Poverty Inc.

Notes

● The rich have power over the poor

● Miller acknowledges that it feels good to give
● The U.S. and other cultures are to be commended for their awareness of and involvement
in Africa
● Giving a misleading impression of Africa as a barren, resource-poor continent
● Paternalism: when Westerners step in to patronize the poor, it creates a system of
dependence in which the so-called Third World finds it difficult to rise above their
circumstances.
● A delicate line between condemning NGOs and encouraging otherwise generous-minded
souls to think twice about the sort of support they provide to societies in need
● Voluntary contributions to inhabitants of poor countries from church and other such
groups hurt the recipients instead of helping them. It hurts the local economy
● Miller said to focus on the “right” kind of aid
● Christmas song
● The poor countries have the materials the rich want and need(oil, diamonds, gold, etc.)
● Western dumping
● Rice used to be a luxury and now because of the western dumping products, it’s what
they eat 7 days a week
● Earthquake hit Haiti destroying a lot, hurting the Haitian economy
● ENERSA
● Keep the poor in their place while a network of grabby NGOs get rich

- Some men made solar panel street lights. A lot of people didn’t believe that Haitian
people could do this. They now have a contract with people to make money. They’ve
installed 200 lights in Enersa. 21:41
- People’s dreams are to see them do better than they did themselves
- The NGO’s are giving free solar panels away for free. They’re disrupting the
businessmen and women.
- Foreign aid is government to government in the form of a loan
- They’re colonizing the poor countries by giving them a loan and making them pay them
back.
- When they rely on the aid, it becomes a disaster.
- Aid leads to more aid. The best way to help is to help people stand on their own
- Global Poverty Industry
- The donated clothes and shoes that people donate from Canada, Europe, and the USA
impacted people’s cotton business
- Not charities anymore, but social Entrepreneur
- People who donate, the local businesses get ruined
- No one wants to be a beggar for life
- 80% of the kids in orphanages in Haiti aren’t real orphans. They’re poverty orphans. This
means that the parents don’t have enough money to take care of their children. The
parents would still visit their kids. 1:03:39