These discussions always end up the same way. We don't know a solution to the problem of poverty, so people advocate just using the government to force a solution to the problem.
This won't work. Now don't get me wrong : that doesn't mean you can't make it work through investment for a while, potentially even a long while. But you can't make it work over long periods of time.
The only way to solve poverty is to find something for huge numbers of unskilled labour to do that's economically positive (ie. makes a profit for whoever is the boss). That can last. And yes, we'll have to do it again, and again, and again.
Now should we use the government to bridge people over between jobs ? To help them out in periods where their economic utility is low ? In my opinion absolutely. But we should NOT make the mistake to assume that this can be anything but a very temporary measure.
This won't work. Now don't get me wrong : that doesn't mean you can't make it work through investment for a while, potentially even a long while. But you can't make it work over long periods of time.
The only way to solve poverty is to find something for huge numbers of unskilled labour to do that's economically positive (ie. makes a profit for whoever is the boss). That can last. And yes, we'll have to do it again, and again, and again.
Now should we use the government to bridge people over between jobs ? To help them out in periods where their economic utility is low ? In my opinion absolutely. But we should NOT make the mistake to assume that this can be anything but a very temporary measure.