Text b. Poverty
Without a
doubt poverty is a huge problem in the world today. F
igures
suggest that three billion people or half the world’s population
live ill poverty. However, although we associate poverty with
developing countries, poverty of some kind also exists in
industrialized nations. For example, it is now thought that quite
possibly one in every ten Americans lives in poverty. However,
poverty means different things to different people. How do economists
define poverty?
One measure of poverty is absolute poverty.People live in absolute poverty when they live on or below the poverty line. This is a level of income that is so low that people cannot afford the basic necessities to live, such as food, clothing and shelter. According to the World Bank, these are people who are living on two dollars a day.
However, there are one billion people in the world who live on less than one dollar a day. The World Bank defines this as extreme poverty.
Few people in industrialized countries live in absolute poverty, but many live in relative poverty. This measure of poverty takes into account the differences that exist in a population between the rich and the poor. For example, some economists say that people who earn less than half the average income live in relative poverty. In Britain, this means 14 million people.
Why does poverty still exist? There is no single answer to this question. In developing countries, causes of absolute poverty include natural disasters like droughts and floods, political corruption and war. However, in many cases people and whole populations – are caught in a trap; the poverty trap.
People on a low income spend everything they have on daily necessities. They save almost nothing. In order to raise themselves out of poverty, they need education. This costs money. Even when governments provide free schooling the poor may not send their children because they need them to work. These families cannot afford the cost of sending a child to school. Without education the children cannot find better paid work. In this way, generations of the same family remain poor.
The same cycle that traps individuals can trap a whole population. Economic growth depends on investment. Investment money comes from saving. A nation that has almost no savings cannot grow economically. This keeps wages low, so again people cannot save and the cycle continues.
Comprehension check
1. Now read text A again and match each paragraph with the correct heading. There are extra headings that you don't need.
PARAGRAPH 1………….....
PARAGRAPH 2 ……………
PARAGRAPH 3…………….
How governments can create more equality
Inequalities in income
Inequalities in wealth
What income is?
What wealth is?
Why there are inequalities in wealth and income?
2. Now read text B again and answer the questions.
1. Poverty is ...
only found in developing countries.
mostly in industrialized countries.
found in both developing and industrialized countries.
2. What number of people lives in extreme poverty?
three billion
two billion
one billion
3. How can relative poverty be explained?
It takes into account that there are rich people.
It's a kind of poverty found in industrialized countries.
It s a land of poverty only experienced in Britain.
4. What cause of poverty is not mentioned in the text?
war
lack of natural resources
natural disasters
5. Why can't people escape from the poverty trap?
Because they refuse to send their children to school.
Because they need any income their children can earn.
Because governments don't provide free education.
6. According to the text, why are countries often trapped in a poverty cycle?
There is no money for investment.
There are no schools.
The land is not good for growing crops.
3. Translate the following words and expressions into Russian.
the collected store of valuable things
bank accounts
stocks and shares
unemployment benefit
interest from savings
Without a doubt
below the poverty line
takes into account
provide free schooling