Saturday, January 25, 2014

Bill Gates on three myths about poverty that affluent Westerners promote

When you are one of the wealthiest couples in the world, what do you put in your annual Christmas letter?

In their annual letter Bill and Melinda Gates rebut three myths that keep people poor:

  1. Poor countries are doomed to stay poor
  2. Foreign aid is a big waste
  3. Saving lives leads to overpopulation
It is worth reading in full. The best line concerns 2.
There is a double standard at work here. I’ve heard people calling on the government to shut down some aid program if one dollar of corruption is found. On the other hand, four of the past seven governors of Illinois have gone to prison for corruption, and to my knowledge no one has demanded that Illinois schools be shut down or its highways closed.

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