Disclaimer: There is not a definite opinion but rather two points of view presented in this post on poverty issues.
First, here's the article/blog post that got me started thinking about this. It's a short article that doesn't really give anything in the way of statistics.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/daniel_hannan/blog/2009/04/18/if_you_pay_people_to_be_poor_youll_never_run_out_of_poor_peopleIf you don't want to read the whole thing here are the main points:
--If you pay people to be poor, you'll never run out of poor people.
--Poverty is not simply an absence of money. Rather, it is bound up with a whole set of other circumstances: lack of qualifications, demoralisation, family break-up, substance abuse, fatherlessness. It follows that you do not end poverty by giving money to the poor: a theory that British welfarism has amply demonstrated over 60 years. Only when you tackle poverty holistically will you facilitate meaningful improvement.
Firstly, I don't know that I believe the implied premise that anyone can lift themselves out of poverty. There are some people that, whether due to bad luck or personal faults, biologically or environmentally, will never raise and sustain their standard of living. A depressing thought, but one that I find to be true. Also, though capitalism does allow for just about anyone to bring themselves up to a high standard of living it does seem to require a certain percentage be of lower class. The ideal would be to create a situation where even lower class is comfortable, but I digress.
As someone who hopes to enter the field of economics, the idea that there is an incentive to remain poor interests me. Incentives are, I think, the entire basis of economic theories. That and math. So the first question is, which incentive is more powerful on those of lower economic standing do you think?
A: The incentive to provide some good or service in such a way that your standard of living may increase with the disincentive of having to put forth effort and possible failure.
B: The incentive that effort need not be put forth and your basic needs will be sustained by some charitable organization at the expense of the opportunity to raise one's standard of living. (Note: Some basic needs may not be covered by certain countries.)
The second question, and the one that I have no jumping off point for is What's the right start towards alleviating poverty, preferably globally, but if you'd like to just target a more localized region I understand. Also, since this is a
very broad question, I understand not wanting to even bother answering it.
I fully expect there to be a few Dwarf-related responses regarding minting of currency, availability of employment, and prohibitive pricing of shelter.
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Topic: On poverty (Read 873 times)