Poverty Inc Thesis

Provocative doc from Acton Institute fellow examines why those in need aren't always thankful for giving — and what can be done to better improve their situation.
As if poverty weren’t a challenging enough phenomenon unto itself, time has revealed that good intentions by outsiders can in many cases make the problem worse — a cruel irony that serves as the basis of Michael Matheson Miller’s “Poverty Inc.,” an easy-to-understand docu-essay with a tough-to-accept message, especially as it implies that some aid organizations may actually be cashing in on their concern. The idea isn’t to discourage giving, but rather to illustrate how the current paradigm doesn’t work, providing clear examples and practical solutions that serve as a useful conversation-starter
When they discovered that local orphanages were actually encouraging poor mothers to give up their children, rather than providing homes for those without parents, they hatched an entirely different plan. Their answer was to open Papillon Enterprise, a jewelry company through which local Haitians can earn enough to buy houses and feed their children. “Poverty Inc.” is full of such examples, hop-scotching around the globe to provide a diverse and instructive collection of real-world case studies from throughout Africa and the
In that spirit, “Poverty Inc.” spotlights self-starters who’ve arisen in otherwise impoverished countries, including such African entrepreneurs as Herman Chinery-Hesse and Magatte Wade, who don’t mince words when critiquing anti-poverty crusaders like Bono and Toms Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie who focus on hand-outs, rather than giving the poor a leg