Robert Solow: Rich & Ethical Society
on Wednesday, February 17, 2016Robert Solow Money Quotation saying we justify far too high levels of childhood poverty due to high cost to fix it. Robert Solow said:
“For many years Americans have allowed child poverty levels to remain astonishingly high … far higher than one would think a rich and ethical society would tolerate. The justification, when one is offered at all, has often been that action is expensive: ‘We have more will than wallet.’” — Robert Solow
In this quote, Robert Solow is criticizing the justification often used in the United States for not doing more to reduce child poverty levels, which he notes have remained “astonishingly high” for many years.
Specifically, he references the argument that taking action to address child poverty is too expensive, implying “we have more will than wallet.” Solow disagrees with this perspective, suggesting that for a wealthy, ethical society like America, the high levels of child poverty that have been tolerated are unacceptable and not aligned with American values.
By stating that the justification of costs is offered “when one is offered at all,” he implies it is an excuse rather than a sufficient reason. Overall, Solow seems to be making the point that a rich country should not allow so many children to live in poverty and that the costs of addressing this issue are not a legitimate reason for inaction, given American wealth and principles of helping the vulnerable.