Working and Poor

It’s difficult to imagine how some people hold multiple jobs to support their family and still live below the poverty line. The saying “the rich gets richer and the poor get poorer” has never been so evident in today’s society. With a growing percentage of people living below the poverty line, one has to question the government policies enacted to elevate the living standings for its people. Government policies great influence the everyday life of its people. It is difficult to enact common ground policies to satisfy the entire public since not everyone is on same financial level. Strategic plans should be sought out to ensure effectiveness to its targeted group by considering all the interests of the stakeholders and the impact that will affect these stakeholder groups.

According to the free market theory, the government ultimately has the social responsibility to its public. The important task the government must face is to maximize the benefit at a minimized cost. It must approve and implement laws that benefit overall society while adhering strictly to its budget constraints. The underlying concept of the “good will prevail” is also prevalent in its policy effectiveness. Good implementations to benefit society will stay and the benefit will multiply with time. Bad policies will be questioned, debated, and eventually thrown out. The invisible hand will always bring the market back to equilibrium.

The issues on employment greatly reflect a utilitarian view. Utilitarianism is often used to determine the conflict of interest. Often times the employer and the employees will encounter conflict of interests. Which side will ultimately come out on top depends on which side is perceived as the greatest and whether it will generate the greatest bottom line value or the greatest societal gain. The conflict of interest is utterly apparent in a layoff, where the employers are doing so to maximize profit and minimize cost by outsourcing all of its jobs overseas. The stakeholder, employees, suffers greatly from such an act. Utilitarianism often stresses the importance of increased productivity and profit, and reducing cost while improving quality. Many people lose sight of the true benefit or damage in the long run. The only consideration was the short term gain and profit.

It is not surprising that families living under the poverty line often hold some of the most dangerous jobs. They often hold jobs that no one else wants to do yet they don’t get compensated for the danger involved with these high risk jobs. The Rights Theory emphasizes the importance of the basic rights of an employee. All employees are entitled to rights of work safety, rights of well being, and various moral claims. Basic rights entail dignity and respect. Rights Theory acts as a protectant for employees in many cases that involve conflicts of interest. Various companies offer healthcare, childcare, and educational programs as a way to safeguard its employees. Yet these programs are often missing in the high risk, low pay job sectors. The bottom line to Rights Theory implies moral right to be treated fairly and equally and with justice across the board.

Since the case of conflict of interest often arises in the workforce, many laws and policies were enacted to protect the rights of its people by providing justice. Various unions were formed to fight injustice by the government and the employers. One exception policy implemented on the basis of the justice theory is the minimum wage requirement. Although numerous families were working multiple jobs at minimum wage and still struggling, imagine how bad the financial conditions would be without the protection of the minimum wage law. Throughout the years, unions have been formed to act as the voice of the employees, to protect the employees from company exploitation. It is an astounding fact that people protected under the unions are sometimes making 50% more than those who are not in the union and they are more likely to have health benefits as well. Unions are a good way to fight unfairness for the employee stakholders by acting as a check and balance mechanism between the employee, government,