Poverty in Fall River and How to Bring About Change. Free Essay

In recent decades, Fall River city is known to be experiencing social and economic problems. The issues have caused a decline in economic growth and development. Compared to other cities in the state, the region financially depends on Massachusetts, and the locals encounter low living standards of life. Therefore, the paper focuses on the economic issue identification, strategies to solve the problem, and challenges faced during the implementation of the plans.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Poverty

Fall River city struggles with poverty to attain economic development. Out of five-person within the town, one is below the poverty line, which translates to about 25%. This statistic is not permanent (Welker). It changes from one period to the next when the analysis of data takes place. However, past years the trend has shown a reduction in employment level and a significant increase in the employees earning below $10,000 9 (Welker). The current poverty rate in the city stood at 21.3%, which is double the rate of the total ratio that relatively remains at 10.3% (Welker). Despite the percentage of poverty affecting the United States of America, the portion of the nation is below when compared.

The residents of Fall River city are white, Hispanic, and others. A large number of white people fall below the line of poverty, followed by Hispanics. The economy provides approximately 39.8 thousand jobs to the locals (O'Connor). The sectors operating in the markets include health and social, manufacturing, and retail industries. The health section offers the highest employment, while the manufacturing industry has the best to employ a rewarding system. The locals participate most in administrative jobs followed by support occupation and lastly in the profession of related to sales. In terms of gender, the economy offers better remuneration to male employees than to the female workforce. The city also experiences the inequality in income, which is lower than the average of the nation. The literature reviews indicate that the high rate of unemployment, especially in the youth and women, is worsening the condition of the economy.

The community in the town has large families, and the majority of sole providers are aged. The low incomes make it challenging to send their children to schools. Therefore, the region faces a low level of education. For instance, 67% of the locals are high school graduates, a proportion of less than 89% of the whole state of Massachusetts (Dion). The number of bachelor's degrees stands at 13%, which is significantly lower than 38% of the nation (Burke). The quality of education provided by the market of Fall River is below the standards offered in other states of America.

The level of poverty shot up by the abolishment of the development program in the city of Fall River. Generally, the problem has resulted in the financial instability of the town. The primary source of finance for the city is tax income collected from the residents. A low level of employment in the region leads to low municipality income. It challenges to entirely rely on taxes as the only source of income for development. The circumstance has forced the area to seek more funds from Massachusetts. The state has, therefore, diverged a significant amount from its income to the city. The amount accounts for more than half which of the development funds in the economy of river fall. Gradually, the issue is declining the growth of the manufacturing industry in the market, which has the best employee rewarding system.

The basis for the low rate of education in the economy is poverty. Few families afford the cost of schooling and still meet the other basic needs of life. The rest, however, try to educate their children, and this is evident in the reduction of percentage as one climbs the ladder of education. The examination of the education data reveals that the residents are willing but not able to facilitate the program of teaching. The principle of the higher the education, the higher the quality, which leads to high cost affects the persons in the city. Therefore, the issue influences the educational level, which prevents the disclosure of talents and skills that, if nurtured, can be vital in the economic development of the city.

Course of Actions

Low level of employment, discrimination against women, the significant rate of illiteracy, mismanagement of public funds, and small investment opportunities are some of the elements alleviating poverty. To address this problem, one has to devise a course of action to deal with the intervening factors first. To reduce the problem of unemployment, the mayor of the city should re-introduce the tax incentive funds. This policy would encourage not only the residents but also individuals from Massachusetts to invest in the economy. As a result of the increased establishment of businesses, unemployment will drastically reduce because the companies cannot operate without the aspect of human resources.

However, the city should expect to experience some challenges before the implementation of the policy. The mayor of the city would consult Massachusetts as well as the national government. The decision-making process will take longer as a committee at the state level would have to approve it before taken to the federal government. Passing of the policy at the state level does not guarantee authorization by the national government. In the whole process fails, it would have led to time wastage as well as money.

Another cause of action will be the empowerment of women. Demographically, the town has more women than men, but the level of employment for men is high. Women, just as men, are entitled to the same opportunities. By making sources of finance available to them, they will engage in economic activities that will create employment. They will earn income from the work that will, in turn, lower the level of poverty in the economy. Organizations with the primary objective of empowering women will be given some incentives to motivate other potential investors to the market of the city.

