The Oriental Baylander (Header)

July 18, 2012

We Can End Poverty, So Why Don't We?

Fight poverty: The Blue Mile
By: Daniel Altman on July 17, 2012, 9:30 AM published on 'big think' except image

Almost everyone agrees that poverty is not a good thing. Almost everyone would like to end poverty. Almost everyone would benefit from ending poverty. So why don't we?
To find out, let's look at the problem through the lens of game theory. In every political cycle, our leaders face a choice: how much should they do to fight poverty, a lot or a little? If they do a lot, they'll benefit almost everyone. But if they do a little, they'll have resources left over for their other priorities.