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Author: Elmira Bayrasli
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Author: Elmira Bayrasli
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Should food be a right?
Photo from the New York Times
Today’s NYT runs an off-lead story “Looking at Aid, India Asks, Should Food Be a Right?” It’s a rich piece that lays out the challenges of a government continuing a food distribution system to feed its poor, or perhaps developing a different system that doles out food coupons or cash, versus a government conceding to market forces in order to solve its hunger problem. This line in particular caught my eye:
“India’s ability, or inability, in coming decades to improve the lives of the poor will very likely determine if it becomes a global economic power, and a regional rival to China, or if it continues to be compared with Africa in poverty surveys.”
Market-based solutions have become the darling of the development world. But the reality is government, its platform and laws, still plays a role in poverty-alleviation efforts. Is it flawed? Absolutely. Is it dead? No way. Until we realize that government along with market-based solutions together will help end poverty, people like Ratan Bhuria and his malnourished children will continue to suffer. Let’s stop the debates and get into action.