Today's Object of Praise and Admiration is Nicholas Kristof, of the New York Times. I had to pound two shots of vodka just so that I could physically type that.
Kristof uses this week's column to take a look at poverty in central Africa. Far from advocating throwing money at the problem, Kristof actually had the guts to take a look at the spending habits of the impoverished. Heavy drinking and expensive cell phones out-prioritize mosquito nets, school tuition, and rent. This is, of course, a tragedy of the first order, and emblematic of a culture that has lost faith in itself.
Sadly, Kristof falls short of expanding the lessons of this article: subsidies promote inefficient behavior the world over. Clearly the self-perpetuation of poverty in the Congo is not unique to Central Africa. Poverty is more often the result of poor spending choices than insufficient income (for those who work). We see poor spending decisions every day in the United States by subsidized citizens. Not only are the Welfare and Food Stamp systems rife with fraud and inefficient spending, but they routinely give cover for the poor to make poor financial choices and sidestep the consequences.
I wonder, will Kristof be so stridently critical of poor fiscal responsibility when he gets back to the States?
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