Overcoming Poverty
by Dr. Elior Kinarthy
Psychologist
What are the effects of poverty? What happens to children growing up in a household where it is a struggle to put food on the table?
In 2020, the Canadian measurement of the poverty line called MBM (market basket measure) has been raised due to the higher costs of shelter for families in most urban centres of Canada. Families of 4 would have to earn in excess of $60,000 per year to escape poverty according to this measurement.
The poverty line in Canada has also been defined by earning below the following:
1 person- $25,920
2 people- $32,899
3 people- $40,445
4 people- $49,106
15% of Canadian elderly live in poverty and 2 million seniors receive the guaranteed income supplement of about $17,000 per year. Canada has 1.3 million children living in poverty (1 out of 5). 1 in 2 first nations children live in poverty. Approximately 4 million people in Canada are food insecure. 1 in 8 households struggles to put food on the table.
Housing: 3 million Canadian households are precariously housed meaning they are either unaffordable, below government standards or overcrowded. 1 in 5 households experience serious housing affordability issues, spending over 50% of their income on rent.
What are the root causes of poverty?
In my opinion, there are many factors that can lead to poverty, however one of the root causes of poverty are educational systems that do not prepare children and young adults to make better decisions. Parents and significant caregivers can also teach children how to make good decisions by giving the child choices whenever possible and as much as possible. Teachers who are nervous or irritable will have a negative effect on learning and lead to low self-esteem and poor decision-making skills. Our Education system should:
teach courses on how to handle money, borrowing at low interest, savings, investments and other basic skills.
explain how to choose the best banking institutions (credit unions vs banks).
emphasize skills in math in order to calculate interest and percentages and learn to avoid high interest credit card debt.
Many schools have substandard curriculums and teachers with average ability to teach. An example of a low performing school is one where the Principle hires teachers that emphasize social competency rather than educational goals. I recommend interviewing school Principles and investigating what the criteria was for hiring the teachers and what the curriculum focuses on. Almost 90% of the curriculums in Europe are based on the psychologist Jean Piaget’s cognitive stages of development. Children achieve at appropriate age levels and his research shows more effective learning when children work in teams of 4, under the direction of a teacher, in a collaborative learning environment.
If parents and schools do not encourage actions or achievement, they can create a “low achievement motivation.” For parents I recommended rewarding good behaviour by asking “what did you learn in school today?” This emphasis encourages learning success and rewards it rather than asking “Did you behave in school today?”
The first five years of life are the most important for creating success and a positive self-image. Children need be raised with tuning into the 5 senses, touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste. Translating this to practical terms means they need to see a variety of books, hear music and clearly enunciated speech, experience lots of hugs and eat a variety of healthy foods. And most important, if a child is raised without enough physical affection, this can lead to low self-esteem resulting in a reduced capacity to make a good living among other maladjustments. If you care about yourself and your future you will tend to make better decisions.
Education that emphasizes good decision making in finances and in career choices and other areas can help avoid the pitfalls that can plunge an individual into poverty. Our culture suggests that you need a college degree to succeed financially but this is often not the case. A college education is not necessary to get out of poverty. Over time one can develop a “poverty personality”. A “poverty personality” tends to be:
negative, especially regarding earning money. (I don’t need money, it is the root of all evil, I can’t get that job, I don’t have the skills etc.)
insecure, fears the future
lacking motivation
fearful of success
fearful of failure
A person who is experiencing poverty is stuck between the fear of success and the fear of failure. Fear of success is often the determining factor as they are so nervous and insecure, they often sabotage opportunities. They tend to not pass a probation period for instance, and are again unemployed.
The following are some suggestions for overcoming poverty:
change your negative beliefs about making money
find a way to make money that is not conventional
don’t repeat past mistakes
don’t buy lottery tickets
go to counselling or coaching
How do you choose the best counsellor? Find somebody who was poor and is now working with others to create success. Finding a counsellor that overcame similar challenges creates criterion validity that can show you how he/she became successful and how they broke the pattern of failure.