Poverty

Poverty in the UK 

Poverty is one of the most serious issues all around the world which some people and governments are suffering from. Although the UK governments provide benefits for some citizens, it is believed that there are people in the UK who are suffering from a poor quality of life. The Oxford Dictionary (2014) describes poverty as "the state of being extremely poor". Even though the UK is perceived to be a rich country, there are still citizens who live in poverty due to numerous factors. This essay will consider generally a life of poverty in the UK, looking at the causes of poverty and offering some solutions. 

When looking at someone in poverty, it is important to look at the reasons why they may be living in this way. Nowadays, education is important in society, and those less educated will find it harder to get jobs which may cause them to live in poverty. It is difficult for the government and employers to offer employment opportunities to those who have little, or no, education and qualifications.  However, some people that are not educated are not to blame as their circumstances may prevent them from getting a good education. For instance, a person who's parents have passed away may have to be responsible for their siblings and may need to get work to be able to feed them and survive. Although this shows that they are able to get a job, it also means that the job they get will be very poorly paid. Due to this, they could become in debt and find it difficult to support themselves.

The BBC (2014) defines poverty in three ways; absolute poverty, relative poverty and social exclusion. Absolute poverty describes the people that have nothing at all, relative poverty describes the citizens that have less money than the UK average and social exclusion describes the people who are looked down on by society because of the area they live in might be affected by high unemployment, poor skills, low incomes, crime and poor housing.

Social exclusion highlights many of the reasons that people may suffer from poverty.  Although education can affect poverty, it is not the only reason, The person may live in an area that has poor housing and be influenced by drugs and gambling. These habits will cause them to spend the little money they have and stops them paying for food or bills which causes them to fall into debt. Another reason that someone may fall into poverty is the high living expenses in the UK. A citizen could have a good job but may lose it because of the economy. If they lose their job, then they will struggle to pay their mortgage payments. A burden that they face is the high interest rates that they have to pay.

In conclusion, it is believed that citizens have to encourage themselves in order to be educated to protect themselves from a poor life. They need to find a better balance if their lifestyle prevents them from studying full time. It is recommended that people avoid loans and mortgages and depend on what they have because interest is not affordable and can be a complicated system to deal with.

References

BBC (2014) Modren Studies, Definition of Poverty. Available at: < http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/int/ms/health/wealth/def_of_poverty/definitions.shtml > Accessed at (19th March 2014).

Oxford Dictionary (2014) Definition of Poverty in English. Available at: < http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/poverty > Accessed at: (19th March 2014).