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The Forum > Article Comments > The challenges of eradicating poverty > Comments

The challenges of eradicating poverty : Comments

By Dionisio Da Cruz Pereira, published 14/5/2015

Combating corruption is often a challenge because corruption itself is usually endemic in high levels of state institutions.

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Poverty is a huge moral problem.

We have enough global wealth to feed, house and clothe everyone. Despite all our talk of civilising Judeo-Christian values, which call on us to help one another especially the poor, the richest 84 people have the same wealth as the bottom 3.5 billion people on the globe.

Authors like Susan George "A Fate Worse than Debt" and John Perkins "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" spell out the role of western governments, bankers and corporations (corporatocracy) in saddling developing nations with debt.

They describe building infrastructure that is not designed to be used by local people, but is designed to help multinationals to extract local resources more easily - such as nuclear power plants, hydro-electric plants, roads, ports.

More-over these countries then use Western corporations to build these projects, rather than local companies. Once saddled with these white elephant projects, the country defaults as the projects never create as much wealth as projected, and the IMF comes in and demands austerity for social spending such as health and education, while privatising utilities such as water. Funnily enough, military spending is often excluded from austerity cuts.

What is even worse is that if we can't corrupt local government we then put military pressure on them to do our bidding, many leaders have paid the ultimate price for being uncorruptable, like:
Mossedegh in Iran, CIA coup deposed him in 1953
Allende in Chile, killed in CIA backed coup, 1973
Omar Torrijos in Panama, CIA killed him in plane crash, 1981
Jaime Roldos in Equador, died in mysterious plane (?CIA) crash, 1981
The list goes on, and on, so I won't bore you.

What all these men had in common was that they stood up to western corporations and defended their national sovereignty, and they all paid the price.

When those in the corporatocracy have so much to gain from extracting wealth from the rest of us, the only real way we can hope to solve the poverty problem is to find a way to civilise them into behaving like good corporate citizens.
Posted by BJelly, Thursday, 14 May 2015 10:20:21 AM
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From the article: "Poverty is not merely a policy issue, but a multifarious discourse that requires a holistic approach to addressing."

A holistic approach requires consideration of all factors. Correlation does not mean causation. The correlation may be caused by another factor. In general poverty correlates with religiosity. The article did not mention religion. The US is cited as an example which does not apply. However, in the US the poorest states are generally the most religious.

Is religiosity the expression of people in a bad way hoping for something better or is it a cause of being in a bad way? I suspect it is both.

Religion may encourage resignation to a bad situation which is a barrier to change. Religion can also act against the acceptance of science and technology that might help the situation.

The Ebola epidemic has apparently ended in Liberia. During the epidemic sufferers were brought into churches for others to lay their hands on the sufferers. That was effective in spreading the disease. Now that the epidemic is over people are not returning to the churches. They are apparently aware of the harm religion can do in getting people to ignore the medical advice which to isolate sufferers.
Posted by david f, Thursday, 14 May 2015 11:12:34 AM
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Yes mate it's a massive challenge! We've often talked about a Tobin tax; which would nonetheless raise billions!

But where would that lead and who would manage the fund?

Some of the corruption is endemic, and only able to be avoid by the NGO bypassing some of the government or Government instrumentality.

Which all to often turns our largess into guns and bullets, to perpetrate local conflict or control?

I'm very much in favor of micro loans and putting local womenfolk in charge of the resources purchased by this money and indeed repaying it.

And given said loan for any worthwhile purpose, say for a buffalo and a plow is fully repaid, another loan could then be managed to allow the purchase of something else (a few bicycles/a motorized rotary hoe that doubles as the motive power that pulls a trailer, that transports harvest to market/foot operated sewing machines/solar panels/solar powered pump/drill a new well) that improves the lot of the family, or village enterprise!

Or just provide light for a night school, the only time some of these folks can lay down their tools and take a little time to study!

And with each small improvement, improve the lot of everyone, the way Kenya's reafforestation and replacement of expensive imported oil did, with an endlessly sustainable resource; to improve their ability to produce coffee and its export!

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and you feed him for life!

Effectively end or bypass the corruption and you end the poverty that causes! And that takes enormous enduring courage and completely committed indigenous on the ground enablers/NGO!

And the best ones are usually the women who have successfully used and repaid their own micro loans to improve their lot/independence and those of the family/friends or village!

Meaning a relatively modest fund can be used again and again, and as hand ups, rather than handouts that then results in total dependence on endless soul destroying charity!
Rhrosty.
Posted by Rhrosty, Thursday, 14 May 2015 11:37:51 AM
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Yes BJelly, apparently the CIA rather than irrational (hate masquerading as) religion are responsible for all the ills of the entire world, not local dictators or Rwandan/Cambodian style genocide/Jihad!

And while you assert that what you claim is true, you offer not so much as a single shred of actual evidence!

Which turns most of what you allege into pure blame deflecting propaganda/Male bovine manure, but only for the moribund minds/cannon fodder, that stupidly swallow it!?

You'll have a nice day now, y'hear.
Rhrosty.
Posted by Rhrosty, Thursday, 14 May 2015 11:53:43 AM
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Hi Rhosty, here is some evidence for you of CIA involvement in coups

from the NSA archive, admission of CIA involvement in Iran coup that toppled Mossedegh: http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB435/#_ftn1

CIA own documents about their involvement in Allende coup in Chile and operation Condor
http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB435/#_ftn1

The Church Commmittee's report into CIA involvement in Chile
http://fas.org/irp/ops/policy/church-chile.htm

There is quite a bit of reading there, but I can find more if you like about other coups. I would also recommend John Perkins book "Confessions of an Economic Hitman"
Here is a link to an interview of his
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWuAct1BxHU

I'm not saying the corporatocracy is the only cause of death and destruction, and evil in the world but it is one part of it. It would be ridiculous to say they are the only ones causing trouble, but they are our bad guys, if we have a real democracy and sovereignty, we should be able to curb their excesses.
Posted by BJelly, Thursday, 14 May 2015 12:24:14 PM
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Sorry, here is the link to CIA's own admission of involvement in Chile coup (although denying direct involvement with Allende's death)
Sorry, I put up incorrect link before.

There are also admissions about Operation Condor
https://www.cia.gov/library/reports/general-reports-1/chile/
Posted by BJelly, Thursday, 14 May 2015 12:55:23 PM
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