performance. For pregnant women, anemia contributes to 20 percent of all maternal deaths (World Health Organization). Iodine Iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) jeopardize childrens mental health often their very lives. Serious iodine deficiency during pregnancy may result in stillbirths, abortions and congenital abnormalities such as cretinism, a grave, irreversible form of mental retardation that affects people living in iodinedeficient areas of Africa and Asia. IDD also causes mental impairment that lowers intellectual prowess at home, at school, and at work. IDD affects over 740 million

people, 13 percent of the worlds population. Fifty million people have some degree of mental impairment caused by IDD (World Health Organization).

Bodily Poverty:
Bodily poverty literally means lack of property, health and access to health living conditions.Poor people not only lack current income, but also assets with which to generate incomes. Billions of poor people have access to land which may not be legally recognized. While legislation may provide more secure land tenure for the poor and thus reduce poverty, this outcome is not guaranteed. Policies that do not recognize the complexity of property rights have backfired, reducing poor peoples security of tenure. Finally, understanding legal pluralism can lead to more effective policies and interventions to strengthen poor peoples control over assets. Less money means less nutritious food, less heat in winter, less fresh air in summer, less distance from sick people, less knowledge about illness or medicine, fewer doctor visits, fewer dental visits, less preventative care, and above all else, less first-quality medical attention when all these other deprivations take their toll and a poor person finds himself seriously illlict. This has such an effect thatAbusive violence is more likely to occur in poor homes. Specific social and demographic characteristics increase the likelihood that poverty will lead to abuse. Poor young parents who are raising young children have an elevated risk of using the most abusive forms of violence toward their children, as do poor single mothers (Families in Poverty). When stress hormones are released over a long period of time-for months or years- it drains the bodys energy and takes its toll on ones emotional health. Because of the strain of living in impoverished conditions, there is no surprise that this has such a big impact on the mental health and stability of families. But perhaps what is shocking is other ways that poverty can affect a family. And it is becoming more and more prevalent each year. The issue that has become an epidemic throughout most developed countries is the problem of obesity. A recently published report states that families with lower incomes had higher rates of obesity. More specifically: 35.3 percent of adults earning less than $15,000

per year were obese compared with 24.5 percent of adults earning $50,000 or more per year (F as in Fat). This is especially alarming when you learn that More than two-thirds of states have adult obesity rates above 25 percent. In 1991, no state had an obesity rate above 20 percent (F as in Fat). Because these findings are so shocking, it would leave us wondering why people in poverty have such high obesity rates. There are a few explanations such as the high cost of food compared to the great deals you can find on junk food. And sociologists have actually found that poor neighborhoods and areas with housing projects only have convenient stores as their grocery supply. These stores, of course do not offer fresh fruit and vegetables, or lean meat, or acceptable sources of whole grains. One site states Food options in poor neighborhoods are severely limited: its a lot easier to find quarter waters and pork rinds on the corner than fresh fruits and vegetables. Low-income workers may also have less time to cook their own meals, less money to join sports clubs, and fewer opportunities to exercise outside (Engber, Daniel). Location of families plays a big role in their health because of the lack of good quality grocery stores in poor areas. If they do have access to grocery stores, the prices of healthy food soar way above fatty foods. And if they are poor they are going to get as much food as they can for their money and these cheap foods are loaded with fat, sugar, and empty calories. The combination of the burden of poverty linked to a poor diet leads to weight gain. This happens when your body responds to outside stressors by releasing excessive amounts of cortical and adrenaline. The body creates extra glucose which leaves the body with excess energy that is stored as fat if it is not used. When large amounts of adrenaline are produced over an extended period of time, the fat cells dont get converted into energy, which leads to an increase in weight (Whittle, Adrian). Having access to these foods is what is causing the high rates of obesity all across our nation. Dr. Adam Drewnowski from the University Of Washington determined that foods produced from subsidized crops, such as French fries and soda, cost about five times less per calorie comparison, Dr. Drewnowski says that from a short-term financial perspective, it may make sense for a low-income person to choose high-fat and highly sweetened foods over healthier

alternatives (Hawn, Daniel). The priorities of food pricing are taking its toll on our country. Long-term effects of obesity linked to poverty will continue to threaten the health of people, as well as the crisis of rapid spreading infectious diseases. To best understand this, it is important to have an idea of how the immune system works. Our immune system protects us from disease by producing cells to fight off antigens. For our system to perform its best, we need T cells that produce antibodies to fight off disease under stress. Our body produces chemicals called catecholamines, which are dopamine, epinephrine, and nor epinephrine. When these increase the immune system can become suppressed by inhibiting the growth of the cells that help fight off disease. (Koenker, Hannah) Sicknesses like tuberculosis, influenza, hepatitis, gonorrhea, and Chlamydia are on the rise and poor people are a target because of the constant burdening environment. The World Health Organization estimates that between now and 2020 nearly one billion people will be newly infected, 150 million will develop the disease *tuberculosis+ and 36 million will die. These numbers could easily be translated for many infectious diseases. The Third World Network sums it up accurately by saying Continuing global population growth, combined with rapid urbanization, means that many millions of city dwellers are forced to live in overcrowded and unhygienic conditions, where lack of clean water and adequate sanitation provides breeding grounds for infectious disease (A New Global Health Crisis). Most poor families cannot afford the medicine and antibiotics they need to treat these diseases and they certainly cannot afford to visit the doctor. So what does this mean? These diseases continue to spread at a rapid rate until the living conditions and availability of healthcare for the poor are improved.

