Poverty, Social Security Minimum Wage - 3111 Words

Critically examine the trend and size of poverty in Hong Kong society. Please assess the effectiveness of the present Social Security system and the Minimum wage in eradicating poverty in Hong Kong. Introduction Poverty has been a hot issue in Hong Kong for several years. Several policies developed form the Social Security system have been adopted by the government for soothing this problem, such as the CSSA scheme and the MPF fund. Nevertheless, it seems that the poverty problem is getting worse. Voices of demanding the government to help the poor have become fiercer. Recently, the minimum wage is also called for guaranteeing the lower income group to be able to afford their living. In this essay, the trend and size of poverty in Hong†¦show more content†¦As the documented illustrated by the legislative council (2004) suggested that such transformation raises the overall level of skills of the workforce but the low-skill and less educated workers cannot benefit because of the mismatch between their knowledge and skills and the job requirements. Meanwhile, it is hard for the lower-skilled workers to transform to higher-skilled workers. Therefore, the demand for the lower-skilled wor kers decreases. This increases the unemployment rate of the lower-skilled workers. The lower-skill workforce can also only be poorly paid. Figure 2 Source: Oxfam Hong Kong Poverty Report: Employment and Poverty in Hong Kong Families (2003-2012) Refer to Figure 2, from 2005 to 2010, among households with at least one person employed, the number of poor households increased by 12%, from 172,600 to 192,500. Households of larger family size also suffer most. It demonstrates that currently many from the workforce are not able to earn for meeting their needs or family needs although they are employed. Due to the transformation of economy, experienced manufacturing workers who shift to service jobs generally receive less income because their previous experiences are usually not relevant to their new posts and do not have skills handling higher status jobs of service industry (Legislative Council, 2004). Figure 3 Source: Oxfam Hong Kong Poverty Report: Employment andShow MoreRelatedMinimum Wage Persuasive Essay1067 Words   |  5 Pages2013 Persuasive Essay $7.25 equals two gallons of gas, one fast food meal, or a simple school supply. With the minimum wage at the current rate you must work one hour to earn the seven dollars and twenty-five cents that only supply you with small necessities for everyday living. This problem was encountered before and was resolved with the agreement to higher the minimum wage from $5.85 to the current $7.25. Although that was a big increase in salaries, was it truly enough? This controversyRead MoreEssay on We Must Raise the Minimum Wage1615 Words   |  7 Pages Minimum wage is the lowest wage an employer can pay their employees. There is a Federal minimum wage and in some cases a State Minimum wage. The current Federal minimum wage is $7.25. An employee who makes $7.25 an hour and works 40 hours a week, will earn about $14,000 per year. The Federal government deemed that the poverty line is anyone who makes less than $17,000 a year (â€Å"Federal Minimum†). Therefore anyone that makes minimum wage lives below the poverty line. As president ObamaRead MoreThe Pros And Cons Of The Minimum Wage769 Words   |  4 PagesDid you know minimum wage was $0.25 per hour in 1938? Since then it has raised to a whopping $7.25. Most readers will agree that there is a problem with this current minimum wage, considering the cost of living and salaries, Etc. However, they might not understand the complexity of the issue. In fact, the topic is not simply a question of if the minimum wage should be increased or kept the same, but more of a complex issue involving the different viewpoints on why people agree or disagree. Some reasonsRead MoreWorking Poor : The Work Poor Essay1277 Words   |  6 Pagesface every day. Poverty is damaging to both the economy and the people who face it. Many times social policies are created to assist the people who are working but still struggle to get basic needs like food, utilities, gas, and medical. Poverty is a perpetuating cycle that is intended to keep the poor oppressed and discriminated against. Respectfully, this critique will address the social problems that are identified in the book, the major social welfare policy issues, the social values and beliefsRead MoreReview Of Bill Moyers s Two American Families 1110 Words   |  5 Pagesand follow the social order in the society, but have fallen as a victim in a struggling economy to a series of policy decisions made. The hand of policy ineffectively steered the lives of the two families featured, the Neumann’s and Stanley’s, despite their hard work ethic and sincere determination to succeed. There are many policy implications that played a role in this documentary, including those around education, institutional racism, taxation, overseas jobs and social security. However, the mainRead MoreBarbara Ehrenreich s Nickel And Dimed1600 Words   |  7 Pageswas published in 2001 to today. The political implications of poverty in our society is crucia l to understanding when looking through a social development lense. There are many ideological political routes to take to help mitigate or resolve the poverty issues within the country, which can be looked at through social policies and social development. Ehrenreich provides a qualitative research analysis into the life of those living in poverty through a covert field research perspective. The welfare stateRead MoreThe Case For A Higher Minimum Wage1659 Words   |  7 PagesHigher Minimum Wage In 1938, the Federal Government established a minimum wage through the Fair Labor Standards Act, during the Great Depression. Its stated purpose was to keep American workers out of poverty and increase consumer purchasing power to help stimulate the economy. President Franklin Roosevelt, understood that the minimum wage should be a living wage, he stated â€Å"by living wages, I mean more than a bare subsistence level — I mean the wages of a decent living.† Today, the Minimum wage is criticalRead MoreThe Minimum Wage Policy During The United States1714 Words   |  7 Pagesincrease the federal minimum wage. Headlines throughout the country highlight recent minimum wage policy changes in major cities such as Los Angeles and Seattle. Last month, Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York announced an approved minimum wage increase to $15 an hour for all fast food workers in the state (McGeehan). Even the website for the White House has a separate page, â€Å"Raise the Wage,† advocating for Congress to increase the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour (Raise the Wage). The most commonlyRead MoreThe Minimum Wage Policy And Function862 Words   |  4 PagesSocial Welfare Function Distribution and redistribution of basic income has always been a subject of debate in the United States. Devising a method of distributing and redistributing national resources among poor has always been a challenge among the scholars. The minimum wage policy and function has attempted to address the income inequity among the citizens of the United States. The work of Aboudi et al (2014), attempted to address this issue by proposing a model to be used for designing a basicRead MoreIf Minimum Wage Raise Up945 Words   |  4 PagesIf Minimum Wage Raise up In many cases in the U.S. people are suffering from the very low hourly wages. According to David Cooper: â€Å"As wages go down, the percentage of workers relying on public assistance gets higher: 60 percent of workers earning less than $7.42—only slightly higher than the $7.25 federal minimum wage—receive some form of means-tested public assistance.† Because the minimum wage is so low, many people are forced into programs, such as Medicaid, food stamps and the Earned Income