Poverty's Impact on other Issues

Poverty exacerbates problems such as slavery and exploitation on a global scale. In a way, poverty contributes to the way our world is today. Items sold on the global market are often touched by enslaved or exploited hands. Everyday commodities used in the U.S. are often developed by workers in other countries who will work for lower wages. Not only are the foreign workers typically paid little, this outsourcing leaves an employment void that that removes jobs from U.S. workers. Companies such as Nike and General Electric use labor from other countries. This globalization utilizes the poverty of many to increase the profits of few and maintain the current economy.
In places such as Africa, poverty feeds the slave trade. In desperate need of work, many people will entrust themselves to recruiters who promise jobs and money. Occasionally the jobs are real, and the fortunate individual will return home with payment. However, in many cases there will be no payment and the people are sold into a life of slavery. In the video, “Slavery: A Global Investigation”, two young men rescued from slavery say that the few individuals that come back with something to show for their work inspire others to seek work as well. They believed that they had chance to find a real job and bring money home. Children are also tempted into slavery with promises of education or a better life. Without the desperation created by poverty, people wouldn’t be forced to entrust their lives and future to strangers.
Bondage is another form of slavery that is common in the world. Bondage occurs when the individual is in debt. In South Asia, after borrowing money, all work done by the person is held by the lender as collateral. It does not go towards paying off his/her debt and the individual will remain in bondage until they can find a way to pay the money they owe. This is almost impossible to do when the lender owns all the productive work of the individual.
Poverty benefits the moneylenders and the slave owners. It gives them access to a disposable, free labor force. They reap the benefits and only face the cost of keeping their workers just healthy enough to be productive. The work done by these slaves can then be sold to the global market. Without such extreme poverty, this large work force would not exist.
Poverty enables exploitation as well. In the film Letters from the Other Side, Mexican women explain how they will spend many hours working to create items that sell for abysmal prices. When asked why they accept such small amounts of money, the women explained that it is better to receive a little money than nothing. All around the world, workers are being paid little to make items that are distributed across the globe. Because of the low cost, the consumer is the one who ultimately benefits. The items are cheap to make, so they will be sold cheap. It is unfortunate that the current world state uses poverty to increase globalization and trade.

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Sources:
1. Bales, Kevin. Understanding Global Slavery. 1st. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press, 2005. 1-4. Print.
2. Letters from the Other Side. Front Porch Films: 2006, Film.