Mental Poverty
Eradicate extreme poverty: People living in poverty not only lack financial resources to maintain basic living standards but also have fewer educational and employment opportunities, are exposed to adverse living environments and are less able to access good quality health care. These factors put them at a higher risk of developing a mental

disorder. When people develop mental disorders they are likely to descend further into poverty, both because of increased health care costs as well as decreased productivity and lost opportunities for employment. Yet when mental health services are available, people who might otherwise be economically dependent on family members are more likely to recover, find employment and provide for their families thus facilitating the conditions necessary to rise out of poverty. Treating of mental disorders will contribute to meeting the first MDG, the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger. Reduce child mortality and increase maternal health: Young children of depressed mothers are much more likely to be exposed to risk factors for child mortality. For example, infants of depressed mothers are 5 times more likely to show signs of malnourishment and poor growth than other infants. Also, depressed mothers tend to stop breast-feeding and their babies are significantly more likely to suffer diarrhea episodes or to not have their complete immunizations. In addition, a very high proportion of mothers suffer from depression. Studies have shown that mothers who suffer from depression are less likely to maintain their physical health. They are also at significant risk for suicide. Addressing the mental health care needs of mothers is important for improving child and maternal health. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases: The interrelationships between physical and mental health are highly complex. Risk behaviours as well as health seeking behaviours and compliance to treatment are significantly influenced by mental health status. Conversely, many physical illnesses can have a mental health impact: severe or highly stigmatizedillnesses can have a significant psychological effect; some physicalillnesses can also affect the central nervous system; yet others require taking medication that has psychological side-effects. In relation to HIV/AIDS there is clear scientific evidence that depression increases the risk of HIV disease progression and mortality. Therefore screening for depression and providing psychosocial interventions should be considered part of comprehensive HIV care. The inter relationship between mental health, poverty and development: Mental Health and Development are mutually reinforcing. This interrelationship is mediated by a number of factors such as: nutrition, education, housing, respect

for human rights, empowerment status, work status, social capital, and access to health care, livelihoods and coping strategies, among others. This mutual interaction linking mental health and development can work positively with good mental health facilitating the active and successful involvement of individuals and communities in development, and negatively with poor mental health increasing the risk of descending into a vicious cycle of poverty and adverse social and health outcomes.

Spiritual Poverty
Spiritual poverty is a state of not realizing that we are one global family. It is a veil of ignorance that obscures the truth that we all, all humanity and all creation, are interdependent and interconnected. Spiritual wealth is the opposite of individual greed and corruption. The coin of the spiritual realm is a conscious realization of oneness and the compassion to want for another one wants for him/herself. There are people with a lot of money who are inwardly impoverished. And there are people who are inwardly wealthy with very little money. Now Im not glamorizing poverty. Its absolutely possible to be inwardly wealthy and outwardly

rich, or at the least live at the level of relative poverty that I mentioned earlier. It is completely within the realm of possibility that the basic needs of all beings on the planet can be met. Its a matter of consciousness, of individual and collective values within a society and its leaders. And its up to each and every individual to become involved. Look what happened in the U.S. with the election of President Obama. Granted, in other countries where elections are sabotaged and rigged, it causes a real challenge to change. And yet when the collective mind, which is energetically connected, begins a chain of change, it is contagious. Cultural Poverty
Lack of coming together in a society. No collaborative activities taking place which leads to disconnect between people.

Political Poverty
Lack of understanding of how system works. The basic problem is the understanding of how to cast one's vote and elect their leader.

Absolute poverty
It is Income below a certain level necessary to maintain minimum standards of living. A measure of absolute poverty quantifies the number of people below a fixed real poverty threshold. It is a level of poverty as defined in terms of the minimal requirements necessary to afford minimal standards of food, clothing, health care and shelter. For the measure to be absolute, the line must be the same in different countries, cultures, and technological levels. Such an absolute measure should look only at the individual's power to consume and it should be independent of any changes in income distribution. Such a measure is possible only when all consumed goods and services are counted and when PPP-exchange rates are used. The intuition behind an absolute measure is that mere survival takes essentially the same amount of resources across the world and that everybody should be subject to the same standards if meaningful comparisons of policies and progress are to be made. Notice that if everyone's real income in an economy increases, and the income distribution does not change, absolute poverty will decline.

Relative poverty
A measure of relative poverty defines "poverty" as being below some relative poverty threshold. For example, the statement that "households with an accumulated income less than 60% of the median income are living in poverty" uses a relative measure to define poverty. In this system, if everyone's real income in an economy increases, but the income distribution stays the same, then the rate of relative poverty will also stay the same.Relative poverty measurements can sometimes produce odd results, especially in small populations. Relative poverty views poverty as socially defined and dependent on social context, hence relative poverty is a measure of income inequality. Usually, relative poverty is measured as the percentage of population with income less than some fixed proportion of median income. There are several other different income inequality metrics, for example the Gini coefficient or the Theil Index.Relative poverty measures are used as official poverty rates in several developed countries. As such these poverty statistics measure inequality rather than material deprivation or hardship. The measurements are usually based on a person's yearly income and frequently take no account of total wealth. The main poverty line used in the OECD and the European Union is based on "economic distance", a level of income set at 60% of the median household income.

