Re:The Marshmallow Test: What Does It Really Measure?
by vinceguidry on Sunday June 03, 2018 @08:01AM
(#17219145)
This talks around food scarcity without actually being food scarcity. First, you have to show that poor quality foods actually reduce willpower and contribute to further poverty. People used to fight wars on poor diets. I'm sure there's lots of military planners in the world that would love it if they could feed their army the way America feeds its poor.
Food insecurity isn't food scarcity either, it's just more income insecurity.
The distinctions matter because the policy you craft to fix actual food scarcity is different and far easier than the policy you craft to address income insecurity.
Edit: I'm going to go against my usual playbook and discuss my downvoters. You fix social problems with policy. Policy has to affect everyone. That's what makes it policy. If you tailor bad policy that doesn't work, because it doesn't address the root cause, then you've made the world worse and not better. Giving poor people cheap ubiquitous Whole Foods Markets isn't going to solve their problems.
Food insecurity isn't food scarcity either, it's just more income insecurity.
The distinctions matter because the policy you craft to fix actual food scarcity is different and far easier than the policy you craft to address income insecurity.
Edit: I'm going to go against my usual playbook and discuss my downvoters. You fix social problems with policy. Policy has to affect everyone. That's what makes it policy. If you tailor bad policy that doesn't work, because it doesn't address the root cause, then you've made the world worse and not better. Giving poor people cheap ubiquitous Whole Foods Markets isn't going to solve their problems.