Rutger Bregman: Poverty isn't caused by character, but a lack of cash

Historian Rutger Bregman discusses the obvious, but often dismissed, causes of poverty: lack of money:




I first saw him about a month ago on Youtube. He was in Davos arguing that higher taxes on the wealthy would help solve the worlds problems. He was squaring off with the CEO of Dell computers. I think that took some guts for a young person to do that, and he's an excellent, cool-headed communicator.

Tree of Life said:

If lack of money were the root issue behind poverty then the solution would be simple: give poor people money.

While it's true that some who live in poverty have the resources needed to take money and use it for good, many people living in poverty would not be ultimately helped by a simple cash infusion.

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I don't think the issue is lack of cash per se so much as lack of guaranteed income. What Bregman is talking about isn't charity or welfare, which he agrees are failed programs, because they involve state paternalism and are expensive.