It is better to slowly put out a forest fire bit by bit and make sure the extinguished bits stay extinguished than to spray a fine mist over the whole thing and reduce its intensity for the duration of the spray only to have it flare up again later. The same approach should be taken when...

+50 It is better to slowly put out a forest fire bit by bit and make sure the extinguished bits stay extinguished than to spray a fine mist over the whole thing and reduce its intensity for the duration of the spray only to have it flare up again later. The same approach should be taken when dealing with other problems such as poverty, amirite?

by Anonymous 11 years ago

If the analogy is too remote, I mean we should take a few families, and pull them far out of poverty with decent jobs so they can support themselves before moving on to other families, rather than giving every impoverished family a small sum to see them through the next few months before falling right back into poverty because each just didn't have enough to make a lasting impact. It's like getting 5 feet up a 6 foot wall. You can expend energy for all eternity, but still be at ground level. If you had just put in that bit more the first time, you'd be a level higher.

by Anonymous 11 years ago