Poverty Critique

Miss Ka Inday Bagasbas is just one of the many Filipino people who suffer from severe poverty. It’s no secret that there are impoverished individuals in our country after all, what country doesn’t have the issue. But it’s people like Ka Inday who ask questions like “Shouldn’t the government be helping?” or “What happened to all those promises of change and reform?” It’s debatable whether or not the government is doing everything in its power to fight off poverty but it is clear that they recognize the problem. The citizens, as well, are aware of the poverty rate. Any active member of Philippine society will be aware that numerous people are suffering but people like Ka Inday show us that it’s actually even worse.

So what is poverty and why is it a problem? At the most basic level, poverty is the deprivation of opportunity, resources, options, or anything else we as humans have a basic right to. So while most people think of poverty as a lack of money, this is not the full picture. Poverty means that people are without the things that they need and deserve. While money and resources are the most common examples, poverty is not limited to these concrete things. Poverty deprives people of education, options,free speech, and a future. Poverty is also not just a lack of these, it is the deprivation of. Poverty is not (or at least it should not be) a natural phenomenon. It doesn’t just happen. People are deprived of what they need. The distribution of these elements is not equal and as a result, some people get more and others get less.

But what causes this? Why do some get more while others get less? Well there are numerous theories and reasons. One such theory is the Cultural theory of poverty which states that those who suffer from poverty are those who are lazy or have no future planning skills. In short, some people are poor and that’s their fault. While this is not totally untrue, one cannot generalize this as the reason to why there is poverty. Ka Inday’s story is full of hardships and how she fought to support her family as a single parent. She suffered from poverty but she was not lazy. She was a very hard worker who lived a harsh life and it would be an insult to call her lazy and to tell her that all that has happened was her fault. 

Kasalanan bang maging mahirap? Being poor was never our choice but staying poor was an option.  

Pareho ba sila ng kwento ni Ka Inday?  Is it applicable to every poor person? The statement emphasized too much discrimination on being poor. 

The Neoclassical theory tells us that poverty arises from the laws of supply and demand. This country aims to be globally competitive and as a result we tend to take the market efficiency approach. It’s complicated to say what goes on but the gist of it is that by making economic solutions, sometimes social problems are created as well. Ka Inday fights against the demolishing of relocation sites. The government aimed to demolish these relocation sites, believing that they caused problems for cleanliness and road work. By applying this solution, infrastructure can be improved but the lives of those living there would be made even more difficult. This is KaInday’s point.

This does not mean that the government can’t solve the problem of poverty. Ka Inday believes that the government is not doing everything in its power to address the problem. She has seen the effects of poverty first hand. She watched as president after president made a promise to make things better, when in reality, nothing changed. She believes that they could have solved this problem long ago but forgot about it. Maybe the government is trying its hardest to solve the problem but at the very least, it should have improved things by now.

Citizens are also responsible. While the government must be critiqued, the citizens should not just stop there. The citizens should also be charitable. They have the power to improve the situation, after all, if they don’t do it, who will. But the nation requires harmony between the government and the citizens. Only then can the problem of poverty be solved.