Oxfam’s debunked ideas would “entrench poverty, disease and destitution”, says IEA researcher
17 January 2022
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Energy and Environment
Annabel Denham referenced in City AM
14 January 2022
Press Release
Lifestyle Economics
15 November 2024
Commenting on Oxfam’s latest report ‘Inequality Kills’, Matthew Lesh, Head of Public Policy at free market think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs, said:
“Oxfam is once again hating on the rich while backing policies that will do nothing to alleviate the suffering of the world’s poor. Inequality doesn’t kill, it’s the debunked ideas that Oxfam advocates which entrench poverty, disease and destitution.
“Some people getting wealthier does not intrinsically mean that anyone else is poorer. People have lost incomes because of a pandemic that locked down much of the world’s economy, not because others provided useful products. The lesson is clear: state-intervention that prevents economic activity makes people poorer.
“We should not bemoan that some people have gotten richer — by providing products that allowed us to stay connected, delivering essential goods and services throughout the pandemic, as well as life-saving vaccines.
“If Oxfam really cared about the poor, the charity would campaign for the best poverty alleviation tools known to human kind: liberal institutions, free trade and free markets. Instead they want to discourage entrepreneurship with punitive taxes and prevent scientists from being rewarded for developing vaccines.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
Contact: Emily Carver, Head of Media, 07715 942 731
IEA spokespeople are available for interview and further comment.
“Oxfam is once again hating on the rich while backing policies that will do nothing to alleviate the suffering of the world’s poor. Inequality doesn’t kill, it’s the debunked ideas that Oxfam advocates which entrench poverty, disease and destitution.
“Some people getting wealthier does not intrinsically mean that anyone else is poorer. People have lost incomes because of a pandemic that locked down much of the world’s economy, not because others provided useful products. The lesson is clear: state-intervention that prevents economic activity makes people poorer.
“We should not bemoan that some people have gotten richer — by providing products that allowed us to stay connected, delivering essential goods and services throughout the pandemic, as well as life-saving vaccines.
“If Oxfam really cared about the poor, the charity would campaign for the best poverty alleviation tools known to human kind: liberal institutions, free trade and free markets. Instead they want to discourage entrepreneurship with punitive taxes and prevent scientists from being rewarded for developing vaccines.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
Contact: Emily Carver, Head of Media, 07715 942 731
IEA spokespeople are available for interview and further comment.
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