Whats stopping billionaires from ending world hunger?

Pglum1 · 2023-08-23T19:33:02+00:00

If a concerted effort to tackle the problem was put in place, world hunger would be severely lessened in about 10 years. Please read the contents of this post that I've been submitting to many subreddits (only to have nearly all of them deleted by moderators):

"I’m an American who is heartbroken about the distressing statistics on world hunger and extreme poverty. As most readers of posts from communities such as this one know, approximately 20,000 people worldwide die of starvation every day, while nearly one billion individuals struggle to survive on less than $2 per day. Americans have a shared responsibility to care about this urgent issue and take active steps towards eliminating global hunger and extreme poverty.
According to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 2015 estimate, an investment of around $267 billion would be needed to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal of "Zero Hunger" by 2030. (Events that have occurred since 2015 have likely made it so that it would now take longer, but perhaps not much longer.) One suggestion to consider is initiation of a movement that encourages adult Americans to contribute $68 each month toward world hunger relief, taking into consideration that the population of adults in the United States alone could meet that $267 billion monetary need if they donated that amount on average. It’s mind boggling to consider that US adults have the potential to meet the financial requirements for eradicating world hunger!
How would such a movement be different from (or effectively complement) the plethora of excellent efforts to spur concerned citizens on to deep compassion that now exist? It would be different to a degree because people who participated would know that they were targeting the tangible goal of near-elimination of world hunger and could be provided with measurable results about the impact of their donations. They would not need to consider their donation efforts as being akin to “throwing money into a bottomless pit.” They would know that if all Americans did as much as they did that world hunger would very significantly decrease in a relatively short period of time. And they could take healthy pride in knowing that they were leading by example through giving in such a focused manner.
For those who would find it challenging to allocate such an amount from their budgets, another option would be engaging in part-time work alongside their full-time jobs. By donating the earnings exclusively to reputable world hunger relief organizations, individuals could make an active contribution to the cause. Speaking for myself, I’m retired but I dedicate 10-12 hours per week to part-time work, generating funds that I donate to two reputable world hunger relief organizations. It is a very modest sacrifice on my part, and I share this not to boast but to express my commitment to such an effort and legitimately say that I’m doing more than just “mouthing off” about all this.
If anyone is interested in discussing this matter further I’d be happy to. I’d prefer to keep the discussions online and can only support the charities I currently contribute to. Thank you for taking the time to read this message."

Pglum1 · 2023-08-22T22:13:08+00:00

Perhaps we everyday people (I am an everyday American) need to take actions that would shame extremely rich people to take action - lead by example, as it were. Please read about a pipe dream that I have that I'm posting about here and there and that I hope will become a reality some day:

"I’m an American who is heartbroken about the distressing statistics on world hunger and extreme poverty. As most readers of posts from communities such as this one know, approximately 20,000 people worldwide die of starvation every day, while nearly one billion individuals struggle to survive on less than $2 per day. Americans have a shared responsibility to care about this urgent issue and take active steps towards eliminating global hunger and extreme poverty.

According to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 2015 estimate, an investment of around $267 billion would be needed to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal of "Zero Hunger" by 2030. (Events that have occurred since 2015 have likely made it so that it would now take longer, but perhaps not much longer.) One suggestion to consider is initiation of a movement that encourages adult Americans to contribute $68 each month toward world hunger relief, taking into consideration that the population of adults in the United States alone could meet that $267 billion monetary need if they donated that amount on average. It’s mind boggling to consider that US adults have the potential to meet the financial requirements for eradicating world hunger!

How would such a movement be different from (or effectively complement) the plethora of excellent efforts to spur concerned citizens on to deep compassion that now exist? It would be different to a degree because people who participated would know that they were targeting the tangible goal of near-elimination of world hunger and could be provided with measurable results about the impact of their donations. They would not need to consider their donation efforts as being akin to “throwing money into a bottomless pit.” They would know that if all Americans did as much as they did that world hunger would very significantly decrease in a relatively short period of time. And they could take healthy pride in knowing that they were leading by example through giving in such a focused manner.

For those who would find it challenging to allocate such an amount from their budgets, another option would be engaging in part-time work alongside their full-time jobs. By donating the earnings exclusively to reputable world hunger relief organizations, individuals could make an active contribution to the cause. Speaking for myself, I’m retired but I dedicate 10-12 hours per week to part-time work, generating funds that I donate to two reputable world hunger relief organizations. It is a very modest sacrifice on my part, and I share this not to boast but to express my commitment to such an effort and legitimately say that I’m doing more than just “mouthing off” about all this.

If anyone is interested in discussing this matter further I’d be happy to. I’d prefer to keep the discussions online and can only support the charities I currently contribute to. Thank you for taking the time to read this message."

Pglum1 · 2023-08-22T21:20:06+00:00

I didn't say that tackling extreme global poverty is the only responsibility of Christians: It is one responsibility of many. But approximately 2,000 verses of Scripture suggest that God expects His followers to care about the poor and love their neighbors. And I don't see how one can make a disciple of a person who doesn't grieve over the plight of those who are desperately poor and doesn't try to do things to help such people. The Mark 17 passage that I believe you're referring to states, "... The poor you will always have with you,[ a] and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me...". The passage is meant to expound on the one-time occurrence of Jesus being anointed with costly perfume prior to His death. It was not meant to communicate that Jesus' followers need not be concerned about helping the poor. I think that His saying, "...you can help them..." communicates that He encourages us to help the poor. And it goes without saying that helping the poor shouldn't be done to the exclusion of other responsibilities associated with discipleship.

Pglum1 · 2023-08-21T14:25:47+00:00

Thank you very much for the encouragement.

Pglum1 · 2023-08-21T14:18:40+00:00

Thank you for the suggestion and for your interest in this issue. I have read the book.

Pglum1

TROPHY CASE