Unemployment
One of the first things a person does when he enters the world of
independence is looking for a job. The prospect is quite simple. One needs a continuous
source of income to keep oneself in a self-sustaining and yet comfortable lifestyle. More
often than not, one of the greatest factors that drives a person to hunt for work is the
fear of poverty.
In order for man to survive, he has to work. Since the dawn of time, man
has struggled with everyday life to sustain his physical being here on earth and
strengthen his soul in preparation for the life after this one. Whether it may be cavemen
hunting deer and harvesting the fruit of trees or executives spending day after day in an
air-conditioned office and staring into a computer screen, work has been the means of
economic survival.
Naturally, when the means of survival are not there, then life begins to
falter. Little by little, it is stripped away from a human being. He is plunged deeper
into hardship and suffering, a state commonly referred to as poverty.
There are many definitions of poverty. But the most widely known is the
state wherein a person has very little or no finances, education, and a voice to be
recognized by others. These are the people who dwell in the slums, under the bridges and
freeways, and beside the polluted rivers that run through Manila’s cities. They are
the poor. They are marginalized by society and shut out by the higher classes.
Poverty as the result of unemployment works both ways. It also brings
about unemployment.
The most basic reason why long term unemployment leads to poverty is the
lack of a source of income. If a person simply does not have the ability to sustain his
payments on food, clothing, shelter, healthcare and basic services, then he will go down
in the "social hierarchy" (if such exists in a society) and ultimately find
himself in a life devoid of comfort and decency, if not the life after mortal death.
The other factors that complete this poverty-unemployment cycle complement
one another. It’s just a circle that follows one element in an endless loop, unless
something is done.
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