I heard Raj Shah, Director, Strategic Opportunities at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation speak this week at a public conversation in Seattle on local and global poverty. He made some interesting remarks and shared some data they use at the Gates Foundation. Gates Foundation has a vision on basic human rights … that every… Continue reading Gates Foundation on global poverty
Interesting article in recent Fortune business magazine called How Shantytowns Become Real Cities* by Robert Neuwirth highlights his experiences in living in shantytowns (basically, slums) on the outskirts of major 3rd world cities. These are people who are moving from rural to urban environments and having to setup their homes/shelters as squatters. He estimates that… Continue reading Shantytowns in transition to cities
Probably the best chapter in Jeffrey Sachs’ book, tadalafil The End of Poverty, order is Chapter 16: Myths and Magic Bullets describing the myths which perpetuate our apathy towards aid to Africa. Here’s his intro: “Everything up to this point [in the book] is fine and good, treatment except for one matter: it ignores the… Continue reading The truth about Africa
Here are some interesting historical insights from Jeffrey Sachs’ book, The End of Poverty. There was no discernible rise in living standards on a global scale from 0 A.D. through 1000 A.D. as population rose from 230m to 270m There was approx. 50% increase in per capita income between 1000 A.D. thr 1800 A.D. as… Continue reading The history of wealth
Interesting stats from the NY Times: $46 billion – Amount spent per year globally on bottled water $1.7 billion – Amount needed per year beyond current spending to provide clean drinking water to everyone on earth More than one billion – Number of people worldwide who lack reliable access to safe drinking water 80 –… Continue reading Water Statistics
While somewhat self-serving and tooting his own horn, Benioff, CEO of salesforce.com writes about what he calls The End of Philanthropy. He provides a framework for corporate giving which is more integrated with corporate life than something that is treated like an add-on designed for PR purposes. Here’s more about salesforce.com’s foundation approach. I think… Continue reading Corporate giving
Unfortunately, wherever there are powerless people, there are those who are ready and eager to exploit them financially in their time of need. This has grown to become a huge industry in America with the “payday loan” industry as the most visible, legal model. The most infamous illegal model is loan sharking. Unfortunately in most… Continue reading Exploiting the powerless
The South African ownership transfer problem . I read an article recently about South Africa – I can’t remember the source right now, but I think it was The Economist. Something like 70% of the country’s wealth is currently in the hands of whites and their share continues to decrease. The fastest growing new wealth… Continue reading South African wealth redistribution
Defeat Poverty 