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I very much enjoyed reading Sachs' book, which is partly economic text book, partly a history book ( along with some, perhaps, somewhat self-aggran... (show more)
I very much enjoyed reading Sachs' book, which is partly economic text book, partly a history book ( along with some, perhaps, somewhat self-aggrandizing stories on how he saved several countries from economic ruin over the last 30 years), and partly a framework for how the world can work together to end extreme poverty.
It is a bit long – almost 400 pages in total – but an easy and captivating read. The book lays out with much support why various countries are so well off and why so many others are mired in poverty. It busts a variety of myths surrounding the reasons for economic disparity, and paints a good picture of the enormous obstacles facing the poorest in the world, but also a hopeful and attainable plan for how those obstacles can be overcome in relatively short order.
Sachs, an American himself, says the United States must step up to the plate and overcome some of the misconceptions that country has about how much it does in the world to end poverty. He points out that when polled, Americans on average think they spend about 20% of GPD on foreign aid, when in fact they spend only about less than two tenths of a percent on official development aid. Further, the United States spends far less than it has repeatedly committed to spending on official development aid (as does Canada). Sachs also lays out the price he believes is required to help bring about the end of poverty and then demonstrates how small an amount that is when compared to the total GDP of the industrialized world.
In real world terms, the amount currently being spent on official development aid is stunningly and shamefully pitiful. Furthermore, large portions of it is actually spent on “expert advice” (consultants) in industrialized nations. The amount actually being spend on actual development in poor countries is incredibly small.
One of my favourite tables he presents is one that compares the income (GDP) of four African counties (Botswana, Nigeria, Senegal, and Uganda) to that of the 400 highest-income Americans. Those four countries had a combined GDP of $57 Billion in 2000, whereas the 400 highest-income Americans had a combined income of $69 Billion. That's 161.4 million people living on less than the richest 400 people in America!
Another tables looks at the distribution of the Bush Administration tax cuts. The top 0.2% of American households (257,000) saved on average $136,398 each per year ($35 billion in total) and reaped 16% of the entire tax savings. The bottom 80% of American households, in comparison, saved on average $533 each per year realizing only 28% of the entire tax savings.
The point of these tables? Sachs advocates the richest nations and the richest people within them shoulder more of the costs for ending poverty. Personally, in an age of vociferous debates where it seems many Americans would rather leave 50 million of their fellow citizens without health care than pay any more taxes, I can't see Sachs' ideas gaining any traction there.
Furthermore, Sachs asserts that his plan is achievable only if one unifying organization, the United Nations, coordinates the aid in each country to ensure that country-specific development plans are put in place properly (noting that much of the current development aid programs are ineffectively coordinated among the dozens of agencies delivering them). Again though, given US distrust of the United Nations (likely because the US tends to like to work only through agencies it controls, like the World Bank and IMF) this again could be a long shot.
Nevertheless, Sachs' plan is straightforward, thoughtful, reasonable, and not overly expensive. All that is lacking is the will of the industrialized world. He points out a number of instances where the world has banded together to achieve amazing results. At the very least, the book should leave us convinced that ending poverty is possible and within our grasp, and that the real problem is that collectively we are just really not interested in making it happen. Shame on us. (show less)
