Children of a lesser God - Broke

Over the course of this blog, the Children of a lesser God series has seen me rant about climate change, environmentalism and a common goal towards sustainability. This post however is a bit different from those - this deals with poverty, which can be a major contributor to climate change and environmental degradation. So addressing poverty would do a world of good - literally. No wonder humanity put ending poverty right at the top of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Poverty, however, is not cheap. On the contrary, poverty tends to be very expensive. As the saying goes, only the rich can afford to look poor. The poor however pay a heavy price for all their miseries. And I say that because being poor charges interest.

Not enough money in your bank account? The bank charges you an overdraft fee. Cannot afford a routine medical checkup? The hospital bills you for an expensive surgery. Cannot pay a parking fine? Your vehicle is impounded and they charge you extra. Cannot afford to buy a house? You spend the same amount on rent and maintenance (and at the end of it all you don’t even get to keep the house, while the owner sells it for a profit!) Cannot afford education? You don’t get a job. Cannot afford an expensive suit? All the well-paying jobs go to someone else.

Apart from all these disappointments, you also have the added pressure of time. That’s the worst part of being poor - you have to spend more time.

Cannot afford a taxi? It takes longer to reach using public transport. Cannot afford eating out? You spend hours buying groceries, cooking and washing. Cannot afford to buy what you like? You spend time looking for deals or wait for prices to fall.

Being poor drains away both your time and energy. Poverty is the worst form of violence that can be inflicted on a person - they become slaves to no owner. They become victims with no assailant. And with pandemics and recessions sending more and more people down the rabbit hole, ending poverty should no longer be looked upon as an act of charity or philanthropy - it is an act of justice.

Within our lifetimes I hope that the only thing humanity drives to extinction is poverty!