Ultra-poverty
Ultra-poverty, a term apparently coined by Michael Lipton, connotes being amongst poorest of the poor in low-income countries. Lipton defined ultra-poverty as receiving less than 80 percent of minimum caloric intake whilst spending more than 80% of income on food.Alternatively a 2007 report issued by International Food Policy Research Institute defined ultra-poverty as living on less than 54 cents per day. BRAC (NGO) has pioneered a program called Targeting the UltraPoor to redress ultra-poverty by working with individual ultra-poor women.

Reasons/factors of Poverty
It is well known that many nations of Europe, faced by devastating wars, such as World Wars I and II, were reduced to bare poverty, where people were reduced to living on handouts and charity, barely surviving. Within decades they had brought themselves up in terms of real domestic income, to become thriving and influential modern nations of prosperous people. We know also that many other nations have remained among the least developed of the planet, even though billions of dollars of so-called "aid" money was spent on them. Why? Because the factors of poverty were not attacked, only the symptoms. At the macro or

national level, a low GDP (gross domestic product) is not the poverty itself; it is the symptom of poverty, as a social problem. The factors of poverty (as a social problem) that are listed here, ignorance, disease, apathy, dishonesty and dependency, are to be seen simply as conditions. No moral judgment is intended. They are not good or bad, they just are. If it is the decision of a group of people, as in a society or in a community, to reduce and remove poverty, they will have to, without value judgment, observe and identify these factors, and take action to remove them as the way to eradicate poverty. The big five, in turn, contribute to secondary factors such as lack of markets, poor infrastructure, poor leadership, bad governance, under-employment, lack of skills, absenteeism, lack of capital, and others. Each of these are social problems, each of them are caused by one or more of the big five, and each of them contribute to the perpetuation of poverty, and their eradication is necessary for the removal of poverty.

Ignorance:
Ignorance means having a lack of information, or lack of knowledge. It is different from stupidity which is lack of intelligence, and different from foolishness which is lack of wisdom. The three are often mixed up and assumed to be the same by some people."Knowledge is power," goes the old saying. Unfortunately, some

people, knowing this, try to keep knowledge to themselves (as a strategy of obtaining an unfair advantage), and hinder others from obtaining knowledge. Do not expect that if you train someone in a particular skill, or provide some information, that the information or skill will naturally trickle or leak into the rest of a community. It is important to determine what the information is that is missing. Many planners and good minded persons, who want to help a community become stronger, think that the solution is education. But education means many things. Some information is not important to the situation. It will not help a farmer to know that Romeo and Juliet both died in Shakespeare's play, but it would be more useful to know which kind of seed would survive in the local soil, and which would not. The training in this series of community empowerment documents includes (among other things) the transfer of information. Unlike a general education, which has its own history of causes for the selection of what is included, the information included here is aimed at strengthening capacity, not for general enlightenment.

Disease:
When a community has a high disease rate, absenteeism is high, productivity is low, and less wealth is created. Apart from the misery, discomfort and death that results from disease, it is also a major factor in poverty in a community. Being well (well-being) not only helps the individuals who are healthy, it contributes to the eradication of poverty in the community. Here, as elsewhere, prevention is better than cure. It is one of the basic tenets of PHC (primary health care). The economy is much healthier if the population is always healthy; more so than if people get sick and have to be treated. Health contributes to the eradication of poverty more in terms of access to safe and clean drinking water, separation of sanitation from the water supply, knowledge of hygiene and disease prevention much more than clinics, doctors and drugs, which are costly curative solutions rather than prevention against disease. Remember, we are concerned with factors, not causes. It does not matter if tuberculosis was introduced by foreigners who first came to trade, or if it were autochthonic.& ; It does not matter if HIV that carries AIDS was a CIA plot to develop a biological warfare weapon, or if it came from green monkeys in the soup. Those are possible causes. Knowing the causes will

not remove disease. Knowing the factors can lead to better hygiene and preventive behavior, for their ultimate eradication. Many people see access to health care as a question of human rights, the reduction of pain and misery and the quality of life of the people. These are all valid reasons to contribute to a healthy population. What is argued here, further than those reasons, is that a healthy population contributes to the eradication of poverty, and it is also argued that poverty is not only measured by high rates of morbidity and mortality, but also that disease contributes to other forms and aspects of poverty.

Apathy:
Apathy is when people do not care, or when they feel so powerless that they do not try to change things, to right a wrong, to fix a mistake, or to improve conditions. Sometimes, some people feel so unable to achieve something, they are jealous of their family relatives or fellow members of their community who attempt to do so. Then they seek to bring the attempting achiever down to their own level of poverty. Apathy breeds apathy. Sometimes apathy is justified by religious precepts, "Accept what exists because God has decided your fate." That fatalism may be misused as an excuse. It is OK to believe God decides our fate, if we accept that God may decide that we should be motivated to improve ourselves. "Pray to God, but also row to shore," a Russian proverb, demonstrates that we are in God's hands, but we also have a responsibility to help ourselves. We were created with many abilities: to choose, to cooperate, to organize in improving the quality of our lives; we should not let God or Allah be used as an excuse to do nothing. That is as bad as a curse upon God. We must praise God and use our God-given talents. In the fight against poverty, the mobilize uses encouragement and praise, so that people (1) will want to and (2) learn how to take charge of their own lives.

