Comments on: Swipes at a sacred cow

By: Nonprofiteer

Nonprofiteer — Wed, 07 May 2008 04:59:36 +0000

You’ve articulated the argument that troubles me the most: that “pure charity” means “no ownership and responsibility.” There’s really no basis for suggesting that needing charity is the same as lacking responsibility, and the capitalist rhetoric arguing that strikes me as merely a cover for claiming that both rich and poor deserve what they get. Or, to borrow an expression from cycling, “If you think there’s no wind, that means you have a tailwind.”

Loans do indeed “have the potential to be predatory,” which is why an international consensus developed in 2000 to secure forgiveness of international loans, the repayment of which was crippling developing nations’ ability to enhance the lives of their people. Lending (rather than giving) money to people who have thousands of times less access to resources than you do strikes me as pointlessly greedy. That doesn’t mean micro-lending has no role in building economies–just that it’s not to be confused with, or substituted for, equally necessary charity.

By: duckling

duckling — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 21:54:17 +0000

Sadly, I’m forced to take the middle ground. There is no answer to global poverty, at least none that I’ve heard of. Is the answer pure charity with no ownership and responsibility? Or, is the answer loans that carry the potential to be predatory?

No one knows, and therein lies the rub. But I believe that some money is better than no money.

But, I’ve been wrong before.

By: D Bentley

D Bentley — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:26:52 +0000

I’m pretty amazed that someone of your caliber would totally dismiss the benefits of microfinance and the creative efforts of these two companies. Do you really contend that the $27 million that Kiva has delivered to entrepreneurs in developing countries has done nothing to alleviate global poverty?

I looked at the Kiva and KivaB4B sites. Neither one claims that their project is “the best way to fight global poverty.” It seems that they are just trying to use their resources to make a difference a difference in the world.

While I am not presumptuous enough to declare the best way to fight global poverty, I would suggest that it begins with encouraging as many people to get involved to find a solution, not criticizing their good intentions.

By: loan » Blog Archive » Swipes at a sacred cow

loan » Blog Archive » Swipes at a sacred cow — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:33:30 +0000

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