Research Assignment Poverty in the Dominican Republic

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Poverty in the Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is often described as a tropical paradise and while giving this description, people never fail to mention the more than 900 miles coastline. The country also has four mountain ranges and promises visitors experiences they could not get anywhere. The government of this beautiful country has as expected made tourism its number one income generating industry. While the above is true about this country, a visit further inland reveals poverty and unendurable life for the citizens of the country. The people are suffering greatly and according to Lamm (np), “more than a third of the Dominican Republic lives on less than $1.25 a day and over 20% of the country lives in extreme poverty.” Natural disasters coupled with the fact that the country is also marred with income inequality issues have plunged the country into poverty. Children are the greatest victims of this sad state and according to Children International, “half of kids under age 18 live in poverty.” These numbers are quite disturbing and also spell doom for the country’s future because hopelessness is ingrained in the minds of those who are to lead the country in the near future. The government is obviously in need of a plan to not only revive the economy and ensure income equality is sustained but also to instill hope in the children and help to safeguard the future of the country.
Some of the reasons for the country’s horrendously high poverty rates are increasing population, income inequality, ignored and weak agricultural sector, and natural disasters. First of all, an increase in population often means that competition for resources also goes up and if a country is not adequately prepared, its resources are bound to get strained. In the Dominican Republic, the above is the reality. The country’s population has been increasing steadily against the stagnant or negligibly growing resources. This means that more people get to compete for the same number of resources as before. Additionally, with all the attention on the tourism industry, the country has forgotten to improve its agricultural sector which continues to grow weak by the day as people starve. The government’s focus has solely been on tourism and therefore, less attention and resources have been allocated to the agricultural sector. Food has in turn become scarce especially for the poor.
While one can be quick to point a finger at the government of the country, it is also important to acknowledge the impact of the natural disasters. The country has been on the receiving end of the wrath of nature with drought, flooding, and extreme rainfall having had their ire felt. As a result of these events, the government has been forced on numerous occasions to allocate millions of dollars to disaster response instead of developing the country and reviving sectors such as agriculture. This means that the coun...