Dishonesty:
When resources that are intended to be used for community services or facilities, are diverted into the private pockets of someone in a position of power, there is more than morality at stake here. In this training series, we are not making a

value judgment that it is good or bad. We are pointing out, however, that it is a major cause of poverty. Dishonesty among persons of trust and power. The amount stolen from the public, that is received and enjoyed by the individual, is far less than the decrease in wealth that was intended for the public. The amount of money that is extorted or embezzled is not the amount of lowering of wealth to the community. Economists tell of the "multiplier effect." Where new wealth is invested, the positive effect on the economy is more than the amount created. When investment money is taken out of circulation, the amount of wealth by which the community is deprived is greater than the amount gained by the embezzler. When a Government official takes a 100 dollar bribe, social investment is decreased by as much as a 400 dollar decrease in the wealth of the society. It is ironic that we get very upset when a petty thief steals ten dollars' worth of something in the market, yet an official may steal a thousand dollars from the public purse, which does four thousand dollars worth of damage to the society as a whole, yet we do not punish the second thief. We respect the second thief for her or his apparent wealth, and praise that person for helping all her or his relatives and neighbors. In contrast, we need the police to protect the first thief from being beaten by people on the street. The second thief is a major cause of poverty, while the first thief may very well be a victim of poverty that is caused by the second. Our attitude, as described in the paragraph to the left, is More than ironic; it is a factor that perpetuates poverty. If we reward the one who causes the major damage, and punish only the ones who are really victims, then our misplaced attitudes also contribute to poverty. When embezzled money is then taken out of the country and put in a foreign (eg Swiss) bank, then it does not contribute anything to the national economy; it only helps the country of the offshore or foreign bank.

Dependency:
Dependency results from being on the receiving end of charity. In the short run, as after a disaster, that charity may be essential for survival. In the long run, that

charity can contribute to the possible demise of the recipient, and certainly to ongoing poverty. It is an attitude, a belief, that one is so poor, so helpless, that one cannot help one's self, that a group cannot help itself, and that it must depend on assistance from outside. The attitude, and shared belief is the biggest self justifying factor in perpetuating the condition where the self or group must depend on outside help. There are several other documents on this web site which refer to dependency. See: Dependency, and Revealing Hidden Resources. When showing how to use the telling of stories to communicate essential principles of development, the story of Mohammed and the Rope is used as a key illustration of the principle that assistance should not be the kind of charity that weakens by encouraging dependency, it should empower. The community empowerment methodology is an alternative to giving charity (which weakens), but provides assistance, capital and training aimed at low income communities identifying their own resources and taking control of their own development becoming empowered. All too often, when a project is aimed at promoting self reliance, the recipients, until their awareness is raised, expect, assume and hope that the project is coming just to provide resources for installing a facility or service in the community.

Eradication of Poverty
Poverty is the state of human beings who are poor. That is, they have little or no material means of survivinglittle or no food, shelter, clothes, healthcare, education, and other physical means of living and improving one's life. Poverty reduction measures are those that raise, or are intended to raise, the material level of living. Of course, some people undertake voluntary poverty due to religious or philosophical beliefs. For example, Christian monks and nuns take a "vow of poverty" by which they renounce luxury. Poverty reduction measures have no role in regard to voluntary poverty. Poverty reduction measures and other attempts to change the economies of modern hunter-gatherers are not addressed in this article. Hunter-gatherers, also called "foragers" live off wild plants and animals, for example, the Hadza people

of Tanzania and the Bushmen of southern Africa. Theirs is a special case in which their poverty relative to the developed countries is intertwined with their traditional way of life. Governmental attempts to modernize the economies of the Hadza people, the Bushmen, and other hunter-gatherers have resulted in political, legal, and cultural controversies. They have often met with failure. Poverty occurs in both developing countries and developed countries. While poverty is much more widespread in developing countries, both types of countries undertake poverty reduction measures. Poverty has historically been accepted as inevitable as non-industrialized economies produced very little while populations grew almost as fast making wealth scarce. Poverty reduction, or poverty alleviation, has been largely as a result of overall economic growth. Food shortages were common before modern agricultural technology and in places that lack them today, such as nitrogen fertilizers, pesticides and irrigation methods. The dawn of industrial revolution led to high economic growth, eliminating mass poverty in what is now considered the developed world. World GDP per person quintupled during the 20th century. In 1820, 75% of humanity lived on less than a dollar a day, while in 2001, only about 20% do. Today, continued economic development is constrained by the lack of economic freedoms. Economic liberalization requires extending property rights to the poor, especially to land. Financial services, notably savings, can be made accessible to the poor through technology, such as mobile banking. Inefficient institutions, corruption and political instability can also discourage investment. Aid and government support in health, education and infrastructure helps growth by increasing human and physical capital. Poverty alleviation also involves improving the living conditions of people who are already poor. Aid, particularly in medical and scientific areas, is essential in providing better lives, such as the Green Revolution and the eradication of smallpox. Problems with today's development aid include the high proportion of tied aid, which mandates receiving nations to buy products, often more expensive, originating only from donor countries. Nevertheless, some believe

(Peter Singer in his book The Life You can save) that small changes in the way each of us in affluent nations lives our lives could solve world poverty.

