Poverty, Inc

POVERTY, INC. | Official Trailer from POVERTY, INC. | The Movie on Vimeo.

My wife and I watched this documentary last night. I would strongly suggest you curl up by the fire and watch it. It will challenge everything you think about poverty.  It’s one of the reasons cryptocurrency interests me.  I don’t think using crypto to solve for poverty is a first-order use case but eventually, it could be since an established crypto network could give access to marketplaces where existing centrally controlled and administered marketplaces do not.  If I live in Haiti, the UN and world powers might be limiting me but that crypto place doesn’t care.

One of my favorite crypto hack stories is about the guy in Venezuela that couldn’t feed his family.  Since electricity was “free”, he mined Bitcoin, converted it into dollars and bought food for his family on Amazon Prime who delivered.

I am interested in poverty which is why I am interested in entrepreneurship.  I have seen entrepreneurship totally change the orbit of someone’s life.  The late Professor Paul Magelli who taught entrepreneurship at the Gies College of Business was famous for finding diamonds in the rough, exposing them to entrepreneurial opportunities, and changing their lives. It gave him great satisfaction and when I am able to do it, it gives me satisfaction too.

Basically, our public policy domestically and internationally is 100% backward when it comes to solving poverty.  In the US since the New Deal, it’s only been about creating powerful political coalitions that can guarantee votes.  It’s about political power.  Internationally, it can be about political power but it is really crony capitalism that greases the wheels.

That’s wrong.

Unfortunately, some businesses have bought into the whole Poverty, Inc. thesis and screwed it up even more.  Tom’s Shoes is the headliner.  When they give away free shoes, they destroy local cobbler businesses that were employing people and eeking out a living.  That company is slowly changing and trying to set up factories in places but the damage was done.

Our celebrities have done the same.  Instead of supporting things that would turn the status quo on its ear they support the establishment which derives power and economics from the existing system.  Their hearts are in the right place but their effort is misplaced.  But, if you are looking to celebrities for intellectual leadership, you might have other problems.

The time to change is now.

There has been no other time in human history when we have seen unbelievable potential using technology to improve standards of living.  Today, Seth Godin blogged about Cars, Houses, and TVs.  He writes, “When you see computers and networks show up in an industry, it’s easy to predict what will happen next.”  Yes, things get cheaper and more accessible.

Income inequality, poverty, it’s all solvable.  We just can’t do it with government programs, putting people on welfare, and trying to fix markets with subsidies, price ceilings, and price floors.  The problem is fixing it will take power from centralized governments and cronies and put it in the hands of people.

The other problem is no one can control for outcomes.  There will always be rich people in the world and there will always be poorer people in the world.  But, they don’t have to live in squalor and if they have opportunity they can climb out.

I’d like you to participate with me in an effort I am leading.  I am raising money to dedicate a hotel suite to the Unknown Soldier at the new National World War Two Museum hotel.  Any proceeds over and above dedicating that space will go to Museum STEM projects dedicated to helping grade school children across the United States learn STEM.  Teaching these kids STEM helps give them opportunity which gives them options to climb out of poverty.