In the past 30 years, the middle and working classes of the western world have suffered significant amounts of erosion. While globalization has lifted billions out of poverty globally, the situation has gotten worse in developed countries.
As these countries began to deindustrialize, those who used to labor in factories and mills struggled to find comparable work, resulting in spiking crime rates, opioid addiction and the spread of misery and learned helplessness.
After a generation of decline in their standard of living, business leaders are finally beginning to stand up and speak out against the rise of severe income inequality in the western world.
Larry Polhill is one of them – he has long been an anti-poverty activist, as his humble upbringing seared into his consciousness the importance of not leaving those of modest means behind.
Despite becoming a successful entrepreneur, he has remained true to his roots, as he wishes to see a future where America and the world is a safe, healthy, and prosperous place for all people.
So, how exactly do we make poverty history? In this article, we’ll discuss several ways we can lift up the poor and working classes so they are able to live fulfilling lives free from fear.
1) Establish a universal basic income
While automation, outsourcing, and artificial intelligence have already begun to replace jobs around the world, they will reach an inflection point soon where exponential deployment of their labor-supplanting abilities will cause untold millions of people to lose their jobs.
This will cause unemployment to soar into the double-digits across the western world, creating conditions for mass civil unrest which has already manifested itself in the form of unexpected populist gains in numerous elections held in 2016.
Prominent business leaders and politicians have begun to discuss the possibility of establishing a universal basic income openly, including Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Tesla’s Elon Musk, and President Barack Obama.
Studies have been set up from Finland to Ontario, Canada to analyze the effect of paying between $600-$1,000 per month to individuals unconditionally.
Their results will play a role in how it ends up being implemented – when it is, this measure will help the average person pay for things like food, toiletries, utilities, and housing without having to worry about choosing between hunger, being cold, or being evicted.
2) Provide affordable housing to all who need it
Many cities have been plagued by homeless populations for years, as they have had an increase in the cost of living, a decrease in good employment opportunities, or a mix of both.
While some of the problem stems from mental illness, most homeless people are on the streets for economic reasons.
After years of strategies that have failed to stem the tide of destitute people, some cities have come up with a maddeningly simple solution: (a) build affordable housing (b) move the homeless into said houses.
Salt Lake City, Utah and Lethbridge, Alberta are leading the way on this issue, with the former having almost eliminated its issues with street people.
3) Provide free access to higher education and health care
Many nations in the developed world have accomplished one or both of these goals, but others have some catching up to do if they hope to curb much of the suffering poverty can cause.
Establishing a single-payer health care system would remove the burden of paying for treatment off the shoulders of the individual, as they would no longer be at the mercy of insurance companies who try to weasel out of paying legitimate claims.
Taxes would go up nominally at first, but it would be a net gain for most, who would save thousands of dollars per year in premiums they would no longer have to pay.
Free college is another innovation many countries have yet to attain, but some have already managed to cross that bridge (like Germany).
In today’s world, the living high school graduates were able to enjoy a generation ago can only be attained in most cases with an undergraduate degree.
However, doing so means taking on tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of debt that can’t be discharged through bankruptcy.
By subsidizing free college for all, students would gain the skills they need without being burdened by huge debt loads upon graduation.
This alone would allow many to avoid wallowing in poverty for years on end, and it would generate prodigious amounts of economic activity, thereby increasing the wealth for working people, the middle class, and the rich.