Sunday, January 8, 2017

TOW #14 - To Help the World's Poor, Give Them Real Jobs


In a country with arguably the richest humans, Charles Kenny makes the argument that this make poverty in turn, inevitable. The U.S. unemployment rate is 7.6 percent, which is seemly lower than that of the national average (6 percent). How can we change this? Kenny suggests that we create an environment with self-employed jobs, like farming, are more prevalent.

In supporting his synthesis, Kenny uses comparison to the two countries, India and Pakistan. Kenny tells how in these countries, more families are able to be more self-sufficient in the job market. In turn, unemployment rate is less than 5 percent. Kenny uses logos in his argument to describe the tradeoffs of this difference in economy. For instance, he states "Survey evidence suggests that being in the bottom fifth of India’s income distribution means your children have around a 12 percent chance of dying before their fifth birthday, compared with a countrywide average of closer to 8 percent." By using statistics and giving information on how other countries improve in this specific area, the readers are able to have a better understanding on this complex subject.

I think Kenny makes a valid argument, although I notice that he does not cite any of his sources. Perhaps this is because he is a senior fellow at the Center of the Global Development, therefore does not see it necessary here. He also contradicts himself when comparing our economy to that of developing nations, and it seemed to weaken his stance and credibility. I would be curious to read more from this author.


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