There Is Only One Way Out of Poverty | 5 Minute Video

What's the best way to help people stuck in poverty get out of poverty? Arthur Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute, shows where conservatives and progressives differ.

Download Pragerpedia on your iPhone or Android! Thousands of sources and facts at your fingertips.

FOLLOW us!
PragerU is on Snapchat!

JOIN PragerFORCE!

Script:

What’s the best way to help poor people escape poverty?

Progressives and conservatives have very different answers to this question, but before we explore those answers, let’s agree on this:

Both progressives and conservatives believe that the government has a moral obligation to help those who, through bad luck or unfortunate circumstances, can’t help themselves.

Here’s what a conservative icon, Nobel Prize-winning economist, Frederic Hayek, said on the subject:

“There is no reason why, in a society that has reached the general level of wealth ours has attained, the first kind of security should not be guaranteed to all…some minimum of food, shelter, and clothing sufficient to preserve health and the capacity to work.”

Whatever the media might tell you, there isn’t a conservative out there who would not agree with Hayek’s statement.

As I have documented in my book, Who Really Cares, when it comes to philanthropy and charitable giving, conservatives actually out-give progressives -- by a lot.

Where the two sides disagree is on the role the government plays – not in protecting the poor from poverty, but in lifting them out of it.

Here’s a disturbing piece of data: On balance, since President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty programs came fully online in 1966, the poverty rate in America has hardly budged.

That rate, as computed by the United States government, was 14.7 percent in 1966.

And today?

It’s 13.5 percent.

The rate has fluctuated a few points up and down over the decades. The net result is just one percentage point of progress. And this is after the government has spent over 20 trillion dollars on poverty relief programs.

20 trillion dollars – the current size of the US debt -- and the needle has barely moved.

Now, it’s true that the official poverty rate doesn’t measure consumption. Certainly, poor people today have many more things than poor people did in 1970.

Across all income levels, including the poor, Americans are likely to have cell phones, air conditioners, flat screen TVs, computers and a car. And life expectancy has lengthened considerably thanks to overall improvements in health care.

But it demeans poor people to say that this material progress makes poverty less of a problem. Our goal should never be to merely make poverty less miserable for people. Our goal must be to make poverty more escapable.

Many progressives offer a straightforward solution: more funding for poverty programs. They believe that we need to transfer more wealth – through government taxation -- from people who have money to people who don’t. This is the income inequality argument.

[modernlion]

"give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish he'll eat for life."

[TheTifier]

I agree. Giving people the power and opportunity to make a better life for themselves is the key to escaping poverty. Simply throwing your money at something doesn't solve anything.

[centariprime]

I have no problem helping someone to their feet, but if they lay back down again, that's on them. No more assistance.

[vincentscott]

That's why we need a jobs bill, infrastructure investments and job opportunities and training through non governmental and charitable organizations as well as community colleges!!

[darkblood]

I’m deeply suspicious of any political party that advertises itself as a party for the poor for the simple fact that such a party would have a direct interest in keeping people poor, and thus dependent on them as to maintain a voter base.

[genericasian]

Literally the shortest way to sum this video up.

"Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime."

[LURFAX]

Having your own income from working even has positive effects on mental health. I'm not saying welfare should be abolished. I'm only saying that welfare should only be used for emergencies as a temporary solution to help people manage, and then helping them get jobs. I also think more people should learn trades instead of going to college, seeing as so many college students major in subjects that will never help them get jobs. That is only my humble opinion. In short I believe working benefits both the individual as well as society as a whole.

[AWESOME-fjos]

In my opinion, the best way to get people out of poverty is Universal Basic Income. It would be a government program where every month every citizen would receive a certain amount of money, maybe $2000. There would be no strings attached. Then people in poverty could use the money to better their situation and get hopefully get out of the cycle of poverty. This would also help boost the economy because people would have more disposable money. Ofc, this money wouldn’t just be printed into existence (because then there would be inflation :/). UBI would replace all other welfare, and use that money. It would also take over some of the army’s budget because we are not at war rn. Please let me know what you think, I would love to see your thoughts on this!

[matt]

I have mixed feelings about this. I come from a very poor upbringing. Parents on welfare, going to foodlockers when our food stamps ran out and sometimes eating nothing but bread for days until the first rolled around only to be broke a week later after rent and bills. That all changed once I got my first real job. After that I promised myself that I would never go back to not having enough money for even toothpaste. That is the only way to succeed is to work your ass off like I did but it's easier said then done unfortunately. We do need more social programs accessible to everyone no matter where you live, not to take care of you but to help you take care of yourself. Job training and job placement for starters. An 18 your old kid with no skills or experienced and only a high school will more often than not fall into their parents cycle of poverty if that chain isn't broken or at least loosened. There needs to be a bigger discussion on this other than just tax rich people. Just my .02.

[MWaheduzzamanKhan]

I'm a liberal and I agree with every word. I'm from Bangladesh, a really poor country, continually hit by natural calamities and it's really hard to eradicate poverty in this densely populated country. Yet Bangladesh has succeeded to reduce rate of 'extreme poverty' from 44.2% in 1991 to only 12.9% in 2016.
The most successful program that Bangladesh Government in cooperation with International Community took was "Food in exchange of work". In this program, the extreme poor people, especially women were offered food for their family in exchange of working in government infrastructure development program. This program helped government to develop crucial infrastructures like roads, dams to save crop from sudden flood etc, as well as grew habit among rural poors, specially women to participate in economic activities. Now a days, despite being a Muslim majority traditional country, Bangladeshi countryside are filled with many female entrepreneurs who are not only self sufficient but also creating jobs for others.

[TC-eoeb]

My aunt was poor and had 9 kids. She received welfare her entire adult life. The majority of her children (my cousins) ended up on welfare and now multiple grandchildren are on welfare. Welfare has become a way of life for that family. They just assume welfare is their primary income.

[uhh...casper]

"Teach a man to fish, but the fish he catches aren't his. They belong to the person paying him to fish, and if he's lucky, he might get paid enough to buy a few fish for himself." -Karl Marx

[Dustman]

That was the one of the most respectfully made videos I've seen on this channel in a while. I think he actually wants people in poor conditions to have a better quality of life.

[andreworam]

Some are asking, "What if no one will hire you?" That's exactly the point of this video. We should be working to create opportunity. Giving more money to people because they can't get hired doesn't fix the problem.

[gardenguyvic]

This is one of the problems in the US today. Grandparents. Everyone wants to write them off and ignore the fact that they help.
They watch your kids when you're at work.. basically for free. They also teach them important life lessons.

[jeromecopeland]

Most people who are poor work!!! So that means cost of living is too high and jobs are not paying people enough to survive.

[supershane]

Both so very important. Managing to get the balance right is the true challenge...

[stevecraft]

So basically,

Liberals: "Let's keep giving them temporary money!"

Conservatives: "Let's give them sustainable jobs!"

[jettekrog-jensen]

Higher wages, lower working hours, unemployment insurance, strong worker association and health insurance paid for by the tax. $ 300 in tax shelter

[zealotguy]

If the general aversion to "free handouts" some have is anything to go by, this is all true. Those in poverty are more than willing to work but can't because it's hard to get and keep a job if you can't transport yourself, buy work clothes and keep them clean, have a place to sleep safely and comfortably to be well rested for the work day.