The Lack of Government Initiatives Concerning Poverty

As written in the Declaration of Independence, all Americans were endowed inalienable rights upon birth, more specifically, “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. Consequently, the government was created to protect these inalienable rights. Contrasting implications may be revealed if we question whether the inalienable rights of all American people are being protected. Are the rights of the poor being protected too? Some would argue that they are not being protected to the extent that they should be, especially since recent following data from Boston University found that the health gaps between the rich and the poor are widening, which is translating into bigger differences in how long people live.

An article in Time Magazine discusses scientists from Boston University School of Public Health who informed that the richest 1% of US citizens live an average of 10 to 15 years longer than the poorest 1%. To give a broader idea, they also said that since 2001, while people in the middle and high-income groups have augmented on average two years in life expectancy, those with the least income showed no increase in survival.

This may not seem surprising to many, as poverty has always been associated with worse health outcomes. This is because people in lower income groups are not able to afford as much/if any health care and also have a tendency to embrace unhealthy habits, such as poor diets and smoking. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that due to smoking, families with incomes lower than $12,500 have higher lung cancer incidence than those with family incomes of $50,000 or more. However, in recent years, the Boston University researchers say that several trends have worsened this connection between poverty and health outcomes. Specifically, they say that poverty rates have not only increased but so have obesity and chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension, which can cause early death. From 1990 to 2016, the average percentage of obese adults increased from 11.1% to 29.8%. This cycle continues for several reasons, for example, since the poor are the least likely to live until the age required to become eligible for benefits, they are less likely to take advantage of federally mandated health coverage in the form of Medicare.

In the study, the researchers conclude that of the negative feedback loop between income and health, income gaps are likely going to widen, which means that health disparities will follow. The problem is, our own government and many Americans are not likely to support government efforts to equalize, as our book describes, especially programs that redistribute income from the hard working middle class to those who are considered “undeserving.” According to a Gallup Social Series Poll, in 2015 63% of Americans say money and wealth distribution is unfair. The book also states that very few federal government initiatives have been enforced. While the book does acknowledge the reasons why the government has paid little attention to poverty reduction, such as nonexistence political influence of the poor, a political environment that focuses on the middle class, and other cultural notions about poverty, it should be emphasized that poverty affects every member of society, not just the poor themselves. Some negative factors include that inequality stifles growth, increases crime, decreases health, and increases political inequality as a whole. More importantly, one should consider the perspective of viewing poverty as the possibility of what society could be.

Co-author of the aforementioned study, Jacob Bor, warns that “without interventions to decouple income and health, or to reduce inequalities in income, we might see the emergence of a 21st-century health-poverty trap and the further widening and hardening of the socioeconomic inequalities in health”. While it is difficult to state for a fact that wealth leads to better health or vice versa, it is a fact that life expectancy increases as the income distribution ascends. Due to this existing discrepancy, it suggests the lack of government initiatives may indicate that the inalienable rights of the poor are not being protected. If trends continue, the gap will only widen, and the inequality will worsen. What can the government do to give these people the life they were endowed? Their liberty? Will the poor ever have the right pursue their own happiness?

http://time.com/4729816/income-inequality-health-longevity/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4866586/

https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/disparities/low-ses/index.htm

http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1353372&seqNum=4

http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41930107

Madeleine Stone says:

February 13, 2018 at 1:42 pm

Hi Jojo,

I really appreciate this topic of discussion you bring up. I think the question that you pose if poor peoples rights are truly being protected by our government is one that is often overlooked in society. People who don’t have to worry about living paycheck to paycheck, or even having a steady income flow don’t seem to think about poor peoples rights on a daily basis. This is not the fault of people who work hard everyday to make their money and live in a way so they don’t have to worry about financial issues, yet in some cases, it is not the fault of the poor people that they are poor. There is a vicious cycle of poverty that can be related to drug abuse and lack of education and many other things that keeps poor people in this cycle that they can’t seem to escape. I find it extremely disheartening but can understand why there is a large gap between health and income. Income inequality is very prevalent in our society and it is clear by your argument that it effects poor peoples health. However, we see that the government has in fact implemented initiatives to help people who can’t afford health insurance be able to have it anyway with Medicaid. Although some poor people may not have access to the documents or ability to register for Medicaid or actually receive the benefits of it, I do not think this means that our government is not protecting poor peoples inalienable right to life. I also do not think poor peoples rights to liberty and pursuit of happiness are not being protected by the government properly because if other people in society have pursued their rights to liberty and pursuit of happiness, then it is clear that all people in society should be able to as well.

Carlin O'Neill says:

February 14, 2018 at 12:10 pm

This is clearly a large issue that is currently plaguing American society because as one of the most developed nations in the world, America should be able to protect the rights and lives of its poor people. However this issue also begs the question of whether or not the United States should learn by the example set by European nations and aim to provide universal healthcare. This is obviously one of our governments most contentious issues as the cost to providing universal health care to all American citizens, no matter what class, would increase government spending exponentially. However, when the difference in the quality of health care that having more money can provide is as large as it is troubling, it serves as a reflection of what the framers of this nation and the authors of the Declaration of Independence wanted our government’s purpose to be. Even though it was written solely by a group of wealthy, white men, the identity of the Untied States has shifted and their words that ensured the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” now extends to every American citizen, rich or poor. I think that these findings on the life expectancies depending on class prove to show how our government today needs to reevaluate how they can ensure these rights, as you’ve said. Thanks for your post!