Understanding poverty
The central ideas in the book are simple. The first is that we cannot eliminate poverty (as of yet), but that is no excuse for inaction. Poverty leads to a waste of life and talent, which is undesirable. Therefore, we should do whatever we can to reduce it. The second is that simple actions can have a sizeable impact. These actions include deworming children (makes them healthier), adding chlorine to water (prevents diarrhoea), providing adequate Iodine to pregnant women (creates healthier babies), using bed nets (prevents malaria), and many others. Unfortunately, easily preventable problems cause many deaths and misery. To discuss the content of the book, it is important to understand some concepts. A stable job differentiates the middle class from the poor. One is in a poverty trap if their future income is projected to be lower than their present income. This implies that one cannot get out of poverty themselves (hence, “trap”), and intervention is needed. How do the poor spend