Should Studying Abroad Be Mandatory, For An "Understanding Of Poverty"? - Page 2

**plotthickens** · 10-04-2010, 08:09 AM

Seems like this requirement would be a lot more effective if it was enrollment in the Peace Corps.

**alt lit** · 10-04-2010, 08:15 PM

	Originally Posted by INTroJect To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	Hmmm. Our concept of poverty is nothing compared to what they experience in the 3rd world. In fact, im sure most of them would be more than happy to trade places.

Heard this fact today: If you make over ~$30K USD, you are among the top 1% income earners in the world. Don't recall the source right now, but I can track it down later.

**INTroJect** · 10-06-2010, 10:59 AM

	Originally Posted by alt lit To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	Heard this fact today: If you make over ~$30K USD, you are among the top 1% income earners in the world. Don't recall the source right now, but I can track it down later.

Maybe. Id believe top 5 or 10%. Ive seen plenty of people living off less than $200 a month, and they are working like 10 hours a day 6 days a week. Once someone heard "weekend" in a song and asked me what it was, the whole concept of it just blew his mind, TWO days of sabbath?!? Just mention our minimum wage their eyeballs pop out of their heads.

**ZerroDefex** · 10-09-2010, 01:13 AM

I went to university in Chicago. To see poverty all I had to do was walk a block away from campus in any direction.

Originally Posted by Global
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I have another idea. Encourage American students to see the abundance of other countries. It could be inspiring. With all the media showing massive poverty and of course the hand out demanding that the western world pay to feed an unsustainable population that continues to grow. It's time to show the reality that in most of these same countries there are vast, amazing cities with advanced infrastructure, culture, art, intellectual centers, completely different social systems and great abundance.

This is a much better idea.

**Delarge** · 10-09-2010, 09:58 AM

Universities should force students to reside in a poverty-striken shithole before granting degrees? Sounds like an unreasonable requirement that will never come to be enacted, and even it was to be enacted somehow, it would end up accomplishing very little.

Economic development will not occur in response to soft-heartedness and financial charity, it will occur when the necessary conditions for economic growth are established with or without foreign assistance: political stability, secure property titles and reduced or absent barriers to trade and capital. Once these conditions are met, foreign capital will flow across their borders to take advantage of favourable labour market conditions. This will have the effect of stimulating rapid growth and shifting their economies in an export-oriented direction.

South Korea, Singapore, China and many former-Soviet states have all pursued this model, and the results have been uniformly impressive.

10-04-2010, 08:09 AM	#26
plotthickens Core Member [677%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 27,112	Seems like this requirement would be a lot more effective if it was enrollment in the Peace Corps.
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10-09-2010, 09:58 AM	#30
Delarge Member [09%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 380	Universities should force students to reside in a poverty-striken shithole before granting degrees? Sounds like an unreasonable requirement that will never come to be enacted, and even it was to be enacted somehow, it would end up accomplishing very little. Economic development will not occur in response to soft-heartedness and financial charity, it will occur when the necessary conditions for economic growth are established with or without foreign assistance: political stability, secure property titles and reduced or absent barriers to trade and capital. Once these conditions are met, foreign capital will flow across their borders to take advantage of favourable labour market conditions. This will have the effect of stimulating rapid growth and shifting their economies in an export-oriented direction. South Korea, Singapore, China and many former-Soviet states have all pursued this model, and the results have been uniformly impressive.
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