Giving the mouse a cookie-maker

A wise Chinese proverb states: “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.” In presenting the poorest members of society with the product, their need for the necessity is fulfilled. In presenting the poorest members of society with the means to achieving that product, those individuals will have a way to bring themselves out of poverty and into a better existence as a contributing member of society.

 

Non-profit NGOs such as Bread For the City are both useful and necessary, but they alone will not lift those less fortunate out of poverty. What is needed, then, is a system in which the opportunities presented to the youth of the wealthy are the same as the opportunities presented to the youth of the impoverished. It is not enough to simply donate basic necessities; we must focus on improving our economic system so that those from the lowest levels of society are given a means of escaping their environment.

 

It is much more important for the federal government to focus on both structural and political aspects of this matter. Aside from the fact that the government is the only institution with the capacity to induce a reformatting of the bureaucracy, the government already has the means of greatly reducing poverty on a global level. Catherine mentioned Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs in class yesterday. Sachs, in addition to founding the Earth Institute at Columbia University, is the director of the UN Millennium Project, which has publicized its goal to decrease global poverty by 50% by 2015.

 

I remember Adam had an excellent point in class. His assertion that infrastructure is essential to wealth production is a point that Sachs makes in dealing with poverty. Sachs wrote about boosting agriculture, and improving basic health, but he also championed investment in education and the provision of electricity, clean water, and sanitation to severely impoverished areas.

 

Such initiatives must be compelled by shifts in US foreign and domestic policy. By relying on non-profit NGOs during the transition phase, new policies can be instituted to make poverty reduction initiatives more accessible. From there, non-profits will see the number of clients drop, as there will be federally sponsored programs that will enable individuals to find the means of success. By addressing the broader structural issues, the emphasis on eliminating poverty on a micro level would be transferred to the federal government. As stated the Treasurer of Bread For the City: “I would love to work myself out of a job.”