An Idiot’s Guide to Ending Global Poverty
How a concerted effort can make poverty a thing of the past.
I’m often critical of our government’s penchant for dishonesty and exaggeration, but I must say that after hearing some recent news, I’m profusely thankful for what honesty we do receive. For several weeks now, a famine in the African country of Niger and surrounding areas has been international news. Poor rains and locust invasions have brought disaster to the nation, and as their supplies dwindle, many Africans are paying the price through acute malnourishment. Men, women, and especially children are dying each day to the ravages of starvation. In fact, it’s estimated that over 32,000 children could die in the next three weeks alone.
But while international attention focuses on the beleaguer nation, Niger’s government seems to have a problem admitting reality. President Mamadou Tanja said Tuesday that his country is “well-fed” and that reports of famine and malnourishment are inherently false. Yet the world has seen the rising death toll and pictures of Niger’s walking skeletons, and there is little doubt what is truly happening inside. What’s one to do when people are starving but leaders refuse to admit there’s a serious problem? It’s a complicated situation, to be sure.
Yet I am not writing to advocate regime change or social upheaval in Niger. Instead, I write to say that despite the blatant malfeasance of Niger’s government, the real crime lies in the fact that such a situation could materialize to being with. The horror of Niger’s present day is one felt in thousands of places across the globe, and in some cases the situation is much more dire.
Nearly every American is aware of global poverty. More importantly, most Americans know full well its consequences, ramifications, and true extent across the planet. Indeed, we have all seen the grotesque pictures of skeletal children and dying villages. We have all been lectured how fortunate we are to have the lives we do, when fate could have just as easily placed us in a much crueler situation.
Yet something most Americans are not aware of is that with our present resources and capabilities, we can truly end global poverty forever. For the first time in human history, this task that has always seemed so utterly impossible is now fully within our capability to accomplish. But while the resources and means to accomplish the task may be present, the will see it through must also become a reality. With resources and wealth distributed as is in today’s geopolitical climate, there are three steps that our world’s wealthier nations can take to help eradicate global poverty.
1. Cancel foreign debt
The United States spends over 500 billion dollars a year to fund and operate a complex social welfare system. Money is stretched in the area anyways, but imagine if the United States owed upwards of 100 billion dollars to foreign nations. Could we really pay such a debt while still maintaining a viable system to keep our own citizens out of poverty? Moreover, could we even pay the interest on such a heavy burden? It could be a devastating problem for our country, and now imagine what havoc it can wreak on the economies of those nations who don’t happen to be the richest in the world. Countries such as Brazil, which borrowed heavily to modernize and reform, are now falling into economic hardship because of the massive interest their debts have accumulated.
The simple solution here? Allow our world’s poorer nations to consider all foreign debts null and void. Countries like the United States don’t even set their annual budgets based upon money owed, and thus our collection of foreign debt has very little real baring on the policies and programs we pursue. Such a gesture would show genuine commitment on our part to end poverty, and it would give many nation’s the fresh start they need to provide for their people.
2. Repeal unfair trade laws
We recognize monopolies as something to avoided in our own country, so why should there be any difference on the global stage? The world’s ten richest nations control over 95% of global trade, and this control is exercised at the expense of poorer trading partners. International trade agreements, such as NAFTA, have effectively stripped parts of the world of their trading autonomy. Instead of setting their own prices and tariffs, poorer nations have been forced to sacrifice much needed revenue in order to cheapen trade costs for their more wealthy partners. In addition, these trade agreements have largely been devoid of reliable labor standards. Thus, corporations in foreign countries have been free to exploit workers through low wages and deny them basic working rights. Such conditions are not conducive to ending poverty, and it’s time we reexamined the way that business is done around the globe.
3. Increase foreign aid
The most obvious of the three components is ironically the one that wealthy nations need the most work at. The Borgen Project estimates that for only 19 billion dollars, starvation and malnutrition could be reliably eliminated world wide. It’s certainly a large sum of money, but it’s hardly the incalculable figure that many people assume it to be. In fact, here’s something to put it in perspective. Nineteen billion dollars is less than 2.5% of our nation’s annual military budget. Even if we were to only spend a billion dollars on Africa, we could conceivable clothe and educate nearly every child on that continent. Yet recalcitrance has been the trend among our world’s wealthier nations, and the United States herself currently gives a paltry 450 million dollars per year in humanitarian foreign aid. Wealthy nations already know that it’s within their budget to do more. It’s simply time for them to step up and do it.
The plan here is benignly simple, and indeed, it does betray some of the complexity involved with the issue. It’s always hard to pin down figures on exactly how much it would cost to “eliminate hunger,” but the fact still remains that by following these three steps, massive progress could be made towards a more nourished and equitable globe. There never needs to be any kind of massive wealth redistribution, but instead simple and active policy relating to the above criteria.
In our deeply polarized nation, this is the kind of issue that can bring us together and feature bipartisan support. For Democrats, it’s a chance to act on their claim that they are the party of the downtrodden and underprivileged. For Republicans, it’s a chance to live up to the “moral values” that got them elected in 2004. No issue is more central in the gospels than caring for the poor, and it’s time that we urged our government to take action on the matter. There are always complexities and logistical problems to be resolved, but one thing is clear. At last, our international community has the power to end global poverty and usher in a new age of prosperity. Thus, it’s time to use our full resources and follow through on our values in order to help those less fortunate than us.
