David_Gerard comments on So you say you're an altruist... - Less Wrong

11 Post author: John_Maxwell_IV 12 March 2009 10:15PM

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Comment author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 13 March 2009 01:23:16AM 6 points [-]

Simply invest the $3000 at 5% interest, and give the $150/year to the Africans

to the Africans' warlords, who steal the money and use it to stay in power

Fixed that for you.

As P. J. O'Rourke says, speaking of something like a total of $200,000(?) per poor person spent by the American welfare system, it's a flabbergasting phenomenon that appears to be real: You can't fix poverty by giving people money.

I'd love it if the Singularity Institute had an endowment by the time you get out of school, but I wouldn't count on it if I were me.

Comment author: David_Gerard 06 April 2011 07:23:19AM *  2 points [-]

As P. J. O'Rourke says, speaking of something like a total of $200,000(?) per poor person spent by the American welfare system

Per year? If so, that is evidence mostly that your system is ridiculous. When I worked for the Department of Social Security in Australia (who do most welfare payments) in 1991, our running costs were 2% of benefits disbursed (so we were told by our managers).

In this case, I really think a cite for precisely what he was claiming, and his source for it, would be needed.

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