The effect of Micro Loans in our society

[The Vegan Marxist]

What effect do micro loans bring to our society? Does it alleviate poverty & the homeless like it claims, or is this just a temporary service, in which no long-term satisfaction is achieved? I was given a link referring to me about these micro loans: http://www.kiva.org/

So I decided to look up info on it myself, & found this page too: http://compassioninpolitics.wordpress.com/2009/02/07/evaluating-the-criticism-of-microfinance-microloans-and-microlending/

So what's everyone's opinion on such?

[chegitz guevara]

My understanding is it doesn't life anyone out of poverty, but it does pull people into capitalism and makes a huge return on investment for the lenders with very little risk.

[The Vegan Marxist]

My understanding is it doesn't life anyone out of poverty, but it does pull people into capitalism and makes a huge return on investment for the lenders with very little risk.

Though, as the 2nd link provides, it states this:


After more than eight years of borrowing, 57.5% of Grameen borrower households were “no longer poor” as compared to 18% of non-borrower households

I personally don't believe it, but my opinion is irrelevant given that I don't know much about micro loans in the first place.

[RadioRaheem84]

Again, this is the result of Liberal solutions to global problems:

I remember being a huge fan of these idiotic micro-loan schemes back in my college days. I attended a conference with Muhammad Yunus, the founder of this movement, and everyone was awe struck by this man, including I. Later on I learned the basics of what this article is talking about. A better article was written by Alex Cockburn of ZMag. Even Libertarians could see the idiocy hidden in these loans. Forever being in debt to get out of poverty does nothing to truly liberating people.

Liberals just have to face the facts that there IS NO mid-way, third way, pragmatic, solution to the capitalist dilemna. It's either free markets or bust, if you side with the neo-liberals. Even the Welfare State can only do so much. Friendly, Third Way capitalism will not work. Why do these liberals keep trying so hard to avoid the realities of the system? They end up looking stupid in front of both socialists and libertarian capitalists.


http://www.workers.org/2010/world/microloans_0304/


http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn10202006.html

Myth of Microloans by Alex Cockburn