Reducing poverty among rural communities Raising farm incomes is described as the core of the antipoverty effort as three quarters of the poor today are farmers. Estimates show that growth in the agricultural productivity of small farmers is, on average, at least twice as effective in benefiting the poorest half of a countrys population as growth generated in nonagricultural sectors. Improving water management is an effective way to help reduce poverty among farmers. With better water management, they can improve productivity and potentially move beyond subsistence-level farming. During the Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, for example, irrigation was a key factor in unlocking Asia's agricultural potential and reducing poverty. Between 1961 and 2002, the irrigated area almost doubled, as governments sought to achieve food security, improve public welfare and generate economic growth. In South Asia, cereal production rose by 137% from 1970 to 2007. This was achieved with only 3% more land. The International Water Management Institute in Colombo, Sri Lanka aims to improve the management of land and water resources for food, livelihoods and the environment. One project its scientists worked on demonstrates the impact that improving water management in agriculture can have. The study, funded by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, initially upgraded and irrigated the irrigation system on the Walawe Left Bank, Sri Lanka, in 1997. In 2005, irrigation was extended to a further area. An analysis of the whole are was carried out in 2007 and 2008. This study found that access to irrigation provided families with opportunities to diversify their livelihood activities and potentially increase their incomes. For example, people with land could reliably grow rice or vegetables instead of working as laborers or relying on rainfall to water their crops. Those

without land could benefit by working within new inland fisheries. Within the projects control area, 57% of households were below the poverty line in 2002 compared with 43% in 2007.

Economic liberalization Extending property rights protection to the poor is one of the most important poverty reduction strategies a nation can implement. Securing property rights to land, the largest asset for most societies, is vital to their economic freedom. The World Bank concludes that increasing land rights is the key to reducing poverty citing that land rights greatly increase poor peoples wealth, in some cases doubling it. It is estimated that state recognition of the property of the poor would give them assets worth 40 times all the foreign aid since 1945.Although approaches varied, the World Bank said the key issues were security of tenure and ensuring land transactions were low cost. In China and India, noted reductions in poverty in recent decades have occurred mostly as a result of the abandonment of collective farming in China and the cutting of government red tape in India. New enterprises and foreign investment can be driven away by the results of inefficient institutions, corruption, the weak rule of law and excessive bureaucratic burdens.It takes two days, two bureaucratic procedures, and $280 to open a business in Canada while an entrepreneur in Bolivia must pay $2,696 in fees, wait 82 business days, and go through 20 procedures to do the same. Such costly barriers favor big firms at the expense of small enterprises where most jobs are created. In India before economic reforms, businesses had to bribe government officials even for routine activities, which was in effect a tax on business. However, ending government sponsorship of social programs is sometimes advocated as a free market principle with tragic consequences. For example, the World Bank presses poor nations to eliminate subsidies for fertilizer that many farmers cannot afford at market prices. The reconfiguration of public financing in

former Soviet states during their transition to a market economy called for reduced spending on health and education, sharply increasing poverty. Trade liberalization increases total surplus of trading nations. Remittances sent to poor countries, such as India, are sometimes larger than foreign direct investment and total remittances are more than double aid flows from OECD countries. Foreign investment and export industries helped fuel the economic expansion of fast growing Asian nations. However, trade rules are often unfair as they block access to richer nations markets and ban poorer nations from supporting their industries. Processed products from poorer nations, in contrast to raw materials, get vastly higher tariffs at richer nations' ports. A University of Toronto study found the dropping of duty charges on thousands of products from African nations because of the African Growth and Opportunity Act was directly responsible for a "surprisingly large" increase in imports from Africa. Deals can sometimes be negotiated to favor the developing country such as in China, where laws compel foreign multinationals to train their future Chinese competitors in strategic industries and render themselves redundant in the long term. In Thailand, the 51 percent rule compels multinational corporations starting operations in Thailand give 51 percent control to a Thai company in a joint venture. Capital, infrastructure and technology Long run economic growth per person is achieved through increases in capital (factors that increase productivity), both human and physical, and technology. Improving human capital, in the form of health, is needed for economic growth. Nations do not necessarily need wealth to gain health. For example, Sri Lanka had a maternal mortality rate of 2% in the 1930s, higher than any nation today. It reduced it to .5-.6% in the 1950s and to .06% today. However, it was spending less each year on maternal health because it learned what worked and what did not. Knowledge on the cost effectiveness of healthcare interventions can be elusive but educational measures to disseminate what works are available, such as the disease control priorities project. Promoting hand washing is one of the

