Here's a good look at the big picture of what needs to be done to address the underlying issues of poverty and not just politicize the issue. Not a short essay but well worth reading. I get an email with an essay from The Public Discourse every morning, and usually don't read them, but this one caught my eye.
The essay is an extended book review of From Prophecy to Charity: How to Help the Poor by NYU Professor Lawrence Mead.
The welfare reforms of the 1990s worked precisely because they addressed both material and behavioral causes of poverty. While critics argue that welfare reform consisted of budget cuts, Mead notes that after the reform more money was spent helping the poor, not less. But the money came with strings attached—recipients had to work. According to Mead, “Most experts opposed reform, believing that few poor could work, given the barriers they faced. But most welfare mothers successfully left the rolls for jobs, with most of the leavers emerging better off.” This confirmed Mead’s central insight that cultural (and political) expectations, not economic barriers, prevented employment.
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... the two dominant political philosophies of our day are forms of liberalism, but neither deserves the title nor lives up to the merit of classical liberalism. Neither the Right’s form of libertarian liberalism nor the Left’s form of social welfare liberalism (both of which show strong streaks of lifestyle liberalism) can adequately form the basis of a governing philosophy, especially when it comes to the plight of the poor.
The libertarian argues that the sole purpose of government is the protection of rights, and that the only real rights are negative rights—freedom from force, fraud, and harm, whether perpetrated by other individuals or by governments. Taxing the non-poor in order to assist the poor is robbery, a violation of property rights, and itself a form of injustice. Provided they do no harm to others, individuals should be free to live life as they please, the libertarian argues, even if this means ignoring the plight of the poor. Market forces and private charities, if left free from state interference, will sufficiently succor the needy.
The welfare state liberal champions a conception of government where every citizen solely in virtue of his humanity has rights to adequate material resources necessary for a dignified life. Whether it be John Rawls’s “primary goods” or Martha Nussbaum’s “central capacities,” the state is supposed to equip people with a fair share of what they need in life—but it isn’t to influence how they use that share, nor to place moral conditions on how they receive it. At the heart is a positive right to materials coupled with a negative right from influence.
The essay is longer then an op ed column, but not too long. It's worth hitting the link for the whole thing when you have a few minutes for serious reading.
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