An end to poverty?

[BrilloPad]

Are there more poor people now than 200 years ago? - BBC News

One billion people across the world live in extreme poverty, struggling to survive on the equivalent of about $1 a day. The United Nations aims to lift every single one of them out of this category within 15 years.

Jesus said "There will be poor always. Pathetically struggling. Look at the good things you've got". Or was that Andrew LLoyd money bags and Tim Rice?

Sounds like a great goal. And I am all in favour of everyone getting a chance and being rewarded for their efforts.

However, if you took all the money in the world and divided it equally, after 6 months there would be super rich and pathetically poor.

What can be done?

[stek]

Think I read somewhere that to end World poverty would cost $30b or something, bearing in mind USA spends $737b on defence in one year.

Whatever, surely the cost of feeding the World is much less than bombing it.

[Mincepie]

send the poor people all your money, i am keeping mine


HTH

[stek]

send the poor people all your money, i am keeping mine


HTH

Actually, that reminds me, must put the rubbish in the bins 'cos it's bin day tomorrow.....

[centurian]

Think I read somewhere that to end World poverty would cost $30b or something, bearing in mind USA spends $737b on defence in one year.

Whatever, surely the cost of feeding the World is much less than bombing it.

Sounds fishy - given our own international aid budget is more than half that amount, yet it's barely made a scratch to the problem.

And of course, poverty is defined in relative terms, which means its statistically impossible to eradicate poverty as it stands.

[PurpleGorilla]

Fair trade and ethical brands is a good way to go - but more work is needed there.

I remember seeing Keith Floyd in a North African market. Because of EU subsidies, a tin of Italian tomatoes was cheaper than the bowl of fresh tomatoes from a local producer.

So yeah, free trade, and fair trade, and an end to subsidies would make a huge difference IMHO

[vetran]

The problem is that the people that benefit from having poor people have no intention of letting them be better off.

most places where there are poor their rulers are exploiting them.

[DodgyAgent]

The problem is that the people that benefit from having poor people have no intention of letting them be better off.

most places where there are poor their rulers are exploiting them.

Labour would be lost without any victims

[AtW]

Think I read somewhere that to end World poverty would cost $30b or something, bearing in mind USA spends $737b on defence in one year.

That's about $30 per poor person in India and China.

[Zero Liability]

The problem is that the people that benefit from having poor people have no intention of letting them be better off.

most places where there are poor their rulers are exploiting them.

Yup, perhaps deal with that problem first and their lack of developed markets, and then start worrying about how many "billions" it will supposedly take to "end poverty", something that is already taking place at an accelerated pace globally. Well, aside from China's enormous credit bubble blowing up, that may yet take us back to the dark ages.