most cost effective health interventions and can cut deaths from the major childhood diseases of diarrhea and pneumonia by half. Human capital, in the form of education, is an even more important determinant of economic growth than physical capital.Deworming children costs about 50 cents per child per year and reduces non-attendance from anemia, illness and malnutrition and is only a twenty-fifth as expensive to increase school attendance as by constructing schools. UN economists argue that good infrastructure, such as roads and information networks, helps market reforms to work. China claims it is investing in railways, roads, ports and rural telephones in African countries as part of its formula for economic development. It was the technology of the steam engine that originally began the dramatic decreases in poverty levels. Cell phone technology brings the market to poor or rural sections. With necessary information, remote farmers can produce specific crops to sell to the buyers that bring the best price. Such technology also helps bring economic freedom by making financial services accessible to the poor. Those in poverty place overwhelming importance on having a safe place to save money, much more so than receiving loans. Also, a large part of microfinance loans are spent on products that would usually be paid by a checking or savings account. Mobile banking addresses the problem of the heavy regulation and costly maintenance of saving accounts. Mobile financial services in the developing world, ahead of the developed world in this respect, could be worth $5 billion by 2012.Safaricoms M-Pesa launched one of the first systems where a network of agents of mostly shopkeepers, instead of bank branches, would take deposits in cash and translate these onto a virtual account on customers' phones. Cash transfers can be done between phones and issued back in cash with a small commission, making remittances safer. Employment and Productivity Economic growth has the indirect potential to alleviate poverty, as a result of a simultaneous increase in employment opportunities and increase labor productivity. A study by researchers at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI)

of 24 countries that experienced growth found that in 18 cases, poverty was alleviated. However, employment is no guarantee of escaping poverty, the International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that as many as 40% of workers as poor, not earning enough to keep their families above the $2 a day poverty line. For instance, in India most of the chronically poor are wage earners in formal employment, because their jobs are insecure and low paid and offer no chance to accumulate wealth to avoid risks. This appears to be the result of a negative relationship between employment creation and increased productivity, when a simultaneous positive increase is required to reduce poverty. According to the UNRISD, increasing labor productivity appears to have a negative impact on job creation: in the 1960s, a 1% increase in output per worker was associated with a reduction in employment growth of 0.07%, by the first decade of this century the same productivity increase implies reduced employment growth by 0.54%. Increases in employment without increases in productivity leads to a rise in the number of "working poor", which is why some experts are now promoting the creation of "quality" and not "quantity" in labor market policies. This approach does highlight how higher productivity has helped reduce poverty in East Asia, but the negative impact is beginning to show. In Viet Nam, for example, employment growth has slowed while productivity growth has continued. Furthermore, productivity increases do not always lead to increased wages, as can be seen in the US, where the gap between productivity and wages has been rising since the 1980s.The ODI study showed that other sectors were just as important in reducing unemployment, as manufacturing. The services sector is most effective at translating productivity growth into employment growth. Agriculture provides a safety net for jobs and economic buffer when other sectors are struggling. This study suggests a more nuanced understanding of economic growth and quality of life and poverty alleviation.

Poverty in developed and developing countries

The normal policies of developed and developing countries are that they differ a lot. In developing countries they do not earn as much as in a developed country. Do to this, developed countries measure the income level of poverty by an

average which is that poor people cannot afford the basic needs such as a house. For people with very low status in which they do not earn money, they become homeless because they cant afford a house. Others that are in very extreme conditions live in substandard and sometimes in very dangerous houses. Many of the poor people in developed countries since they dont have nothing else to do they start drugging themselves and drug dealing with other and selling them to earn something. Also they abuse of kids and do other crimes. The United States has the higher rate of poverty than other developed countries, for reasons only partly understood. A study of 16 nations was defined that poverty is earning below the middle of all. About the 19 percent of the United States lives in a degree of poverty. Rates between 10 to 15 percent were in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Japan, Spain, and the United Kingdom. And the lowest percents were 5 to 8 in the western parts of Europe including France, Belgium, Italy, German, and The Netherlands, Scandinavian countries such as; Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Poverty rates in some developed countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, they have higher national minorities among each other. In many developed countries they tend to suffer from very high rates of poverty. In the United States many Native Americans live and work on economically reservations and experience high rates of alcoholism and joblessness. And in Australia, many Aboriginal people live in similar conditions. Well in fact what I think about developed countries and poverty is that I thought that in developing countries was going to be more dangerous to walk at night in the streets but it isnt. In developed countries there is more people begging for money. Do to wealthy people that have lots of money and beautiful houses. The poor ones are going to be jealous and since they cant do other thing than steal they would rob the houses. Since the government is not helping them finding a job and poor people are not searching for one they country would still keep on being the same. It is important to look deeper into political and economic realities that are underscored by the Tsunami for example. The reason that the US aid contribution, and those from other countries, is so vital to this region is because

