Western Standard Of Living.

[sevenOP]

Would you be prepared to take a decrease in your standard of living if doing so ended world poverty ?

[sevenOP]

"I'll ask again. How would that end world poverty?"

the decrease in your disposable income and comparative lavish lifestyle would go towards ending poverty.... not rocket science.

[woofgang]

So what precisely would you spend the money on? What would you do once you had spent the money? What guarantees would you give that it would work? What about a refund when it doesn't work?

[Zacs-Master]

Ah, jeez, and we all thought it was going to be complicated! Meanwhile....back in reality.....

[Baldric]

///just pie in the sky/// is that included in the £40 weekly allowance?


///the decrease in your disposable income and comparative lavish lifestyle would go towards ending poverty.... not rocket science///

So you're suggesting we lower our standard of living to increase Charity already showered upon the feckless who sit/lay around all day doing little other than breeding, and maybe this would increase your own benefits at the same time?

[woofgang]

If I had checked the rest of this OP's question's, I wouldn't have bothered answering.

[sevenOP]

"So what precisely would you spend the money on? What would you do once you had spent the money? What guarantees would you give that it would work? What about a refund when it doesn't work?" > woofgang

I told you it was not rocket science, and you declined the proposal anyway.

"So you're suggesting we lower our standard of living to increase Charity already showered upon the feckless who sit/lay around all day doing little other than breeding, and maybe this would increase your own benefits at the same time? " > Baldric

'Nearly 1/2 of the world's population — more than 3 billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day. More than 1.3 billion live in extreme poverty, that's less than $1.25 a day. 2. 1 billion children worldwide are living in poverty.'

So there are 3 billion "feckless who sit/lay around all day doing little other than breeding" ? .............. I count myself lucky not being in such poverty.

Thanks for your enlightening replies anyway.

[woofgang]

You haven't answered the question though, the KEY question.
What would be done with the money?
I mean you might convince some of us if you could be clearer about what the plan would be.
And why do you ask?

[naomi24]

sevenOP, //the decrease in your disposable income and comparative lavish lifestyle would go towards ending poverty.... //

.... but the initial proposal was a promise to end world poverty - and suddenly our self-denial would only go 'towards' ending world poverty. Not going to achieve the end then, is it? Just as well it isn't rocket science. The mission would be aborted.

[Hypognosis]

@sevenOP

The statistic about children living on "$1.25/day" reminds me of a Facebook meme which I've seen several times.

Its author's intention is clearly to make other USAnians feel guilty about how much they earn, relative to this amount (maybe a popular brand of sweets which they buy for their own kids costs a similar sum).

I do not know what levels of general ignorance pervade the kind of people this meme was aimed at but it is not inconceivable that they're not aware of how cheaply a family can be fed in a country where most of the population is dirt poor.

Pit simply: food does not demand a high price because noone could afford it.

They can't afford much because a day's worth of their labour isn't valued highly

That is because they lack education and are limited to fetching and carrying or cutting sugar cane, to feed some other nation's sweet tooth.

Or they can dig for gold and rare earth metals so that we can have mobile phones and electronic gadgets.

If you give them money, they'll get the same amount to eat, just at a higher price. The food vendors will have a beanfeast until their customers are broke, again.

If we give up our luxury goods, millions in poor countries will have nothing left but picking over garbage sites (and they'll have to fight to get a place doing that).

Industrial revolution began 1850-ish. Just look what happened to world population since that time. Looking at the chart anyone would think that wealth (in the developed world) creates people in all corners of the world.

[sevenOP]

".... but the initial proposal was a promise to end world poverty - and suddenly our self-denial would only go 'towards' ending world poverty. Not going to achieve the end then, is it? Just as well it isn't rocket science. The mission would be aborted"

No 'promises' were made in the opening 'question', a question you have still not answered naomi: care to give us your answer naomi ?

Hypognosis, a excellent guilt-free analysis advocating the status quo.

[woofgang]

the initial premise was
"Would you be prepared to take a decrease in your standard of living if doing so ended world poverty"

not contributed to, not assisted with, not might, not working towards.

the proposal was an absolute one that it WOULD end world poverty....and now it seems you are backtracking

"the decrease in your disposable income and comparative lavish lifestyle would GO TOWARDS ending poverty"

and I ask again, how would this work and would you give a refund when it didn't work?

[woofgang]

Forgot to add, as with anyone else who asks me to invest a significant part of my income, I feel entitled to ask how the scheme would work and what would happen if it didn't.

[naomi24]

sevenOP, as Woofgang rightly says, your original premise was that world poverty would be ended – and I’ve already given you my answer.

I get the distinct impression that, despite your current profile, you're not a newcomer here.

[EDDIE51]

Naomi it is a hypothetical question.
If going back to a 1950s/60s lifestyle ended world poverty would you be prepared to do it. A 'yes' or 'no' answer is all that is needed.
We are not discussing if it is possible in reality ( we all know it would never happen in the real world) , just 'Yes' I would be willing to do it or 'No' I would not be willing to do it.
I am voting 'No'

[naomi24]

Eddie, you don't appear to have read all the posts.