Poverty and Inequality Essay

Poverty and Inequality EssayAbstractThe extent of poverty and inequality remains a topic of endure interest in Australia and overseas. Poverty in Australia, however, is generally relative poverty. People atomic number 18 considered to be poor if their animateness standards fall below an overall residential district standard, and they are unable to participate fully in ordinary activities of society. Earnings inequality and the extent of child poverty is an important issue due to their art littleness and their future life chances and sociable structure.This position paper provides a brief portrait the issues faced by the disadvantaged lodge at Sydney South West. How bottomland various welfare organizations and agencies assist these disadvantage community groups, briefly explains few facilities provided by such agencies. The paper then discusses the affects of poverty in children and advantages of such companionship to pre-service teacher. Finally we conclude by exploring the role of teachers and its effects.CommunityAmartya Sen, Nobel Prize winning economist, described poverty is the lack of substantive freedoms the capabilities to choose a life whizz has reason to value. And, as deprivation of basic capabilities rather than merely as lowness of incomes, which is the standard criterion for the identification of poverty ..the approach concent regularizes on deprivations that are intrinsically important (un same low income, which is only instrumentally signifi bumt). Thus poverty in this sense is an oppression from which we should aim to liberate our quite a little.Poverty is a condition of reenforcement which is difficult to measure and almost impossible to conclusively define. People living in poverty in sub-Saharan Africa may lack safe housing, shin to find food and shake no access to drinkable water. This standard of living is known as absolute poverty. But in Australia the standard of living are generally much spicyer than the countries like A frica. Poverty in Australia is measured relatively, that is benchmarking a disadvantage community groups standard of living with the life personal manner of majority of the population in Australia.The main factors which contribute to poverty in Australia are inequity in the education system (which means some people have less opportunity to enter the skilled labor force), the casualisation of the workforce (which has meant that people have less job security), and reduced government spending on services which are of benefit to the community.The people most affected by poverty in Australia are those with low levels of formal education, the long-term unemployed and others who have restricted access to high-paying work. Certain demographic groups tend to fall into these categories. In 2000 it was recorded that Indigenous Australians, for example, had an unemployment rate of 17.6 per cent much higher than the national mediocre of 7.3 per cent. Another group more than likely to live in relative poverty are first-generation immigrants and refugees, many of whom arrive in Australia with few language skills and less support networks than Australian-born residents. Elderly people, disabled people and single parents also record higher rates of poverty.The reason poverty can be considered a spacial issue is two-fold. People of a similar socio-economic background tend to live in the same areas because the amount of money a person makes usually, but not always, influences their decision as to where to purchase or rent a home. At the same time, the area in which a person is born or lives can determine the level of access they will have to quality education and employment opportunities. As education and income can influence settlement patterns and also be influenced by settlement patterns, they can therefore be considered causes and effects of spatial inequality and poverty.Sydney provides an example of a large urban environment with a high level of spatial inequality. Su burban pockets of poverty can be found on the citys fringes, such as Sydneys south-west. This less-affluent (poorer) area is generally higher in unemployment, welfare-dependency, single-parent families, content (drug and alcohol) abuse and crime, than other Sydney suburbs. The overseas migrants and refugees also chose to settle in this area, because the real estate is much cheaper and the ethnic and racial composition is generally more diverse.Unemployment figures from the 2001 numerate revealed vast differences surrounded by many areas of Australia. Particularly alarming were certain areas of Sydney. The Glenquarie Housing Commission Estate in Sydneys south-west had an unemployment rate of 26.4 per cent the national unemployment rate at that time was only 7.1 per cent. The highly publicized riots which occurred in this same area in 2004-05 were an example of some of the violence-related problems that can result if social inequalities are not dealt with.Nonprofit organizations an d welfare agencies have played a critical role in helping community in need by providing education, training, residences, counseling, electricity or water vouchers, and in-kind and cash support.Organizations such as Inspire Community service provide practical support, offering emergency relief, services, and assistance for individuals and families in crisis. They hold out to break the cycle of poverty in South West of Sydney through inspiration and without discrimination. Services provided by this organizationWelfare Services Provides services like Emergency Relief,Food Careand Playgroups to Internet Caf and Christmas Hampers.EAPA (Energy Accounts Payment Assistance) vouchers for gas and electricity bills.WAPA (Water Authority Payment Assistance) vouchers for water bills.TBAP (Telstra Billing Assistance Program) vouchers for Telstra telephone bills.Clothing vouchers from Inspire Fashion.Direct debit of Centreline payments through Centrepay.As well as moral support for any situati on and other referring community organizations. Clients are assessed on their income and current circumstances.Providing quality agency wears at a reduced price. Price ranges from 50 to $10.Enterprise Development Providing mentoring services in a real life professional business environment. Services such as meeting targets, working in teams, reckoner diagnosis and many more.Financial Solution Assist in budgeting, personal casework/budget,counseling and financial education. oblation free budgeting service to help clients prepare a budget that is targeted to individual needs.Employment Services Employment Services aims to help people within the community gainrelevant skills and self confidence for the workplace.Partnering withgreat organizations such as Mission Australia, MTC Work Solutions, Wesley Uniting Employment and Community First Step weprovide Work for the Dole Programs. These programs are designed to equip job seekers with highly valuable skills in order to prepare them for the workforce.We also offer on site skills following careers such as computer refurbishment, warehousing, screen printing, administration and gardening.Training Our Training Services department offers a variety of training opportunities ranging from accredited to non-accredited courses. Training packages are specially designed to plus clients knowledge and confidence in areas where they may have experienced limitation as well as enhancing their existing skills.Social Welfare We are sanctified to seeing our community empowered through our self development courses. We offer a variety of courses and workshops that relate to every day issues.Poverty has economic and social impacts. Sometimes, instead of being described as living in poverty, people in Australia who do not possess the living standards of the majority, are thought to be socially marginalized or socially isolated. This is because they may feel excluded from benefits of society that the mainstream enjoy, whether or not this is because of where they live or the amount of money they have.The widening the gap between rich and poor Australians is likely to increase this sense of social isolation, which will no doubt negatively impact upon social cohesion. This is particularly true of large urban centers because the inequalities between different areas are much more obvious when they are in the same town or city. The more observable inequalities become, the more likely people are to directly compare their standards of living with those of others around them. This can have the effect of reducing the sense of mutual belonging and see that is important for maintaining social cohesion in any community, however large or small.Children in poverty is an emotive issue that has engaged the attention of politicians ranging from docking facility Hawkes famous 1987 election promise by 1990 no Australian child will be living in poverty to John Howards March 2004 commission of $365 million over four years pr incipally for early intervention strategies to help children and families at risk of not growing up in a stable and supportive environment.