Low-Income People and Their Lack of Inclusion in Social and Political Movements

Whether it’s needing to work or not having the funds, low-income people neglected by popular societal and political movements have negative effects on the movements and on low-income people themselves

By: Jack O’Connor

It can be easy to get involved and highly invested in the current social and political scene, but it can be a lot harder to accept the fact that not everyone can do the same. This is particularly true of low-income individuals. Oftentimes getting involved in these movements can require expensive purchases or dedicating significant amounts of time, something that many disadvantaged people don’t have the luxury to do.

Let’s use health trends as an example. These trends often focus on what you can and cannot eat. While this sounds fine, when you pressure everyone to pursue it, you unintentionally harm low-income people who can’t afford to maintain these diets.

Fruits and vegetables from Whole Foods would be a healthy choice, but they are also expensive. Why get a highly nutritious meal that costs 14 dollars when four frozen meals cost half the price?

It’s not that low-income people aren’t interested in eating healthy meals, it’s that they often can’t afford to be. When choosing between your diet and paying your financial commitments like rent and utilities, you have to focus on the necessities and buy cheap food despite the negative health effects.

A similar effect can be seen in political movements because low-income people don’t always have the money or time to get involved.

Some of the best ways to help a candidate or policy you support are to donate either your time or money, something that isn’t always possible for the underprivileged. Low-income people may not have enough time to show support in a political march and work 8- or 10-hour-long shifts.

The consequence is that low-income people are often left out of and overlooked by these movements.

When they don’t have the time or resources needed to get involved, low-income people are unable to have their voices heard. 

This exclusion is also detrimental to the movements. Poor people make up a significant percentage of the population and without their influence, the dialogue is less diverse and more homogenous. This is of particular concern when it comes to the political scene.

With less money to donate to campaigns, the input of the disadvantaged is frequently either disregarded or ignored entirely. Given the contributions of low-income people to the workforce and to society as a whole, their concerns being given less attention is harmful to political discourse as a whole.

Low-income people’s lack of time and money may explain why their opinions and presence are sometimes not felt in popular cultural trends. At the end of the day, their absence hurts not just them, but these popular trends too.