|
|
The
views expressed
on this page are soley those of the author and do not
necessarily
represent the views of County News Online
|
 |
The Daily Signal
Greatest
Poverty Eliminator Is a Job, Panel Says
Marguerite Bowling
July 19, 2014
With June bringing the best jobs report since the recession began, one
economist says the time is now to eliminate abject poverty in America
and abroad.
Speaking recently at a panel at The Heritage Foundation on biblical
ways to alleviate poverty, Anne Bradley, a co-editor of “For the Least
of These: A Biblical Answer to Poverty,” acknowledged there was a lot
of work ahead–2 billion people live on $2 or less per day, she said.
The solution offered by Bradley, who also is vice president of economic
initiatives at the Institute for Faith, Work and Economics, was to
encourage Christians and others to focus on understanding how wealth is
created, and bring more poor Americans into the job force, rather than
focusing solely on providing money or aid.
Other panelists endorsed the idea.
“We need to be addressing poverty not just through foreign aid and
giving—although that’s important in emergency circumstances—but to do
it in sustainable ways,” said Art Lindsley, a book co-editor and vice
president of theological initiatives at the Institute for Faith, Work
and Economics.
The panel challenged the concept that welfare programs and other aid
best serve poorer populations. In addition to generating a mindset of
dependency, generous aid given to a community can compete directly with
legitimate businesses, putting them out of work, Lindsley noted.
Michael Craven knows all about this. He runs The Good Works Co., a
nonprofit organization with for-profit subsidiaries that employs
economically and socially disadvantaged residents in Dallas.
Craven said his organization has to compete against the lure of federal
benefits when trying to offer solutions for their workers who often
have health, addiction, incarceration and other issues.
“You have competition in the inner city, and it is the federal
government paying anywhere from $13 to $14 an hour in equivalent
benefits,” said Craven, who serves as chairman and CEO. “So coming in
and trying to offer jobs at $7 or $8 an hour offers little incentive to
break that cycle of dependence and pursue economic freedom.”
Craven said The Good Works Co. pays new employees $12 an hour.
Read this and other articles with links at The Daily Signal
|
|
|
|
