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Comment by rza | Hacker News Reader

Just because things are worse in India, that shouldn't mean we should ignore everything else until it's fixed there first. Because for one, it's much easier for US citizens to fix problems in the US, for both legal and practical reasons. Hopefully something like this right in America's fabled land of idea-makers and disruptors will compel some real action to resolve it.

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There are charities and NGOs that can do the "fixing," and a dollar spent alleviating the problem in India may be an order of magnitude more effective than in the states.

And thanks to national boarders a dollar spent in India does nothing to help those anywhere else.

There is no 'fixing homelessness.' You 'fix' it in India, or in the US or in Canada or in where ever. Sending money to 'fix' India or Africa is a decision to not spend it 'fixing' issues at home.

That is not true ... charity and economics are not a zero sum game.

If you elevate 1000000 Indian people to the working class they will begin consuming a lot of stuff, some of which will be made in the US or having major part of its IP from US. Some of these dollars will come back home. After all what one person spends is another ones income.

There is nothing wrong of course with trying to help closer to home first.

Charity tends not to elevate anyone to the working class. Most money ameliorates poverty temporarily, is spent on fundraising and bureaucracy, or is diverted (stolen).

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