Poverty is a cycle that affects not just those in the US but those around the world. In a TED Talk narrated by Ann-Helén Bay, she describes the poverty cycle with detailed images and scenarios to demonstrate that the cycle is not something that is easily escapable, but also hard to stay out of once done. From the beginning she paints the viewer and listener a picture that you’re a single parent receiving benefits from the government to cover utilities, rent and food but you also don’t have a job nor are “well off enough” to afford luxuries and only necessities. And just as you thought it wouldn’t get better, you receive a response to a job application and are hired, thus landing you a job and the ability to turn things around. However, the catch is now you just make barely enough over the benefits program qualification and those are now taken away from you, but there’s also more setbacks now. Not only do you have to pay for your own utilities and such but you must now also pay for transportation to work and childcare for while you are there. And that does not sound like a very good trade off nor beneficial in getting and staying out of poverty.
This cycle is what economists call the “welfare trap” and they are reinforced by economic, individual and environmental circumstances that leads generations upon generations to stay in poverty. The one thing to help get those out of poverty, has also hindered and made it more difficult to actually battle poverty. These policies, that hinder and make it difficult, are government-provided subsidies and are a means-tested program ensuring that only those who need it most, get it. However, it does also mean that they lose who make it just barely out of the poverty line, lose access to those programs, regardless of financial stability. And if they know this, it could be incentive to remain reliant upon government assistance, thus not seeking out work and if multiple individuals do this, the economy will start to slow down. And thus this lope and cycle further worsens, many countries have tried multiple ways to solve this problem and gradually the benefits have been seen but it always falls back into the same system and cycle.
One proposed solution is for everyone to receive universal benefits and to receive a fixed basic income, regardless of employment status and wealth. It purpose is to remove all welfare traps and creates a stable income floor that won’t allow for anyone to fall through. But this is just hypothetical and something that would take a large amount of effort and ability in order to do so, however it is known that it has worked on a limited scale so for it to be implemented on a larger scale, would be something extraordinary.