The spread of poverty among citizens has costly and scary consequences. It leads to painful, devastating and damaging effects on the economies and security of nations.
In the United Kingdom, the government recently authorized providing poor families with fruit and vegetables free of charge. The government made this decision after studies and statistics proved that 85 percent of the poor complain that they’re not able to pay their bills or afford to buy their food, medications or clothes. Many of them are forced to borrow. Children are deprived of basic necessities because their parents cannot afford them.
The British government came to the conclusion that the cost of this social assistance is less than the cost of imprisoning people who commit poverty-related crimes, such as armed robbery and other forms of theft.
Countries like Britain rely heavily on tourism revenue. The increase of crime adversely affects the income generated by tourism; people visit places where they feel secure. As crime increases, visitors decrease.
We have talked a lot about grand ideas to eradicate poverty in the Kingdom. Some of these ideas have been implemented successfully and some are still pending.
However, we must admit that there is a poverty problem in the country, and efforts to resolve the problem are sometimes stymied by public stigma. For example, many Saudis look down on Saudi graduates of technical schools, and they view the types of skilled blue-collar jobs available in the Kingdom as “below” them. This exacerbates the dependence on foreigners who are eager to fill these vital jobs and who then repatriate their incomes to their home countries.
The recent stock market bubble, not to mention economic scams that have gone unpunished, also sent many Saudis to the poorhouse.
Poverty is a social cancer that spreads and wreaks havoc. It must be diagnosed and eradicated.
