The Biggest Problem with Poverty

There have many attempts to solve the problem of world poverty in recent years. Average people have begun to care and are willing to help with the age old problem. However, the world is making little progress toward the eradication of poverty. Many of the things we are doing, out of the goodness of our hearts, just aren't helping. For various reasons, the typical response to poverty of donating vast sums of money to hurting countries doesn't help the poor near as much as other solutions and sometimes may even make the problem worse. Poverty is a huge problem in the world today. No one would disagree with this. "Half the world — nearly three billion people — live on less than two dollars a day." (Poverty Facts and Stats) Currently governments around the world are donating billions to poverty-stricken countries, but, for various reasons, it's not really helping. The world thinks that if the amount of money given was only increased, we could end poverty. "If all countries doubled their foreign aid contributions, spending 150 billion dollars every year between now and 2015, we could halve world poverty and be well on our way to its complete elimination." (Paying the Pauper) The US recently set up the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) to effectively distribute funds to the countries that need it most. Countries must be eligible and the US government works as closely as possible with the foreign government to ensure that the money is put to good use. This is a good effort, but not what is really needed.
Most people fail to see the real issue behind poverty. The problem with the world today is that certain people have been shoved in a big box labeled: Poor. Money is thrown at them to try and help them out, but it is extremely hard for them to climb out of the poverty box and be a normal person. (The World Champ) Poverty activist and thinker Muhammad Yunus compares the poor to zoo animals. He says that they are handed money and taken care of when they are sick, but they

Bibliography: "Paying the Pauper." June 1, 2007. Science & Spirit. http://www.science-spirit.org/article_detail.php?article_id=517 "Poverty Facts and Stats." June 3, 2007. Global Issues. http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Facts.asp "Talking Points Index Page." June 1, 2007. NetAid. http://www.netaid.org/global_poverty/talking-points/ "The Link Between Corruption and Poverty." June 3, 2007. The African Center for Economic growth. http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/IDEP/UNPAN005215.pdf "The World Champ of Poverty Fighters." June 1, 2001. Ode Magazine. http://www.odemagazine.com/article.php?aID=4126