How Charity Can Make Poverty Worse
My previous post was about how charity always helps. After watching Poverty, INC. I recognized why my statement does not always stand. Initially I thought there were no bad effects of charity. Why would helping someone in need ever hurt them? The issue the movie pointed out to me way that charity can not solve poverty. Charity gives the impoverished the supplies they need at that time, but after a couple months or many years, the impoverished end up in the same place. I thought that if resources were given, more opportunities would come along with that. However, Poverty, INC. argued the exact opposite. In the film it showed how donating actually keeps an impoverished economy. Donating different goods diminishes a products value in the market. If we are donating shoes to a country in need, the shoe shops in that country are going to have to lower the prices of their goods in the hopes of making some revenue. This can eventually lead to business closures and less job opportunities. As business close and jobs disappears, the opportunities that could bring families out of poverty also diminish.
Additionally, charity from the US could be widening the gap between first world countries and third world countries. There are often incentives for foreign aid companies to donate. These incentives end up creating a "business" out of third world poverty.
How Do You Balance Charity
The movie suggests that the most beneficial way to aid countries in poverty is to create opportunities for programs that will help them grow their economy and market place. This would be a start to helping impoverished countries become more self sufficient. My major worry is that if charity slows down, the incentive and resources to work will not be enough and many people will continue to suffer. Where is the line drawn when providing charity? I do not know enough about this topic to say whether or not I think charity should be decreased. I would like to think that if this were to happen at least a 25 year plan was put into place to ensure the country does not suffer more than it was in the past. While I understand what the movie is saying, I would like to think that charity still may provide some opportunities.
Work Cited
Poverty, INC. Directed by Micheal Miller. 2014.