the region was impoverished to begin with. As mentioned, the poverty and misery of this region and all other poorer countries are due to the lack of basic rule of law and their lack of property rights (note: one of these is seldom, if ever, found without the other one). For example, in a typical Indonesian fishing village people 'own' the house they live in only because they are physically present in the house, they have no deed to the house and cannot use it as collateral for a loan. The socialistic nature of many third world economies breed gross corruption and contribute to lawlessness, scaring away foreign investment. It is self evident that a government with little power cannot be corrupt. For example, reminiscent of the old Kings of Europe, in many African countries the richest men are all in the government. The BBC reports the comments of Jeremy Pope, head of anticorruption watchdog group Transparency International:"What has been revealed is hopelessly corrupt political elite - a political class across the spectrum that simply sees politics as a way of becoming wealthy," Mr. Pope says. "As long as politics is seen as the path to wealth, then Africa is on a downward path.". Unfortunately, well intentioned aid agencies and international lending organizations often contribute to the power of these despots by giving aid to the government and encouraging the hurtful socialistic programs, such as antipoverty programs and government provided health care, that are at the root of that country's poverty! These same people then demand that prosperous countries, who forcibly borrowed from their citizens in order to lend money to enrich these despots, turn their 'loan' into a 'gift'. The BBC reports the demands of a leftist minister from England to foreign citizens: The foreign debts owed by countries hit by the Asian tsunami disaster could be frozen, under a proposal being pushed by UK Chancellor Gordon Brown. A few weeks later the G7 (wealthiest 7 nations) actually agreed, in principal, with Brown!: The world's seven richest countries have agreed that up to $100 billion in debts from 37 of the world's poorest countries should be written off... Also, the US representative firmly opposed Mr. Brown's additional scheme of an international finance facility that would allow developing nations to draw in advance on future aid commitments from wealthy nations. The Australian Government, while not a member of the G7 group, has argued against debt forgiveness as a solution to global poverty. It says that the governments of developing nations will not necessarily pass on the benefits to their people. Brown believes that: "It is the rich countries hearing the voices of the poor . . . showing that no injustice can last forever," he said. Notice Australia is the only voice of reason. (Similarly, French President Jacques Chirac used the Tsunami disaster to push for global

taxes, which fortunately have not been adopted yet. See articles at the end for details) The 'Conservative' Bush Administration went along with these poverty creating 'debt relief' proposals. Indonesia is a prime example. From the AFP press: Transparency International ranks Indonesia in its top 10 of worst offenders, with an ungovernable reputation for kickbacks, collusion and bribery that has scared away badly needed foreign investment. Acehs governor Abdullah Putehis behind bars at the moment, accused in a helicopter purchase embezzlement scam worth 100,000 dollars -- a paltry sum compared to the $35 billion allegedly amassed by former dictator Suharto. New President SusiloBambangYudhoyono, who has described his country's lack of probity as the laughing stock of Asia, said after the disaster that the misappropriation of relief funds would not be tolerated."The pressure will be strong on Indonesia. If it does not stop embezzlement, the UN will bring its fist down on the table," said one western diplomat here. Some Indonesian government officials, however, believe that it is perhaps the United Nations that requires scrutiny, particularly in the wake of a scandal over its tainted "oil-for-food" programme in Iraq."As we know, even in the United Nations there is a lot of corruption, and we should be careful about this," commented Secretary of State YusrilIhza Mahindra. A story in the Washington Post describes problems already occurring in Indonesia: Yet people relying upon that aid complained that the goods are scarce. Much of the relief is being brought to settlements controlled by the Indonesian military. "The military has ordered that all the aid dropped by the helicopters be taken to their base," said Carifuddin, 46, a retired police officer whose house in Ujung Baru was destroyed by the tsunami. He accused the soldiers of keeping too much. "We have to stand in line for two hours to get two packs of instant noodles. There is some rice, but some get it and some don't," he said. A member of the Meulaboh city planning board, TajudinMarlian, concurred that the army is depriving needy people of relief."It is a fact that all the aid is carried by TNI trucks that take the aid to their own base" he said, using the acronym for the Indonesian armed forces. "How could that be fair? They are taking a little bit for themselves." In an interview at an Indonesian army base here, Col. GeerhanLantara, commander of the relief mission for western Aceh, denied such accusations. "There is no problem," he said. The Indonesia military has been accused by human rights groups and the international community of gross human rights violations in the breakaway province of Aceh. In 1999 Indonesia was slapped with US military sanctions and thus their largely US purchased military is deteriorating: Out of a total of 233 fighters, only between 40 percent and 50 percent are operational, air

