Poverty and the Government

If the primary actor in society that is caring for the poor is the government, they will ultimately fall back on the threat of violence (the very essence of government) to address poverty.  The system functions, not because the wealthy reach out relationally in love to the poor in ongoing, face to face interactions, but because the government's implicit threat of violence forces the wealthy to pay their taxes.

If a society is relying on the government to address poverty, it has already failed. The government is not equipped for this task.

Poverty is never a simple problem. It is always and everywhere complex, emotional, and messy. Financial poverty is often just a way to externally measure a whole host of deeper, bigger problems. And usually there is more than one underlying problem. There is a tangled mess of problems.

Love, that is, the ongoing sacrifice of oneself and one's resources for the benefit of another over the course of time, all from a position of privilege in one or more areas, is the only basis for effectively addressing poverty.