Question: what is it about governments, big business, institutions, non-profits, charities etc that they want to keep the poor poor? Alright, as generalizations go, this one is one of my better ones. Two articles that made me think this appeared in the media today.
The first one was in the Independent and discussed the farming revolution in Malawi. It described how Malawi has been able to turn around from being a country that needed food aid for five million out of twelve million of its citizens to one that is exporting food.
This was achieved by the new government, led by Bingu wa Mutharika, who supported its farmers by subsidising high-yield seed and fertilisers. With the benefit of state coupons the costs of these two essential ingredients to farming success were lowered dramatically.
The cost of the subsidy system to the state was