Social Justice and Social Welfare Policy

Suppes and Wells (2013) define poverty as lacking resources to live comfortably (p. 73). The Department of Agriculture created a budget for food consumption and multiplied it by three to determine the poverty line (Suppes & Wells, 2013, p. 79). The problem with the poverty line today is that it is outdated. It was created in the 1960s and today only inflation is considered. For social justice to be attained, the poverty line should be updated to reflect changes in society over 50 years later. Another problem is the difference in the budget for the elderly and for younger people; younger people are given a slightly larger budget. Suppes and Wells (2013) believe the number of older people living in poverty would increase if the poverty line was adjusted (p. 79).

 

In addition to the poverty line being outdated, there is the issue of the term feminization of poverty. Due to the wage inequality, the term unfairly produces stereotypes about women. Decades ago, women stayed at home as caregivers. Today, women work in every profession imaginable yet are paid significantly lower wages than men. Suppes ad Wells (2013) state, “the average woman worker in 2009 earned only 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man with similar work efforts” (p. 77). At the same time, women are often still primary caregivers in the home and for this reason are more likely to have certain jobs, such as receptionist or teacher. The feminization of women affects children because they are at greater risk of living in poverty. Child care is an underpaid profession but overall expensive for parents. Children are the most vulnerable because they rely on their caregivers to provide food, shelter, and other necessities of life.

               

The growing amount of poverty among women, children, and older adults is “due to deliberate social policies at the national level justified by conservative ideology” (p.89). It is the result of discrimination and wage inequality