Poverty is a known, defined problem that we could end if only we had the will to do so. So why doesn’t that happen?
Think of a disease, like smallpox. At one point in time, we didn’t know much about smallpox. Then we learned what it was, how it was transmitted, and how it could be treated. Then it was a difficult, but straightforward, process to eliminate smallpox.
Like smallpox, we know what poverty is. We can easily separate out the people who live under the poverty line from those living above it.
We also know what causes poverty. And finally, we know how to “treat” it. It regularly happens that an individual or a family is raised out of poverty. We know what to do to erase it from someone’s life.
So why, then, haven’t we, as a society, taken the final step and eliminated it, just as we eliminated smallpox? We could rid the world — or at least our country — of food insecurity, unstable housing, lack of health care, etc.
Of course, eliminating something is not easy. We can treat other diseases, but not eliminate them.
For example, cases of measles are on the rise in some communities, even with an effective, cheap, commonly-available treatment. While the numbers are down significantly from its peak, we’ve never been able to eliminate measles.
And, of course, poverty and disease differ in many ways. The analogy is not exact, and it may be that the differences are telling.
But the point is that we know there are things that can be done to reduce poverty, like pay higher wages or increase affordable housing. However, we don’t do them. Why not?
Related questions: Can we end poverty? What is the purpose of money? What are our responsibilities to others?