I've noticed that health issues are a lot more common among the poor. I don't know exactly why this is, but have a few theories. A big part of it could be the stress from constantly worrying whether and how they're going to make ends meet. All that worry can lead to sickness. (Too much to describe here but there has been plenty of research done on this) The other theory could be genetic. We know different type of good genes often get correlated together, like a rich man marrying a physically attractive women, and both passing their combined genes to offspring. Well the opposite may also be true. I've also noticed the poor very often have bad teeth. A few theories for this also. It might be that there's a correlation between people not taking responsibility for their own dental health and not being responsible with their finances. (It's not just brushing one's teeth, diet is a big part too) Smoking tends to be very common among the poor, it's often used as a form of stress relief, although a lot of smoking is bad for the health of the gums and can eventually lead to teeth falling out. Obviously health issues are a lot more difficult to deal with when people are poor. Not only because they do not have the money for treatment but also because health issues can, in many instances, get in the way of them being able to work. (And many of the types of jobs poorer people have may be more physically demanding, the employer requiring them to stand for long periods) I think this is an issue that is having a big effect on society and this is one of the facets that needs to be understood if we are looking at social problems.
Yes there's an underlying root problem. But that's not to say nothing can be done about any of these health problems until poverty is dealt with—which is a tall task. I think as far as social wellbeing goes, the value for the money of spending to address these health problems associated with poverty could be very effective. (That is a little money would go a long way to do a lot of good) I'm not against dealing with poverty, but to ignore the health issues by claiming they are all caused by poverty and so we need to deal with the poverty first before anything else can be done, is asinine.
No, its stating the bleedin obvious. You sound like one of those Tories that lives on the dole for a week to show that you can eat your greens!