Poverty Revised Essay

Introduction Disability is recognised as one of numerous factors, for example gender, age and class that interact to deprive individuals and keep them poor. Nonetheless, with several competing main concerns on the development agenda, the relevance of disability to America’s national goals of reducing unemployment and poverty and attaining growth can not be ascertained. However it is clear that the poverty and disability are correlated. This paper will try and analysis the following question: Although poverty is both a cause and a consequence of disability, poverty and disability reinforce each other. Poverty Poverty is an imperative and an emotional problem. In 2006, the Census Bureau released its yearly report on poverty in the America stating that there were almost 36 million poor people living America in a small increase from the previous year. To comprehend poverty and disability in America, it is vital to look behind these figures and to look at the real living situation of the persons the government consider to poor to get the whole picture of the situation that is created by poverty and disability. Today, the issue of poverty and disability in America is creating a major concern as an issue that hinders the economic development goals of America. The issue is both an economical and a social problem. (Riis, pp120) What is disability? Defining the word disability is intricate and controversial. There is no collectively agreed upon meaning of disability. In the past disability was viewed as primarily a medical situation, with the medical or physical problem located in an individual. This medical or physical model was disputed by disability activists who later re-conceptualised disability as mainly a social occurrence. Although resulting from intellectual or physical impairment, disability as got social repercussions and also health ones, a full accepting of disability acknowledges that it has a great human rights aspect and is frequently connected with social segregation, and increased level and susceptibility to poverty. Disability a result of intricate interaction between the practical limitations resulting from an individual’s physical, mental or intellectual state and the social and physical surroundings, It has several dimensions and is far-off than a person medical or health problem. (Hoogeveen, pp 86) The impact of disability on poverty Poverty is both a consequence and cause of disability. The connections between poverty and disability are well known. Disabled people many amongst the poor according to the World Bank estimates, 20% of the world’s poorest people are disabled (Elwan, pp66) Disability affects both the individual and also their families and also carers too. Disabled persons are more susceptible to poverty- The beginning of disability normally has severe, bad financial costs for an individual and his/her household. One disabled person in America summed it up like this: â€Å"If people become disabled, they have to pay a lot for health care and rehabilitation† (Thomas 2005) The economic expenses of disability have got three aspects: direct expenses of treatment; foregone earnings from disability; and indirect expenses to others who offer care. A study in California found out that the average expenses of disability were more than 9% and it amounted to 2 – 3 times the output losses from poor nutrition (Colin. Pp98) Disability is both a cause and consequence of poverty. Eliminating poverty is unlikely to be attained except the rights and requirements of people having disabilities are responded to. According to the U.N one person in 60 people has a disability in America in many cases the young ones and the poor are many among the disable. The reason why disability contributes to poverty is that it; Disability confines access to education and employment, This results to economic power and social exclusion. Poor persons who have disabilities are then caught in a vicious cycle of disability and poverty, each one of them being both a cause and consequence of the other. A large amount of disability is avertable. Attaining the global development objectives for economic, social and also human growth will without doubt decrease the levels of disability in America.   Specific issues are still needed, not only for deterrence, but also to make sure that people having disabilities are able to take part wholly in the development course, attain a just share of the of development benefits, and assert their rights as complete and equal members of community. (Colin, pp100) Rights & Social Exclusion There is a significant and essential distinction between disability and other kinds of disadvantage. Individuals with disabilities can organise themselves to assert their human rights after their extra practical requirements, for example, mobility aids have been availed.   Persons with disabilities have got a right to be incorporated in all issues of life. For them to fight for the right of inclusion, persons with disabilities require to reside in an environment where they are  Ã‚   empowered.   However, persons with disabilities encounter several barriers in achieving equal openings; environmental and accessibility barriers, lawful and institutional obstacles, and attitudinal obstacles which result in social exclusion of these people. Social exclusion is frequently the toughest obstacle to surmount, and is typically associated with one feeling ashamed, fear and rejected. Negative stereotypes are normally associated to disability. People with disabilities are usually consigned a low social standing and in some other cases are considered worthless. Such treatment of people with disability in turn denies them opportunities thus increasing their level of poverty. More so as stated earlier the family members are left with the burden of carrying for these groups hence spending their income on health, medical and upkeep of such a person consequently reducing economic empowerment to the family. (Groce, pp32) The â€Å"social model† of disability An increasingly general criticism of