Every year the effects of poverty claim the lives of millions of men and women and

children. It has been a phenomenon that has touched every corner of the globe and has
been in existence since the creation of societies. Poverty is regarded as the
incapability of obtaining basic necessities like food, water, and shelter; furthermore
the inexistence of healthcare, educational, and the welfare institutions. In the past
decades many organizations have been established to aid the less fortunate who suffer
the devastating consequences of living in poverty. Each year these organizations
donate thousands of dollars worth of food, medical supplies, clothing, in addition to
providing and establishing educational facilities in order to improve the living
conditions of the poor. Poverty is a major obstacle that stands in the way of economic
growth and prosperity of a nation. To help reduce the number of poor, governments
have to work on improving and solving all the defects in the system that lead to
poverty and its shortcomings. Corruption, unnecessary expenditures, and inequality
are some of the major causes of poverty that should be targeted by the government. In
order to alleviate poverty in countries, the political leaders should adopt and
implement laws regarding corruption, expenditures, and inequality.

Corruption is deception, fraud, and a major crime. We live in a world were corruption
threatens every individual and their well being. Almost everyone believes and agrees
that corruption is a crippling factor that can topple the foundation of any nations.
Although corruption exists in every nation it seems to be a prevalent issue in
developing or third world countries. Poverty is a direct result of corruption;
combating corruption is a major step that should be taken to reduce poverty.
Corruption on its own does not cause poverty, but plays an important role impacting
economic and governance factors. As services such as electricity, water, and hospitals

become privatized corrupted organizations increase the prices of these services and as
a result become unaffordable luxuries to the less fortunate. Corruption has a great
impact on society; it distorts peoples view of the government in addition to others
among the society. As corruption becomes more widespread, individuals willingly
engage in corrupt acts since they perceive it as a norm.

Some argue that corruption is beneficial and promotes economic growth in countries
that experience low levels of democracy. Already suffering a broken governmental
system, corruption will further affect the living conditions of the poor. Due to
corruption, individuals can achieve their personal interests by bribing corrupt officials
this eventually leads to a system that works in the favor of one half of the society and
completely neglects their counterparts. Such a schism in society inevitably leads to
more poverty and destitution. In order to keep poverty under manageable control
corruption should not exist and be part of any constitution.

Transparency international is a worldwide organization that leads the fight against

corruption in civil society.

Every year governments all over the world spend millions of dollars on unnecessary
and unneeded changes and improvements in the country. If a portion of such large
amounts of the expenses could be saved and invested in the alleviation of poverty,
then we would notice a large decrease in rates of the poor in that country. In third
world countries political figures serving in the parliament and other parts of the
government demand high salaries and benefit from many services that are free of
charge. Citizens should not accept that these figures receive such salaries since they

make very little effort on improving the country. Spending cuts when managed wisely
can increase economic growth and provide the poor necessary commodities.

Over the years inequality has existed in many forms in society. it has set standards and
categorized people according to gender, race, religion, and belief. At first racism was
created to justify slavery, the black man was viewed as inferior and therefore enslaved
by the white man. Mainly in the untied states black people still suffer from the
inequality that haunted their ancestors decades ago. Today most of the black
population is uneducated and a result largely unemployed. As long as racism
continues to exist, inequality among the races will create poverty. Furthermore
inequality among the social class in a society spark conflict since the poor want a taste
of the life the wealthy lead.

To alleviate poverty governments should implement policies that represent the people
from every level of the society. To effectively alleviate poverty both the government
and the people have to work hand in hand to get rid of corruption, social inequality
and other factors that torment growth of the economy. A combination of all three
problems would cripple a nation tearing the bonds between civil and political
personnel. Alleviation of poverty is a major issue that should be fought for by
everyone in a society. With more than 4 billion people living under poverty lines,
every individual should at least make an effort to help those in need.