Poverty is among the challenges that the American government strives to tackle. The decline in the number of Americans living in poverty indicates that the interventions that the government is implementing are effective. However, it is difficult to ignore the fact that millions of Americans are still languishing in poverty. The situation in the US is replicated in other countries which are also struggling to eradicate poverty. While poverty is a complex issue, there have been efforts to understand it. Scarcity is among the concepts that enable one to understand how poverty develops and the difficulty encountered in eliminating it. For poverty eradication programs to be effective, they must account for how scarcity shapes decision making.
Scarcity and Decision Making
Feinberg (2015) is among the scholars who have shed light on poverty. Among the key issues that she explored in her text is the impact that scarcity has on decision making. According to Feinberg, scarcity impedes decision making. She notes that people who grapple with lack and scarce financial resources are unable to make wise decisions. To explain this effect, Feinberg notes that scarcity taxes the mind, making it difficult for an individual to think about any other issue. For example, an individual who lacks food is likely to think about nothing other than how to find food. The scarcity captures their minds and renders them unable to determine how to find shelter or invest in their future. Basically, as Feinberg argues, scarcity reduces individuals to levels of dumbness that make it impossible for them to think critically. As a result, these individuals make poor decisions. Feinberg offers the example of those who turn to payday lenders for loans. Despite understanding that the interests that these lenders charge are exorbitant and unsustainable, these individuals continue to sink deeper into debt. The example of these people shows that scarcity robs individuals of the capacity to make decisions effectively.
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Why People Stay Poor
Feinberg’s article also addresses the cycle of poverty. Many people believe that poor people remain in a perpetual cycle of poverty because of the unwise decisions that they make. Feinberg challenges this belief. She asserts that poverty is the result of scarcity. As noted above, scarcity is responsible for poor decision making. Since the poor have scarce resources, they are unable to make appropriate decisions. As a result, they remain poor. Another explanation for why people stay poor is found in the ineffectiveness of the poverty eradication programs that are being implemented in the US and across the globe. These programs fail to accommodate the unique needs and challenges that the poor face. For example, education programs do not account for the fact that the poor have to make arrangements to be excused from their jobs and to have their children cared for. Consequently, many poor people drop out from these programs. Therefore, the perpetual and cyclic nature of poverty is the result of scarcity and the poor design of poverty elimination initiatives.
Packing, Slacking and Trade Off
A deeper understanding of scarcity and its effects can be gained by considering the concepts of packing, slacking and trade off. Shafir and Mullainathan (2013) explore these concepts in their text. Essentially, these scholars use packing as a metaphor for the decisions that individuals make regarding how to use resources. When one has a large suitcase, they are likely to be casual in how they pack it. On the other hand, those with smaller suitcases can be expected to pack them with caution and deliberate thought. This is because these individuals have less space and must understand that for every new item that they wish to pack, they may have to take out another from the suitcase. The dilemma that these individuals face captures the essence of tradeoffs and scarcity. Basically, scarcity compels individuals to think carefully about how they spend their limited resources. For example, many are forced to make tradeoffs between saving for their future and paying rent. There are those who have to give up their education so that they can eat. On the other hand, slack represents excess. It is experienced by those with large suitcases. For these individuals, they have sufficient room to add extra items into their suitcases. They do not have to make the sacrifices and concessions that their counterparts with smaller suitcases are forced to make.
The examples given above show that for those with scarce resources, tradeoffs are a constant part of life. It is clear that scarcity’s effects are mostly negative. It forces people to make concessions and give up pleasures and privileges that they desire desperately. However, scarcity can also have some positive impacts. For example, individuals with scarce resources tend to be more committed and hardworking. As Shafir and Mullainathan observe, the positive effects of scarcity cannot be sustained. Over time, these positive impacts are replaced with such adverse effects as stress and poor decision making. Therefore, overall, scarcity is an adverse reality that individuals should strive to eliminate.
Personal Reflection
Through my personal experiences, I can confirm that scarcity is the source of the hardships that individuals face. For example, when taking exams, I am usually unable to think clearly during the last few minutes of the exam. The pressure and the understanding that time will be up soon imposes a sense of urgency that impedes careful and critical thinking. I have also witnessed the ravages of poverty and understand why the poor seem trapped. These individuals grapple with so many hardships that it is nearly impossible for them to allocate their limited resources to the many needs that they have. For example, I know of single mothers who earn meager salaries and are expected to provide food, shelter and education to their children. These mothers often feel stressed and hopeless. In closing, I find that scarcity is a concept that can be used to design poverty elimination campaigns that are actually effective. I would strongly urge concerned stakeholders to ensure that the programs that they develop consider the serious and burdensome challenges that the poor grapple with.
References
Feinberg, C. (2015). The science of scarcity.
Shafir, E., & Mullainathan, S. (2013). Packing and slack.