I’m often critical of our government’s penchant for dishonesty and exaggeration, but I must say that after hearing some recent news, I’m profusely thankful for what honesty we do receive. For several weeks now, a famine in the African country of Niger and surrounding areas has been international news. Poor rains and locust invasions have brought disaster to the nation, and as their supplies dwindle, many Africans are paying the price through acute malnourishment. Men, women, and especially children are dying each day to the ravages of starvation. In fact, it’s estimated that over 32,000 children could die in the next three weeks alone.
But while international attention focuses on the beleaguer nation, Niger’s government seems to have a problem admitting reality. President Mamadou Tanja said Tuesday that his country is “well-fed” and that reports of famine and malnourishment are inherently false. Yet the world has seen the rising death toll and pictures of Niger’s walking skeletons, and there is little doubt what is truly happening inside. What’s one to do when people are starving but leaders refuse to admit there’s a serious problem? It’s a complicated situation, to be sure.
Yet I am not writing to advocate regime change or social upheaval in Niger. Instead, I write to say that despite the blatant malfeasance of Niger’s government, the real crime lies in the fact that such a situation could materialize to being with. The horror of Niger’s present day is one felt in thousands of places across the globe, and in some cases the situation is much more dire.
Nearly every American is aware of global poverty. More importantly, most Americans know full well its consequences, ramifications, and true extent across the planet. Indeed, we have all seen the grotesque pictures of skeletal children and dying villages. We have all been lectured how fortunate we are to have the lives we do, when fate could have just as easily placed us in a much crueler situation.
Yet something most Americans are not aware of is that with our present resources and capabilities, we can truly end global poverty forever. For the first time in human history, this task that has always seemed so utterly impossible is now fully within our capability to accomplish. But while the resources and means to accomplish the task may be present, the will see it through must also become a reality. With resources and wealth distributed as is in today’s geopolitical climate, there are three steps that our world’s wealthier nations can take to help eradicate global poverty.
1. Cancel foreign debt
The United States spends over 500 billion dollars a year to fund and operate a complex social welfare system. Money is stretched in the area anyways, but imagine if the United States owed upwards of 100 billion dollars to foreign nations. Could we really pay such a debt while still maintaining a viable system to keep our own citizens out of poverty? Moreover, could we even pay the interest on such a heavy burden? It could be a devastating problem for our country, and now imagine what havoc it can wreak on the economies of those nations who don’t happen to be the richest in the world. Countries such as Brazil, which borrowed heavily to modernize and reform, are now falling into economic hardship because of the massive interest their debts have accumulated.
The simple solution here? Allow our world’s poorer nations to consider all foreign debts null and void. Countries like the United States don’t even set their annual budgets based upon money owed, and thus our collection of foreign debt has very little real baring on the policies and programs we pursue. Such a gesture would show genuine commitment on our part to end poverty, and it would give many nation’s the fresh start they need to provide for their people.
2. Repeal unfair trade laws
We recognize monopolies as something to avoided in our own country, so why should there be any difference on the global stage? The world’s ten richest nations control over 95% of global trade, and this control is exercised at the expense of poorer trading partners. International trade agreements, such as NAFTA, have effectively stripped parts of the world of their trading autonomy. Instead of setting their own prices and tariffs, poorer nations have been forced to sacrifice much needed revenue in order to cheapen trade costs for their more wealthy partners. In addition, these trade agreements have largely been devoid of reliable labor standards. Thus, corporations in foreign countries have been free to exploit workers through low wages and deny them basic working rights. Such conditions are not conducive to ending poverty, and it’s time we reexamined the way that business is done around the globe.
3. Increase foreign aid
The most obvious of the three components is ironically the one that wealthy nations need the most work at. The Borgen Project estimates that for only 19 billion dollars, starvation and malnutrition could be reliably eliminated world wide. It’s certainly a large sum of money, but it’s hardly the incalculable figure that many people assume it to be. In fact, here’s something to put it in perspective. Nineteen billion dollars is less than 2.5% of our nation’s annual military budget. Even if we were to only spend a billion dollars on Africa, we could conceivable clothe and educate nearly every child on that continent. Yet recalcitrance has been the trend among our world’s wealthier nations, and the United States herself currently gives a paltry 450 million dollars per year in humanitarian foreign aid. Wealthy nations already know that it’s within their budget to do more. It’s simply time for them to step up and do it.
The plan here is benignly simple, and indeed, it does betray some of the complexity involved with the issue. It’s always hard to pin down figures on exactly how much it would cost to “eliminate hunger,” but the fact still remains that by following these three steps, massive progress could be made towards a more nourished and equitable globe. There never needs to be any kind of massive wealth redistribution, but instead simple and active policy relating to the above criteria.
In our deeply polarized nation, this is the kind of issue that can bring us together and feature bipartisan support. For Democrats, it’s a chance to act on their claim that they are the party of the downtrodden and underprivileged. For Republicans, it’s a chance to live up to the “moral values” that got them elected in 2004. No issue is more central in the gospels than caring for the poor, and it’s time that we urged our government to take action on the matter. There are always complexities and logistical problems to be resolved, but one thing is clear. At last, our international community has the power to end global poverty and usher in a new age of prosperity. Thus, it’s time to use our full resources and follow through on our values in order to help those less fortunate than us.