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Clarity comments on Open Thread, Aug 29. - Sept 5. 2016 - Less Wrong Discussion

6 Post author: Elo 29 August 2016 02:28AM

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Comment author: Clarity 03 September 2016 05:48:04AM -1 points [-]

My girlfriend and I disagreed about focussing on poor vs richer countries in terms of doing good. She made an argument along the lines of:

'In poorer countries the consumer goods are targeted to that class of poor people so making difference in inequality in places like Australia is more important than in poor countries because they are deprived of a supply of goods because the consumer culture is targeted towards the wealthier middle class.'

What do you make of it?

Comment author: tut 03 September 2016 07:45:37AM 1 point [-]

'In poorer countries the consumer goods are targeted to that class of poor people so making difference in inequality in places like Australia is more important than in poor countries because they are deprived of a supply of goods because the consumer culture is targeted towards the wealthier middle class.'

If that's your real reason, perhaps the best way to help poor Australians is to import stuff from Africa so that they get that supply of suitable goods. Or better yet invite some Kenyans to teach them how to make things themselves.

Comment author: buybuydandavis 04 September 2016 08:23:56PM 0 points [-]

Nope. Won't work.

The cheap goods can't be available to the poor, because then they'd be available to the not poor, and the government enabled rent seeking would no longer work.

Comment author: buybuydandavis 04 September 2016 08:19:42PM *  0 points [-]

I think the regulatory targeting of government enabled shake downs toward the wealthier middle class is much more of an issue. The wealthy middle class can afford to put up with more than the poor.

Though they try, it's hard to market segment your shakedowns, so the poor are often just priced out of the market.

Market segmentation by price/quality/status works just fine where there is a free market. If you've got the money to buy it, goods will come.

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