Social and
Cultural Issues
Many of those living near or below the poverty line in the Philippines
experience constant hardship, suffering, and oppression. Most of them remain homeless and
without jobs. Even those who receive small paychecks or wages cannot sustain their
families with such meager incomes.
One of the factors that greatly
influence such low standards of living and sustenance is very poor self-esteem. Because of
their state of life, they tend to harbor derogatory feelings of inferiority. They see
themselves at the whim of wealthier people and at the mercy of those who drive society.
Thus, what results is poor motivation to try to work harder. They have resigned themselves
to their lifestyles and intend to just live their lives like slaves.
This factor cycles into limited freedom because of poverty. Their state of
life prevents them from escaping societal evils such as oppression and abuse, especially
from the upper classes. They remain powerless without any voice in matters that run their
lives. They are their own slaves to their lack of confidence and motivation. They are
imprisoned in economic and material hardship.
Aside from being born into poverty, there are other elements that keep a
person under that dreaded poverty line. One of the most important of these is poor
education. The lack of sufficient academic foundations and work experience brings about
the inability to perform higher-paying jobs. This relegates the poor to the level of
unskilled laborers who find themselves in the simplest and lowest-paying jobs around.
Another major contributor to a low
standard of living is the poor state of health that many of the poor citizenry experience.
Ailing workers lack motivation. They have little discipline in them to enable them to
tackle more complicated areas of work or longer shifts. This not only turns out
progressively unskilled laborers, but also hampers quality production.
Very large families have done so much to keep the Philippine poor where
they are. The poor, lacking enough knowledge in family planning, have much time in their
hands, especially if they are among the many who remain unemployed. In addition to this,
some of the poor believe that the more children they have, the more they can send them to
be victims of child labor and earn income for the family. They abuse their kids to earn
more and turn a blind eye to the rights of the child. It is so common to see, even in the
media, notions that the child will study hard and one day to lift his or her parents from
poverty.
All of this backfires when the labor supply shoots up. This brings down
the price of labor and allows huge capitalist organizations to take advantage of cheap
labor. In most cases, it leads to abuse and neglect.

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