Rick Steves: What Accounts for Haiti's Chronic Poverty?
Check out the editorial by Rick Steves, travel writer and author of Travel as a Political Act, in today's USA Today. In "Haiti: Behind Door No. 3, Difficult Questions Await," he writes that Americans need to take a deeper look at why Haiti is so poor -- and has been for generations. A big part of the problem lies with unequal trade partnerships between Haiti and more powerful countries, such as the United States. Tariffs and subsidies protect U.S. businesses, Steves writes, but hamper development in Haiti. "In Haiti, fields that once grew rice sit unplanted. And across the street, a shack sells rice grown in the USA." Steves cites Bread's lobbying efforts to bring about more fair trade policies.
Addressing the structural roots of poverty is challenging, but it is ultimately more effective, he writes. Systemic change is what will help Haiti rebuild in the long term.
Verify your Comment
Previewing your Comment
This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.
As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.
Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341d945753ef01287764c9a1970c
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Rick Steves: What Accounts for Haiti's Chronic Poverty?:
Bread for the World Sunday
Stay Connected
 |
 |
Comments