Secondary poverty
 | The examples and perspective in this articledeal primarily with the United States and do not represent aworldwide viewof the subject.(June 2021) |
Secondary povertyis a description of poverty referring to those living below thepoverty linewhose income was sufficient for them to live above the line, but was spent on things other than the necessities of life.[1]
In 18th and 19th centuryGreat Britain,the practice oftemperanceamongMethodists,as well as their rejection ofgambling,allowed them to eliminate secondary poverty and accumulate capital.[2]
The term was coined bySeebohm Rowntreeafter his investigations into poverty inYork.
Factors contributing to secondary poverty
[edit]Alcohol use
[edit]TheBureau of Labor Statisticsfound that "the average American consumer dedicates 1 percent of all their spending to alcohol".[3]
InScotland,households spent an average of £8.90 a week on alcohol.[4]
Gambling
[edit]In the United States, the average individual loses $400.00 togamblingeach year.[3]
TheNational Anti-Gambling League,which was founded in 1890, condemned thelotteryas a cause of secondary poverty.[5]More recently, the sociologist Gerda Reith stated that the lottery exploited working classes, which see it as one of the sole avenues for liberation from oppression.[5]Reith stated that governments use the lottery as a means to increase their revenue and called it an "extra form of taxation".[5]
Indeed, people in the low-income brackets (2.8%) spend a higher percentage of their household income on games of chance than people in higher income brackets (0.5%). That is important since the risk of gambling related harm increases significantly when more than 1% of gross family income is spent on gambling activities. The additional risk of gambling for those in a lower-income bracket warrants further attention with the expansion of government-operated gambling throughout Canada, especially since increased rates of problem gambling prevalence are linked to enhanced accessibility and availability.[6]Problem gambling can be defined as difficulties in limiting money and/or time spent on the activity, which leads to problems for the gambler and others.[6]According to Hahmann and Matheson (n.d.), two life events can lead to homelessness: significant job loss and problem gambling.
Tobacco
[edit]InIndia,smokers spend ₹36,000 annually on smoking cigarettes.[7]
Other drugs
[edit]"A survey from 2007 notes that 23% of unemployed persons had used cocaine at least once.",[8]although homelessness may contribute to the use of cocaine, rather than the other way around.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Freeman, Mark (2011). "Seebohm Rowntree and secondary poverty, 1899-19541".The Economic History Review.64(4): 1175–1194.doi:10.1111/j.1468-0289.2010.00570.x.S2CID155046187.
- ^Swatos, William H. (1998).Encyclopedia of Religion and Society.Rowman Altamira.p. 385.ISBN9780761989561.
- ^abMuniz, Katherine (24 March 2014)."20 ways Americans are blowing their money".USA Today.Retrieved16 October2018.
- ^Milligan, Brian (16 February 2017)."ONS figures show UK spending less on alcohol and tobacco".BBC.Retrieved16 October2018.
- ^abcCasey, Emma (2016).Women, Pleasure and the Gambling Experience.Routledge.p. 28.ISBN9781134779680.
- ^abHahmann, T. E., & Matheson, F. L. (n.d.). Problem Gambling and Poverty. Retrieved March 26, 2019, fromhttps:// greo.ca/Modules/EvidenceCentre/files/Hahmann_and_Matheson_(2017)_Problem_gambling_and_poverty.pdf
- ^Saravanan, P (21 June 2016)."Cigarettes & smoking: Here's how to save Rs 36,000".The Financial Express.Retrieved16 October2018.
- ^"Economic Status and Abuse".Dual Diagnosis.Retrieved2019-03-28.
Further reading
[edit]
- Briggs, Asa: "A Study of the Work of Seebohm Rowntree: 1871-1954", Longmans, 1961
- Rowntree, B S: "Poverty: A Study in Town Life", page 298. Macmillan and Co., 1901
- University of Glasgow, Extracts from B. Seebohm Rowntree, Poverty: A Study of Town Life