Causes of Poverty

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Causes of Poverty The question in mind is, “What are the causes of poverty?” Many believe that it is only the government causing the vast amount of poverty because they allow the impoverished to be dependent on the aid it provides. On the other hand, many believe that it is solely the individual’s behavior and their own self-reinforcing environment that keep them in this state. However, both are to blame. The culture of poverty is the model that allows the impoverished individual to continue in the lifestyle that one currently attains. Poverty throughout the world can be contributed to the government enabling individuals to continue to rely on different types of aid, many times taking advantage of the aids; also, the individual’s behavior towards their lifestyle can be perceived as permanent to them, which does not allow the mindset of change. “The state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions” (“Poverty”). This is a theme that has echoed through many households for years. Individual characteristics of the poor and political-economic forces are the key aspects to this vicious cycle. The Chinese Perceived Causes of Poverty Scale, or CPCPS, explains the cause of poverty in three categories. The first is the problems that people with economic struggles face, such as their lack of skill, abilities, and effort. Secondly, the CPCPS explains that the impoverished face adverse social and economic forces, mainly lack of opportunity in the workforce because of their lack of abilities. The last category explains poverty in relation to misfortunes that people have no control over, like sickness, whether or not we were born into poverty, and sheer bad luck (Shek). The CPCPS supports the culture of poverty model and relates it to being both the individual and the political-economic forces as the cause. However, the third category
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