Ten Ways That Profits Help the Poor

Jerry Agar has another thought provoking list for us. His latest (Oct. 8) is called "10 Ways Profits Help the Poor." Jerry can be heard on WGN 720 AM in Chicago Saturdays 9 a.m.-1 p.m. and 5-9 p.m., and on Sundays Noon-4 p.m. (depending on live sports coverage). He has worked at other superstations, such as WLS in Chicago and WABC New York. He is currently also involved with the Illinois Policy Institute. Jerry prefaces his list with a quote from William Easterly, professor of economics at New York University and visiting fellow at Brookings: by Jerry Agar "The number of poor people who can't afford food for their children is a lot smaller than it used to be -- thanks to capitalism. Capitalism didn't create malnutrition, it reduced it. The globalization of capitalism from 1950 to the present has increased annual average income in the world to $7,000 from $2,000. Contrary to popular legend, poor countries grew at about the same rate as the rich ones. This growth gave us the greatest mass exit from poverty in world history. The parts of the world that are still poor are suffering from too little capitalism. Foreign direct investment in Africa today, although rising, amounts to only 1% of global flows. That's because the environment for private business in Africa is still hostile. There are some industry and country success stories in Africa, but not enough." ~ William Easterly, professor of economics at New York University and visiting fellow at Brookings Contrary to those claims that capitalism only favors the rich and that capitalists are in competition with the poor, profits are of immense help to the poor, whether or not they directly receive it. Here are ten reasons: 1. Employment. Profit equals investment which equals employment. The paychecks that employees get are a slice of the gross profits that any business makes. The best way to overcome poverty is to work. 2. Education. The best way to get work is to be educated. The poor can’t pay for it, so others do, out of their profits, and provide it free of charge to the poor. 3. Health. Miraculous medical advances and drugs come from profitable companies in capitalist nations, but the poor of the world benefit. AIDS drugs for Africa, for example. Hospitals in America will treat, free of charge, any person showing up at the emergency room, regardless of ability to pay. But someone pays, and that is someone who has made a profit and has the available funds. See the rest of Jerry Agar's list at the Illinois Policy Institute web site! Conservative Caps, Shirt and more! Leave a Comment - Chicago News Bench RSS Feed Visit us on Twitter!