Will poverty always exist?

Discuss the notion of long term welfare dependency- have we solved this problem? Will the poor always be with us?

This is the discussion for this week’s Social Welfare and Social Policy course. You can imagine my thrill in anticipation of the responses from my peers. I know that reads as condescending, but a woman in my class stated teachers' unions were the problem with education…I know apparently there is only one problem with education. I had a physical reaction to her statements, so plus for not being in the same group.

Anyway, there are a few things to unpack in the question, the first being the connotations invoked when one says “long term welfare dependency.” You immediately recall images of the socially constructed "welfare queen" from Reagan and the unwed mother letting her sons be killed in Chicago via Romney. The people brought to mind are thought of as problems, burdens, and a drain on the system because they are seen as not contributing to society. I however do not believe long term welfare dependency is bad or good, instead it is necessary. Most people however, think of the “welfare queen” when they hear the phrase. I think about unemployment insurance, Social Security, and school lunch programs. A child going into kindergarten could have free lunch for 13 years. That is long term use. Anyone arguing to starve children? Well, some people are (House GOP and their quest to cut SNAP), but they aren’t going to admit it. I know some people hate Social Security, but it keeps a lot of seniors out of poverty, and people can receive it for decades.

I’m not arguing people should be dependent, but I am saying that if someone is they aren’t a problem. The problem is a society that allows for the existence of the destitute while the upper class continues to accumulate wealth. So we have fixed nothing because we have never actually addressed the real problem. In a world with finite resources, one person profits at the expense of others. A few weeks ago we had a debate in this class on Social Security, and my team was abysmal. They said nothing, but what was scripted for them, which means my leftist self got to run amok. Our professor asked if we were in favor of the wealthy paying into a program they receive little to no payout from. To which I responded, absolutely, they are wealthy at the expense of others so they should have to invest in the people they have exploited and society at large.

The poor will always be with us because we embrace systems and structures to profit off their poverty and that work to keep them in poverty. As long as this is the case, long term welfare dependency will be required. After all it is in corporations’ best interests to push for work requirements that don’t require a living or minimum wage. The uncomfortable reality is that some people benefit from keeping a subclass of people, with less economic power and limited (and continuing to be limited) rights. Poverty isn’t the result of individual bad choices, though that can exacerbate it. Instead, bad choices are the results of systematic oppression, which leaves only so many options to the oppressed.