What are your ideas for solutions around helping our generation's effort to end extreme poverty in the world?

[auntb93]

To me, the answer is in free trade and minimum government. Any government program takes more money and does less with it than any non-profit foundation would ever consider, let alone a profit-making corporation. If we were not wasting resources doing pork barrel projects, salaries for government employees who are counterproductive, and law enforcement for laws that are unjust and don't need enforcement, we'd have plenty of money in our own pockets. Those who have jobs and can work would not mind contributing to legitimate charitable institutions if they weren't being drained for wasteful government programs.

As to free trade, the big thing here is that people in the developed countries tend to enjoy the arts and crafts of the less developed countries, and would love to travel and buy up hand-made treasures if there weren't so many problems. Also, free trade greatly reduces militarism: you don't want to shoot your market or your supplier!

As to those who rail about wealthy people "tying up" wealth; that's nonsense. Wealthy people put their money to work, they don't let it sit in a vault doing nothing, like Scrooge McDuck. They invest in all sorts of things, and those investments are productive and hire people and make things people need. There's plenty of wealth in the world if we'd just stop wasting it on bloated bureaucracies.

As to limited resources, the obvious thing is creative recycling. Here again, poor countries can teach the more developed countries a thing or three about using resources like scrap metal, recycled plastics and glass, etc., and develop new arts and technologies that can be sold all over the world. Did you know plastic bottles can be recycled into fabrics for clothing?