Question

1.      In your opinion, what would be the determining factor in setting a poverty threshold? Why?

Answer 1

Poverty threshold is a concept that set the minimum required income to live a normal life to satisfy one’s needs such as food, shelter and education etc. Individuals and families have different threshold limits and it also differs from country to country. Developed countries have set a limit considering a standard of everything people could get as part of the basic things. In developing and underdeveloped countries, it’s all about the food. If they are able to have three meals a day, they are considered to be above the poverty line.

Poverty should include one’s ability to achieve both material and intellectual properties such as food, shelter, clothing, education, medical facilities, transportation etc. Limiting it to only food is not a good idea. If we take the developed countries most of the things such as education, housing and medicine are provided by the government. If the government doesn’t provide it and asks its citizens to pay for these facilities, then most of the people will be in poverty. So, governments should think of empowering their citizens to increase their earning potential and at the same time keep the prices down. Only then measuring poverty and setting poverty threshold will be realistic.