Opinion Talk

By Brian Curtis

March 6, 2006 08:36 AM | Link to this

Of course we can! We could wipe out poverty and hunger just in the U.S. inside a few years, with concerted effort.

Combating poverty on a global scale will be trickier and take longer, but it’s definitely a goal we should be pursuing.

By Van

March 6, 2006 10:15 AM | Link to this

The cure for poverty is jobs.

To bring in more jobs, we must bring companies in to produce the jobs.

To bring in the companies, we must make it friendly for them.

Reduce the paper work, Limit the government micromanaging, reduce the tax burden on the businesses.

Make “Right to Work” nationwide.

Make it a national push to bring back factory and manufacturing businesses.

Making more jobs, for citizens, available will ease the poverty in this country.

By Vermin8

March 6, 2006 10:23 AM | Link to this

We could eliminate poverty by changing the definition to what it was, say, 50-100 yers ago. “Poverty” is a relative term. As the standard of living for the average American rises, so does the income threshold for poverty. As long as we keep raising the bar, poverty will continue to be a statistical issue.

By J&J Ranch

March 6, 2006 12:51 PM | Link to this

Deport illegal imiigrants - Reduce poverty.

By Dan

March 6, 2006 01:03 PM | Link to this

Not likely, poverty is relative, as vermin indicates. If you measure on pure living stds ie clothes housing food medicine compared to 50 years ago, or indeed compared to the vast majority of the world today. It is virtually non-existent, and unless you have some type of disability either mental or physical it is also inexcusable in a country with as many opportunities as there are here. Oh and spare me the walk in anothers shoes nonsense been there done that

By Lee

March 6, 2006 08:47 PM | Link to this

How to combate poverty? Here goes….

1) Deport illegal aliens. They depress wages and cost law abiding, taxpaying citizens $$BILLIONS in crime, emergency health care, and education.

2) Eliminate about 95% of welfare. Once we deport all the illegal aliens, the bottom rung of society will have the opportunity to work - or starve.

3) Scrap NAFTA and all the other “Free Trade” agreements. We are bleeding jobs in this country due to the fact that companies can go overseas and pay labor rates that are a fraction of the prevailing rate in America. Use Excise taxes to level the playing field.

4) Depending on whose report you read, we Americans pay between 60-75% of our income in some form of tax. When you consider Federal Income tax, State Income tax, sales tax, gasoline tax, property tax, Social Security and Medicare tax, corporate taxes tacked onto everything we buy, “user fees”, etc, etc, etc, this 75% number sounds about right. One of the biggest problems this country faces today is runaway government spending. Every dollar that government takes from its citizens is a dollar that they can’t use to provide the basic necessities.

5) It’s time to cut back military spending except for the protection of AMERICA. Why are we still in Korea 50 years after the war ended? Why are we still in Germany 60 years after WWII ended? I say we need the military on the Mexican border more than Korea needs them. Oh, and don’t get me started on the Middle East….

6) Tort reform. Cap liability payments except in cases of gross negligence. You think McDonalds absorbed the cost of that multi-million dollar lawsuit when that idiot poured hot coffee on herself? No, they just raised prices a few cents.

That’s a good start. And as to the first poster, please explain to me why it is America’s duty to eliminate global poverty.

By Van

March 7, 2006 08:56 AM | Link to this

By Lee,

Your ideas sound like government reform - wait, now I get it, that would help take care of poverty.

Good points, might be nice to see some of them.

My exceptions.

Military spending - all military contracts must go to US firms. No outsourcing. In time of world or local war, we do not need the extra burden of our technology being manufactured by a possible non-ally.

Free trade agreements - They should mirror the trade practises of the other country.

For example. Japan tests each and every car coming into their country for emissions, we take their word for it - result trade imbalance.

A country may limit the importation of California wine, we limit the importation of theirs.

Just a thought.

By E. Lewis

March 7, 2006 09:01 AM | Link to this

Too many industries are too dependent on minimum wage and illegal labor as a way to fund golden parachutes and to artificially inflate their stock prices.

I doubt that poverty is going anywhere anytime soon.

By Dan

March 7, 2006 09:41 AM | Link to this

While one can make the argument that golden parachutes are excessive. They hardly impact poverty. Assume a fortune 50 company with 100,000 employees. The CEO gets a $10 mil buyout. That is only $100 per employees, so while you can argue all day about the morality of the buyout (my point is not to go there) the impact to the individuals is insignificant.

By rob

March 8, 2006 09:25 AM | Link to this

yes. Kill all poor. Some will always be seperated from thier wealth and some will always make bad life choice which drive them into poverty. These things cannot be changed by anyone. The US takes a substantial amount of each taxpayers check each week to assist others. This is not what this country was founded upon. It is what communism was founded upon. Charity should my choice, not something that is STOLEN from me and “given away” buy others who have no right to it in the name of “assistance” or “aid”.