Fix the problem, not the symptom

(I’ve written about this before, but it’s worth highlighting again.)

Too many people (and organizations) focus on solving symptoms of problems, and not the cause of those problems themselves.

Take income inequality.

Did you know adults with low literacy that work full-time tend to earn less than $300 per week than adults with high literacy*?

How can we address this problem?

One solution might be to find ways to give these people more opportunities to earn a solid income. Or to provide more scholarships for school so that they can afford a better education and better job. But that doesn’t change what put them in that situation to begin with.

Or consider school. 55% of adults with below average reading comprehension tend to not graduate high-school*. So while we could raise the stakes, up our standards, and give our teachers the grunt of the work of improving their reading scores, that still won’t solve the problem. Why? Because it won’t address why these folks are dropping out of school, or why they find going to class so unbearable.

One last possibility: kindergarten. Children from low-income families are—on average—1 year behind their peers in reading*.

The problem, of course, is two-old: Their parents are clearly struggling to make ends meat. And why wouldn’t they? They’re likely victim to the same set of circumstances their children will inevitably be: lack of education, low-literacy, academically behind their peers since day one. Not to mention a lifetime lack of support, resources, and opportunities, compounded.

And then there’s the books. Because if Mom or Dad can’t afford nice things, they certainly can’t afford to buy their kid a book, let alone read to them 2 or 3 or 7 nights a week. Or have the time to take them to the library to check them out themselves. Indeed, kids from impoverished backgrounds will likely never develop of love of reading because they won’t have books to read until it’s too late.

16 million kids in the U.S. live in poverty. And most of them will never have have a book they can call their own*.

Inequality of any sort is a big, complex, thorny problem. There’s lots of symptoms and lots of causes. And I’m not saying we should stop remedying the former. But I hope you’ll agree that things that need fixing need to be fixed at their root, (at least for them to fully dissipate).

So how do we solve this problem? I’m no expert, but I think it’s safe to say it starts with creating sustainable systems that empower people to be at their best, to realize their full potential, and to have the same set of circumstances and opportunities as everyone else.

That certainly starts with giving more people the benefit of the doubt. But it also starts with acknowledging our own biases and our own privilege, while supporting the causes that give the less-fortunate the access and support and leverage they deserve from the start.

*All data from rif.org