Is it just me or does this sound completely idiotic? Giving them loans? What the hell happened to good old fashioned charity?

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN2336298820071024

Other places have done this for some time now - eBay's just jumping on the bandwagon.

I'm surprised as hell the government doesn't declare this illegal.

The 2006 Nobel Peace Prize went to someone doing microfinancing like that. It seems to work.

Can someone translate this for the slower people who don't understnad economics?

Microcredit.

You become a micro-bank and micro-finance micro-businesses.

But why give them loans? Why do you have to get something back? Whats wrong with just GIVING THEM THE MONEY?

Most people aren't willing to give away large sums of money. This way, more people can contribute more readily. It may not be as good as a donation, but more people will be doing it, meaning the poor benefits more.

A loan gives the borrower the resources to do something for themselves. They have to put the loan to good use in order to make it worth their time and trouble. In other worse, they have to be responsible with the loan.

If you just give someone money, they will be happy. But, they won't have the incentive to put that money towards something worthwhile (and profitable).

With a loan you're helping someone to their feet instead of just carrying them. You're teaching the borrower to work to better themselves instead of just spoiling them.

Yeah, that too.

I see.

bah

Just quoting this so more people will read it before making idiotic "selfishness!" posts.

Still I know of many organizations where they money you give them goes towards such goals as helping them learn to grow their own crops etc with out there being a loan.

In other words...

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

My thoughts exactly.

Savage, basically. If only the welfare system in the US worked like that. We only seem to give people fish around here.

Mystic, they are loaning the people money, and using the support group to make the issue of collateral moot. Thats the whole idea of support groups: you're more likely to pull through if you have the support of others in similar circumstances. After the loan is paid off then they are more than welcome to make 16 other decisions, are they not?

Huh...those 16 decisions are pretty good rules to live by (though obviously tailored for 3rd world countries).

[Edit]moot[/edit]

not exactly. fishing is a valuable skill that produces life-fostering results. by extending a loan, you're not teaching anyone anything. you're prodding them toward playing the game of monopoly.. and make no mistake, they very well could fail. and they don't need your nagging yoke around their neck when they do: that's the slavery

Visit my sig and be enlightened.

yes, i hate black culture too

WTF you confused me so much right there.

The UN did that. Except they gave them crops that, in theory considered to be faster-growing and stronger, pretty much failed and pushed the farmers into a world of financial problems.

i'm sorry but this is a bit of a pet peeve of mine. although i've never seen it occur in a male's writing before.

Mystic, stop getting your economy education from one biased source.

:master::master::master:

Yeah. The loans amount to a few hundred dollars to help people set up small businesses in their towns and villages. The groups that give these loans have above a 90% repayment rate with their customers. It works well.



The incentive is that they use the money to create a business of their own. They are invested in seeing that the business succeeds because it's their business. A group that gives people money crops doesn't do much good if they don't own land or have access to the other resources needed to grow crops like water, fertilizers, pesticides, etc. It also doesn't help people who live in places where agriculture is not a viable means to make a living.

Go look up more about these microloans. They are extremely successful.

and eventually you end up with micro-machines...

Yikes, really dumb mistake on my part.