I just finished a book, “The Inclusive Economy; How to Bring Wealth to America’s Poor” by Michael Tanner. I recommend it as a tonic for the hyper-sensitive and accusatory political battle we seem to be in today. It has DATA! Data that compares various methods employed over the last 50 years in the noble attempt to reduce poverty in our great country.
Notice I said reduce. Poverty will be with us for the foreseeable future. It can be reduced but the author identifies five major pillars that must be addressed in order to do so.
He talks about the history of poverty reduction in the 20th century and the great progress made in the first half, but also about the stagnation in the second half through today. He talks about specific programs, their positives and negatives. Those first few chapters are instructive, at least they were to me.
He then talks about how both sides of the political spectrum need to re-evaluate historical perspectives in order to get us off this plateau and achieve further reduction of those in poverty.
He then lists the five pillars:
- Reform the criminal justice system, end the war on drugs.
- Reform education system and stop the slide of the U.S. in education outcomes.
- Bring down the cost of housing.
- Make it easier for the poor to bank, save, borrow and invest–and start businesses.
- Increase economic growth and make it more inclusive.
We, both conservative and progressive, must admit the policies of the past 50 years have failed. We must cooperate if our citizens see a path to a better economic future. Personal freedom is a key to this goal.
I welcome your comments. We can create a society with a minimum of people in poverty if we agree to look at what works, love those who may disagree with us and not judge those in poverty.