conventional approaches to disability in America, mainly from persons with disabilities is that, their requirements are marginalised by being classified as â€Å"special† or â€Å"different† from those of the populace as a whole. These conventional approaches are being criticised for being motivated by a view that persons with disabilities require assistance to adjust to society’s demands. Such an approach runs the danger of favouring technological or medical resolutions which emphasise variation rather than promoting inclusion. In return such an approach also may hinder the disabled to purse certain opportunities thus enhancing or confining economical status. (Groce, pp33) Increased level exclusion and vulnerability Poverty and disability strengthen one another hence, contributing to an increased level exclusion and vulnerability. The bulk of persons with disabilities discover their situation have an effect on their probability of schooling, working for a livelihood, enjoying their family life, and taking part as equals in the social life. Consecutively, disability aggravates poverty, through increasing seclusion and economic hardship, not only for the person but in times for the affected family also. Kids with disabilities are most possibly to pass away young, or be neglected, emaciated and poor. Persons with disabilities who can no get good education are later unable to find good/no employment, pushing them more severely into poverty. Getting out of the vicious cycle of poverty and disability turns out to be very hard, the consequence of the cycle of poverty and disability is that persons with disabilities are generally among the poor and their literacy levels are significantly lesser that the rest of the nation population. (Riis, pp120) Figure 1: The disability and poverty vicious cycle   Women with disabilities Women with disabilities experience a twofold discrimination on the basis of gender and of impairment; their literacy levels are lower than that of male. Recent researches illustrate that women having disabilities are twice or three times more probable to be victims of sexual and physical abuse compared to women without disabilities. More so the are likely to suffer greater susceptibility to reproductive health issues. There is some lack of responsiveness as regards to women with disabilities and reproductive health requirements. In many times, it is assumed that they are not part of the target groups since being disabled is linked with being sexless. Such discrimination and stereotype of way thinking condemn such women to poverty and thus increase the level of poverty they are already experiencing. In cases where disable women are sexual abused it becomes so difficult to handle physical and psychological instability at the same time. Thus many well be highly affected by such an issue and they may not recover they psychological stability this only compounds there present state. (Hoogeveen, pp 87) The costs of disability Disability not only affects the person, but it impacts on the whole society. The price of excluding persons with disabilities from getting an active participation role in community life is costly and has to be carried by society, in particular   those who take on the weight of caring. This segregation many times results to losses in productivity and individual potential. The United Nations estimates that 15% of the entire national population is negatively affected in one manner or another as a consequence of disabilities. The expenditure of disability has three aspects; The direct expenses of treatment which includes costs of travelling and access; The indirect expenses to those who aren’t openly affected (‘carers’); The opportunity expenses of earnings foregone from inability. Some of the major factors creating this association (on top of the capability limitations imposed by the disables themselves) are the incorrectly limited prospects and self-underpinning combinations of economic and social prejudice, unreachable built surroundings and costly, socially isolations, and counterproductive disability national policies and establishments usually faced by persons with disabilities. As an outcome, they are regularly denied access to learning and employment opportunities, and thus, are usually forced to depend on others especially in their families and also communities for support and economic sustenance. As a result, disabled persons, irrespective of their financial environments, seem to experience a higher than average probability of living in poverty (Riis, pp122) Conclusion Persons with disabilities seem to be amongst the highly economically and socially marginalized populations in America. Poverty and Disability seem to go hand in hand, creating a cycle of increasing causation (Ann, pp56) Disabled individuals are more possibly to be poor than those who are not disabled and individuals living in poverty are highly likely to turn into disabled than those who are rich (Ann, pp56) Many national, international aid organizations and scholars concurs that poverty and disability are underlying intertwined. In America the level of poverty has been on the increase and this is causing a lot of concerns to the society and the federal government. Basically this will continue to be an issue and it needs to be tackled as an economical and social issue.    Reference: Ann, E.: Poverty and disability: A review of the literature. Background Paper for the World Development Report 2002/2003 Washington, DC: World Bank; 2004, pp56 Colin, B: A Legacy of Oppression: A History of Disability in Western Culture. In Disability Studies: Past, Present and Future edited by Len Burton and Mike Oliver. Leeds, UK: The Disability Press; 2005, Pp98-100 Groce, N: Global Survey on poverty and Disability Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, USA; 2004, pp33 Hoogeveen, J: Measuring Welfare for Small but Vulnerable Groups: Poverty and Disability in America; Journal of America Economies 14, no; 2005, pp86- 87 Riis, J (2001): How the Other Half Lives; New York: Dover Press; 2001, pp120-122