“Examine the ways in which government policies
attempt to deal with the problem of poverty in society”
A social welfare system provides assistance to
individuals and families in need. The types and amount
of welfare available to individuals and families vary
depending on circumstances. A welfare state is
concerned with implementing social policies
guaranteeing the ‘cradle to grave' wellbeing of the
whole population, including the elimination of poverty.
The welfare state includes a welfare benefits system
via social security and tax systems. Whether the
varying types of government policies are successfully
efficient in supporting the wellbeing of the whole
population or not is an ambivalent objective which can
have varying perspectives on
One way in which the government has attempted to
tackle poverty is through the national living wage. If
informal sector wages rise when the minimum wage
increases, higher minimum wages are likely to reduce
poverty. In the UK, the number of workers benefitting
from the minimum wage has increased from 830,000
in 1999 to 2 million in 2018. On the contrary, A
potential problem of increasing the minimum wage is
that it may cause unemployment because firms may
not be able to afford the workers. If it does cause
unemployment, poverty could worsen. Legal minimum
wages alone are insufficient for what many people
need to live. This is because austerity policies have
forced people to take on more debt and essentials like
housing, energy and transport have risen partly due to
public services being privatised and outsourced, as
well as excessive profiteering. From Horton’s
perspective, minimum wages are put in place in order
to benefit the bourgeoisie and allow capitalism to
attempt to deal with the problem of poverty in society”
A social welfare system provides assistance to
individuals and families in need. The types and amount
of welfare available to individuals and families vary
depending on circumstances. A welfare state is
concerned with implementing social policies
guaranteeing the ‘cradle to grave' wellbeing of the
whole population, including the elimination of poverty.
The welfare state includes a welfare benefits system
via social security and tax systems. Whether the
varying types of government policies are successfully
efficient in supporting the wellbeing of the whole
population or not is an ambivalent objective which can
have varying perspectives on
One way in which the government has attempted to
tackle poverty is through the national living wage. If
informal sector wages rise when the minimum wage
increases, higher minimum wages are likely to reduce
poverty. In the UK, the number of workers benefitting
from the minimum wage has increased from 830,000
in 1999 to 2 million in 2018. On the contrary, A
potential problem of increasing the minimum wage is
that it may cause unemployment because firms may
not be able to afford the workers. If it does cause
unemployment, poverty could worsen. Legal minimum
wages alone are insufficient for what many people
need to live. This is because austerity policies have
forced people to take on more debt and essentials like
housing, energy and transport have risen partly due to
public services being privatised and outsourced, as
well as excessive profiteering. From Horton’s
perspective, minimum wages are put in place in order
to benefit the bourgeoisie and allow capitalism to
