G-20 and World Poverty
Barack Obama is in London for the G-20 meetings, accompanied by flurries of news and commentary. (And more than 500 people, according to an NPR report, even his own chef. And a mountain of stuff, including decoy helicopters.)
London streets have been filled with protesters, many of them focusing, not surprisingly, on economic issues in England and around the world. Too bad the protesters are not calling for guaranteed income.
It’s not enough to protest and say No!. Real change requires some Yes!, some viable alternative. Basic income ought to be the demand of protestors around the world.
Here are two paragraphs from Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times:
The 500 richest people in the world, according to a U.N. calculation a few years ago, earned more than the 416 million poorest people. It’s worth bearing in mind that the first group bears a measure of responsibility for the global economic mess but will get by just fine, while the latter group has no responsibility and will suffer the worst consequences.
If the G-20 leaders want to address these needs, there are many ways they can do so with negligible sums. Mr. Zoellick at the World Bank is pushing a trade support program to help developing countries sustain their trade. Muhammad Yunus, the microfinance pioneer who won the Nobel Peace Prize, urges the G-20 leaders to create a fund to invest in organizations that offer small loans or otherwise bolster commerce in poor countries.
(The complete piece is here.)
A much better approach would be some type of basic income. Better for the people in extremely poor countries, and much more cost-effective for whoever provides the funds. Trade and micro-loans only help small numbers of people, and can never reach the most needy.
Wealthier countries at the G-20 might commit to an experiment in, say, Haiti, which has horrendous poverty that Kristof describes in his piece. Give every adult some basic amount, even if it’s just $5-10 a month. Yes, that would require police, banking, and other civic infrastructure, but those institutions are necessary for any real progress. The international community would have to help the Haitian government establish that.
This is a big topic, obviously. But it’s something we ought to be thinking about actively. I’ll be writing more from time to time, and I hope others will join me in promoting this idea.
Steven Shafarman
Tags: Barack Obama, micro-lending, Nicholas Kristof, other countries