Nevertheless, the regulation laid down by financial institutions will affect the process. Most institutions will be unwilling to provide finances to individuals without security. For those few that will be ready to risk and advance loans to women, they will attach high-interest rates to the debenture. By doing so, the institution will increase the operational cost of the economic activity resulting in losses in the beginning.

Talents are unproductive is they are not nurtured. One of the ways to develop ability is through education. With knowledge, individuals create self-employment, which will enable them to live beyond the poverty line. Developing a strategy in education will aid the locals to be informed. The Fall River will invest more in education programs. Renovation of existing schools and colleges should take place to avail of the conducive environment for learning. Programs for needy students should put in place to ensure individuals pursue education without reason for limited financial resources. The city falls short of funds, which will hinder the implementation of education programs. Some drug-addicted youths who the program target will be unwilling to utilize it.

Some financial information offered by the economy is not reliable. The city loses a significant amount of revenue from this irresponsibility. The region should impose measures to curb the perpetuation of fraud in the area with penalties. The town should institute auditing on the operation of the government entities to prevent malpractices. At every financial year, the organizations within the economy should provide audited financial accounts for the computation of corporate tax. The collision of different sections within the economy will reduce the effectiveness of the audit exercise. The process is also costly, which will make it unaffordable for other organizations. As a result, some businesses will exit the economy because of the high cost of production.

Reflection

Implementation of all the strategies for fighting poverty can take place in the economy. The plans are realistic. Any form of ambiguity does not exist in the methods suggested. The programs have identified particularly identified persons in charge of conducting the course of action. In the strategies, I have stated the target group in which the plan is to influence and bring about positive change in poverty in the economy. Through the adoption of auditing as a form of minimizing wastage of public resources, the strategy is achievable. The exercise is actionable by the professionals in the field. All the approaches to increase the population of the city above the poverty line are measurable. The plans have set goals and objectives to ensure the strategists do not divert from the course of action. The purposes help to monitor and evaluate the progress, and in case of deviation, corrective measures taken to maintain the same path towards the attainment of stated goals.

The mentioned strategies are clear. They do not leave room for vagueness. The mayor of the city will be able to implement the plans without a challenge. The clarity of the strategy ensures during the implementation, there is an elimination of mistakes. Apart from this element, the technique also depicts the characteristic of conciseness. Despite being several approaches to bring the city from poverty, they are brief and straight to the point. Hence, it will not require an expert interpretation of the plans for execution. However, the implementation of the programs will require resources. The city is under financial distress and is incapable of collecting enough revenue from the economy. The situation is evident when its fiscal budget comprises of more than half of funds from the state. The limitation of resources will be the primary cause of failure to implement the strategy.

The Fall River city is experiencing economic and development challenges. The locals of the regions live below the poverty line, which causes financial distress to the economy. The area has few and poor schools, which has led to a significant level of illiteracy. The youths of the town should learn to put in mind that the employment rate is low. Therefore, they should utilize their talents to create employment within the economy. The idea of financial support by Massachusetts in their economic development needs to become history. This action will force the mayor of the town to focus on the poverty elimination program, which will be the beginning of the betterment of the economy. The city will become financially independent, which will spear other sectors that low the living standards of the residents.

There is no permanent state in life. Everything is possible. All it requires is the commitment and sacrifice to bring about positive change. According to herald news, the economy needs to adopt innovative ways to fight the vice of poverty. The tax incentives fund was playing an essential role in improving the lifestyle of people in the city. The abolishment has dramatically impacted the living standards since it has declined the rate at which the town has grown.

Works Cited

O'Connor, Kevin P. "Fall River falls behind in the competitive game of economic development." The Herald News, Fall River, MA, The Herald News, Fall River, MA, 16 Mar. 2018,

www.heraldnews.com/news/20180316/fall-river-falls-behind-in-competitive-game-of-economic-development.

Burke, Amanda. "Election 2019: Coogan favors 'wait-and-see approach' on economic development in Fall River." The Herald News, Fall River, MA, The Herald News, Fall River, MA, 5 Sept. 2019,

www.heraldnews.com/news/20190905/election-2019-coogan-favors-wait-and-see-approach-on-economic-development-in-fall-river.