Kemiskinan

Tidak mudah untuk mendefinisikan kemiskinan. Seseorang mengaku miskin, padahal dia memiliki HP android. Seseorang lainnya mengaku papa, tetapi dia memiliki rumah tembok dan ada sebuah TV di dalamnya. Lain lagi dengan pengakuan seorang ibu, dia mengklaim dirinya miskin karena tidak memiliki sepeser uang pun untuk membeli beras.

Apakah kemiskinan ada kaitannya dengan tidak memenuhi segala keinginan konsumtif? Urusan tidak memiliki uang? Ataukah hanya sekadar pengakuan?

Kemiskinan menurut Organisasi Bank Dunia digambarkan lebih dari sekadar urusan tidak punya uang. Miskin artinya hidup dalam kelaparan. Miskin artinya tidak memiliki tempat untuk bernaung. Miskin artinya sakit dan tidak mampu membayar dokter. Miskin artinya tidak mampu menyekolahkan anak. Miskin artinya tidak memiliki pekerjaan, takut menghadapi masa depan yang tidak jelas, hanya bisa makan hari ini.  Lebih lanjut, Organisasi Bank Dunia menjelaskan bahwa kemiskinan memiliki beberapa wajah, bentuknya berbeda dari satu tempat ke tempat lainnya, berbeda dari waktu ke waktu, dan orang menjelaskannya dengan cara yang berbeda-beda pula. Kemiskinan harus dibayar dengan dijauhi secara sosial, tidak mendapatkan akses pendidikan, tidak memperoleh layanan kesehatan, menjadi warga yang rentan. 

Kemiskinan menurut JFK
 Poverty means not being able to heat your home, pay your rent, or buy the essentials for your children. It means waking up every day facing insecurity, uncertainty, and impossible decisions about money. It means facing marginalisation – and even discrimination – because of your financial circumstances. The constant stress it causes can lead to problems that deprive people of the chance to play a full part in society.

Kemiskinan bukan impian siapa pun. Merasa miskin tentu merupakan kondisi yang sulit dijadikan patokan kemiskinan yang ditanggungnya. Merasa miskin bagi yang tidak memiliki televisi, akan berbeda dengan mereka yang merasa miskin karena tidak memiliki HP. Miskin, berbeda-beda dari satu orang ke orang lainnya, dari satu tempat ke tempat lainnya. Belum lagi, miskinnya orang Amerika, akan lain dengan miskinnya orang Cikaret. Cianjur. 

Bisa saja kemiskinan didefinisikan bermacam-macam, tetapi ada satu macam kepastian: kemiskinan merupakan masalah sosial yang kompleks. Kemiskinan menjadi hal yang harus kita pikirkan bersama agar siapa pun warga negara di negeri ini, mereka bisa meraih yang terbaik untuk dirinya.

How is poverty measured in the UK?

There is no single best measure of poverty. It is a complex problem that needs a range of measures telling us different things.

JRF has launched a comprehensive strategy to Solve Poverty for all ages and places in the UK. We have set out a long-term and wide-ranging approach that looks beyond temporary political change, aiming for a major shift in attitudes, society and the economy.

Measures include:

• JRF’s Minimum Income Standard (MIS) – MIS itself is not a measure of poverty, but is what the public has told us is sufficient income to afford a minimum acceptable standard of living
• relative income poverty, where households have less than 60% of contemporary median income
• absolute income poverty, where households have less than 60% of the median income in 2010/11, uprated by inflation
• material deprivation, where you can’t afford certain essential items and activities
• destitution, where you can’t afford basics such as shelter, heating and clothing.

Relative and absolute poverty can be presented before and after housing costs (these include rent or mortgage interest, buildings insurance and water rates) and are presented after direct taxes and National Insurance, including Council Tax.

Jenis-jenis kemiskinan

Britannica (2022)  menjelaskan bahwa "Kemiskinan berdasarkan jenis dibedakan mengacu pada faktor waktu (lama, sebentar, siklus) dan penyebarannya (meluas, terpusat, perorangan)". Pengelompokannya secara rinci adalah seperti di bawah ini:

1.  Cyclical Poverty, yaitu kemiskinan yang menyebar pada seluruh penduduk tetapi waktunya hanya sebentar. Pada masyarakat non-industri, ditandai dengan masyarakat tidak dapat memenuhi kebutuhan dasar, misalnya makanan yang diakibatkan oleh bencana alam misalnya kekeringan, banjir, gagal panen. Kondisi ini menyebabkan harga-harga naik akibat tidak adanya bahan/barang yang bisa dijual. Pada masyarakat industri, kemiskinan diakibatkan adanya siklus bisnis, misalnya pemutusan hubungan kerja secara massal, adanya resesi.
2. Collective Poverty, berlawanan dengan Cyclical poverty, yaitu kemiskinan yang sifatnya permanen, ditandai dengan tidak mampu memenuhi kebutuhan dasar. Kemiskinan jenis ini biasanya turun dari generasi ke generasi. Kemiskinan jenis ini, banyak ditemukan di Asia, Timur tengah Afrika, 
3. Concentrated Collective Poverty, terjadi di daerah-daerah industri dimana ada masyarakat yang makmur, di sisi lain ada masyarakat yang diabaikan, tidak dilibatkan, hasil bertani tidak bisa seimbang dengan kebutuhan. Masyarakat kelompok ini umumnya tidak bekerja, buruh kasar,  pendidikan rendah, tingkat kematian tinggi,  tingkat kesehatan yang buruk. 
4. Case Poverty, kemiskinan yang relatif permanen, menimpa individu atau keluarga tertentu. Kemiskinan jenis ini diderita akibat terbatasnya kondisi dirinya untuk bisa hidup layak. Mereka misalnya orang cacat, buta, memiliki gangguan fisik/emosional, atau sakit parah. 