force chief of staff Marshal HanafieAsnan was quoted by the Jakarta Post as saying. These tensions sometimes threatened to disrupt aid. The Abraham Lincoln had to briefly leave Indonesian waters because the Indonesian government refused to allow US pilots to use their airspace to train. US troops landing to assist had to be unarmed and were restricted in their access. Varying stories suggest the US military was asked or pressured to leave early. Aid groups had to pre-register with the government. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was restricted in his travels and some members of the Indonesian government expressed disappointment at the selection of former US President Bill Clinton as a prominent fundraiser. Although the recent election of SusiloBambangYudhoyono, a former security official running on an anti-terror and anti-corruption platform, is a hopeful sign, the political difficulties mentioned above are a result of the failed governments of the past and present and a reflection of Indonesia's poverty. Sri Lanka, a small island off the coast of India, which has also been wracked by civil war, governmental ineptitude, and corruption, suffered similar problems: On Sri Lanka, Tamil Tiger rebels canceled a key meeting with international donors -- a move threatening reconstruction efforts. The rebels had complained that aid supplies weren't reaching them and blamed the government for the killing of one of their top leaders as he finished overseeing reconstruction efforts in a rebel stronghold in eastern Sri Lanka, one of the regions hardest hit by the killer waves. The government denied involvement in Tuesday's killing. In another shocking story that emerged out of Sri Lanka, ThilakRanavirajah, chief of the Sri Lankan presidential task force coordinating relief, said that 70% of the victims hadn't received anything! On February 3rd the Associated Press reported: Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's government suspended two village officials for allegedly channeling tsunami aid to friends who were not affected by the killer waves, while a third was suspended for being under the influence of liquor while on duty, said W. Weerakoon, a government administrator in Galle, one of the hardest-hit areas. Ten others were being investigated on similar charges, he said. Though millions of dollars in aid has poured into Sri Lanka since the tsunami killed at least 30,000 people here, 70 percent of survivors haven't received anything because of bureaucratic bungling and incompetence, officials say. In the Sri Lankan capital, hundreds of people protested outside the U.N. World Food Program office Wednesday, complaining they had not received food rations. Demonstrators from the southern coastal town of Matara submitted a petition seeking U.N. intervention. This was not the first sign of trouble with Sri Lanka's aid effort. On Tuesday, the government began

investigating complaints that food aid intended for tsunami victims had disappeared and that some of the homeless living in camps were being fed rotten supplies. The World Food Program said it had donated 10,000 tons of rice, lentils and sugar and had delivered the supplies to government stores across the island. "We can't understand why the people aren't getting it," spokeswoman SelviSachithanandam said. They won't understand why their debt relief programs won't bring anyone out of poverty either. Top down, socialistic type aid distribution nearly always fails. The error lies in the setup of the system: Millions of dollars worth of relief from around the world has poured into Sri Lanka since the tsunami. The central government distributes it to administrators, who then channel it through divisional bureaucrats to village officials, who are supposed to deliver it to the displaced. US military aid (and the military aid of other countries) and NGO aid, given directly to the people, was surely more effective then letting government attempt to micromanage the distribution. This error has consistently been repeated in dealing with poverty around the world and in the United States. What does work to combat poverty? Besides the aforementioned property rights and the fair rule of law, free trade is the greatest alleviator of poverty. Who blocks free trade? Government! So free trade could actually just be classified under property rights because it should be the right of a person in one country to buy or sell property with a person in a different country. The reason these two people can't complete the voluntary transaction that would benefit both of them is because Government has tyrannically given itself the power to block it. For example, the governments of the United States and Europe will imprison their citizens if they do not pay the hundreds of billions of dollars in taxes that these governments then return to small, often wealthy, farming interest groups. These bloated subsidies allow farmers to price their goods below market price (although in reality they are actually above market price), thus preventing developing nations from exporting substantial foodstuffs to developed countries. These farmers then donate some of the money the government stole for them back to the politicians that orchestrated the theft. Often times tariffs or other hurtful meddling further discourage trade in industries like textiles, another key export of developing countries. Yet the people who purport to care most about the poor in third world countries are often the biggest supporters of the ever expanding, ever spending, ever corrupt, and ever hurtful government. For another look at how free trade aids developing countries and former welfare recipients in this country, I urge you to read this excerpt from the paper. These ideas are so important and intricately related to this Tsunami disaster because all

of this foreign aid would not be needed if freedom and liberty reigned in these countries as it still (somewhat) does in ours. A striking example of this can be seen by analyzing hurricane Jeanne, a destructive storm that swept through the Caribbean and into Florida during September of 2004. Haiti, an impoverished country that suffers from the lack of property rights and the lack of just rule of law, suffered terribly. An estimated 2000 people died, hundreds of thousands were made homeless, and essential services were almost completely destroyed. Foreign aid, with a large US component, poured in to try to assist the victims. Just days later Jeanne struck Florida and only 6 people were killed. Even the most powerful and devastating hurricane to ever strike the United States, the 1992 Hurricane Andrew only killed about three dozen Americans. The Washington Post asks what should by now be a rhetorical question: In another part of the world, at another time, a storm of Andrew's magnitude might well have left hundreds or even thousands dead. Instead it has so far resulted in a death toll nearing three dozen. How is it that we escaped worse? The answer is that strong and enforced property laws allow American citizens to freely generate enough wealth from their property to enable them to purchase larger, stronger houses, instead of shacks or shanty towns. Excess wealth enabled high quality private and public warning and weather monitoring systems to be produced. Indeed, a US built Tsunami early Warning system already exists throughout the Pacific. In another reminder of the ongoing blatant violations of our own property laws, our current 'Republican' President has earmarked money that isn't his to build a similar warning system for the Indian Ocean.

Conclusion
After analyzing all the aspects relevant to poverty, we come to the conclusion that poverty has raised serious concerns among economies. Though, it cannot be eradicated completely, but remedies prescribed above should be properly followed so that the problem of poverty might be minimized. All the countries whether developed or developing are somehow tucked up in the problem of poverty. There is a huge amount of masses living below the poverty line in the world, as about one fourth of the total population is rich and the rest three fourth of the total population is poor to such an extent that the are malnourished. We need to root out these problems so that the majority population may get out of the dismay!