This is so shocking that I think most of us (me certainly) tend to gloss over it, kind of vaguely assuming that they’re probably doing fine, because it hurts too much to actually think about what it would be like.
Using the latest numbers (2022), there are 719 million people living under the latest world poverty line, which is now $2.15.
GiveDirectly finds that giving a poor family about $500[1] makes a dramatic difference for them. If we assume that 719 million is about 200 million households, it would only take half of the fortune of one of our tech billionaires (Bezos, Zuckerberg, Musk) to provide $500 to every family living below the poverty line.
It’s just utterly insane that we don’t do this. I’m not saying this is necessarily the most effective way to help them (I know other initiatives are more impactful, at least among certain target audiences), but surely something this basic, which is so obviously impactful and costs so little (less than 5% of what we spend on weapons every year—and yes, I know it’s a simplistic comparison and we can’t let Putin rule the world either … ).
I don’t even have a suggestion. I’m just imagining an alien being coming to our planet and seeing such poverty and how little is being done to help, and our “leaders” trying to explain why they would rather buy the latest multibillion dollar weapons than help people in dire poverty with just a tiny fraction of that money.
Just picking a round number that has frequently been tested and seems to consistently prove impactful. Definitely if someone from GiveDirectly tells you differently, they are right and I am wrong …
This is so shocking that I think most of us (me certainly) tend to gloss over it, kind of vaguely assuming that they’re probably doing fine, because it hurts too much to actually think about what it would be like.
Using the latest numbers (2022), there are 719 million people living under the latest world poverty line, which is now $2.15.
GiveDirectly finds that giving a poor family about $500[1] makes a dramatic difference for them. If we assume that 719 million is about 200 million households, it would only take half of the fortune of one of our tech billionaires (Bezos, Zuckerberg, Musk) to provide $500 to every family living below the poverty line.
It’s just utterly insane that we don’t do this. I’m not saying this is necessarily the most effective way to help them (I know other initiatives are more impactful, at least among certain target audiences), but surely something this basic, which is so obviously impactful and costs so little (less than 5% of what we spend on weapons every year—and yes, I know it’s a simplistic comparison and we can’t let Putin rule the world either … ).
I don’t even have a suggestion. I’m just imagining an alien being coming to our planet and seeing such poverty and how little is being done to help, and our “leaders” trying to explain why they would rather buy the latest multibillion dollar weapons than help people in dire poverty with just a tiny fraction of that money.
Just picking a round number that has frequently been tested and seems to consistently prove impactful. Definitely if someone from GiveDirectly tells you differently, they are right and I am wrong …