Kenya Woff (2021) mengenalkan enam jenis kemiskinan:

1. Situational Poverty
2. Generational poverty
3. Absolute Poverty
4. Relative Poverty
5. Urban Poverty
6. Rural Poverty

Situational poverty is very common and something you or someone you know may have experienced. There may have been a job loss, a divorce, or maybe a health crisis that caused you to be economically unstable. We've seen a lot of families who have experienced this during the pandemic, specifically families who are in service and tourist industries. There are so many families that were living paycheck to paycheck then had an event like a job loss and became so much more economically unstable.

Generational poverty is defined as being part of a family that has been living in poverty for more than two generations. This is different because if you have grown up in poverty, there are certain thought processes, ways of being, and ways of knowing that will differ from if you have been brought up say in the middle-class. What we see is you are constantly in survival mode and rather than being able to plan for your future and problem solve, oftentimes you are living in a toxic stress kind of environment where you are in survival mode. This can shape a generation and become a cycle that is very hard to get out of.

Absolute poverty is defined as an absolute lack of resources, including food insecurity. The United States has one of the highest rates of food insecurity in developing nations. This also includes homelessness and lack of access to healthcare.

Relative poverty is defined as living at about 50% or below the average income. You may not be wealthy and might be living paycheck to paycheck, but you have food on the table. However, in comparison to others around you, you are certainly struggling. Relative poverty usually is not as detrimental to the health and brain development of a young child, but the emotional aspects can take a toll.

The final two types of poverty are urban poverty and rural poverty. I live in Mississippi, for example, and rural poverty looks a little different than it does in urban areas. In rural poverty, one of the main issues is there isn't access to high-speed Internet. When the pandemic took children out of schools, I would see parents lined up at schools picking up giant packets of worksheets for four and five-year-olds. If you were in an urban center, you might be meeting on Zoom with your teacher online instead of doing the worksheet packets. People in rural areas are often isolated and lack access to technology, childcare, and education. In urban areas, you may have more structural issues such as housing and safety issues, overcrowding, and sanitation. 

It's really important for you as a teacher or someone who works with children to really understand the different types of poverty. One of the things that I try to do when I talk to people, especially those who haven't experienced poverty, is first and foremost to explain that poverty is about the lack of resources. Many children who grow up in poverty are very much loved and the families have many strengths.

What causes poverty in the UK?

The causes of poverty are things that reduce your resources or increase your needs and the costs of meeting them. Some of these causes can also be consequences, creating a cycle that traps you. Life events and moments of transition – getting sick, bereavement, redundancy or relationship breakdown – are common triggers for poverty.

Some of the causes of poverty in the UK today are:

• unemployment and low-paid jobs lacking prospects and security (or a lack of jobs): too many jobs do not provide decent pay, prospects or security. Many places have concentrations of these jobs or do not have enough jobs. Low pay and unemployment can also lead to inadequate savings or pensions
• low levels of skills or education: young people and adults without the necessary skills and qualifications can find it difficult to get a job, especially one with security, prospects and decent pay
• an ineffective benefit system: the level of welfare benefits for some people – either in work, seeking work or unable to work because of health or care issues – is not enough to avoid poverty, when combined with other resources and high costs. The benefit system is often confusing and hard to engage with, causing errors and delays. The system can also make it risky and difficult for some to move into jobs or increase their working hours. Low take-up of some benefits also increases poverty
• high costs: the high cost of housing and essential goods and services (e.g. credit, gas, electricity, water, Council Tax, telephone or broadband) creates poverty. Some groups face particularly high costs related to where they live, increased needs (for example, personal care for disabled people) or because they are paying a ‘poverty premium’ – where people in poverty pay more for the same goods and services
• discrimination: discrimination against people because of their class, gender, ethnicity, disability, age, sexuality, religion or parental status (or even poverty itself) can prevent people from escaping poverty through good qualifications or jobs, and can restrict access to services
• weak relationships: a child who does not receive warm and supportive parenting can be at higher risk of poverty in later life, because of the impact on their development, education and social and emotional skills. Family relationships breaking down can also lead to poverty
• abuse, trauma or chaotic lives: for small numbers of people, problematic or chaotic use of drugs and alcohol can deepen and prolong poverty. Neglect or abuse as a child or trauma in adult life can also cause poverty, as the impact on mental health can lead to unemployment, low earnings and links to homelessness and substance misuse. Being in prison and having a criminal record can also deepen poverty, by making it harder to get a job and weakening relationships.

Consequences of poverty in the UK

Some of the consequences of poverty are:

• health problems
• housing problems
• being a victim or perpetrator of crime
• drug or alcohol problems
• lower educational achievement
• poverty itself – poverty in childhood increases the risk of unemployment and low pay in adulthood, and lower savings in later life
• homelessness
• teenage parenthood
• relationship and family problems
• biological effects – poverty early in a child’s life can have a harmful effect on their brain development

How to solve poverty in the UK

Solving poverty is not quick or easy, but it is possible, starting with a vision, commitment and a plan.

We need a concerted effort by all – employers and businesses, private and social landlords, local and national policy-makers, the media, and all citizens and communities, including people in poverty themselves – if we want the UK to be free from poverty.

Daftar Pustaka

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2022, August 23). poverty. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/poverty

Woff, K (2021) Teaching, Caring, and Advocating for Children and Families Living in Poverty,