Since most of our previous readings conveyed a not-too-subtle sense of imminent failure and rampant evil, this week’s reading, by comparison, could be considered almost lighthearted and carefree. I genuinely enjoyed hearing about improvements in countries generally considered underdeveloped, bankrupt and lacking competent leadership. But, to tell you the truth, I have no idea how these CCT programs could possibly lead to any improvement. The numbers thrown out there by Su and Muennig, the authors, just don’t seem to make sense to me. In one of their more terrifying sentences, they wrote that “a very poor family with three children and two teenagers would receive 242 reals,” or $153, per month. I did a bit of Googling and according to the Brazilian daily newspaper, Estadao, a worker on the bottom end of Brazil’s pay scale earns roughly $77.40 per month. Because I know everyone hates math, I’ll do the arithmetic for you. In total that comes out to around $230 per month. For a family of 7. That’s around $30 a person per month. I spent $5 today on coffee and a bagel . I don’t know how things work in Brazil, but I doubt even the most austere families could survive on that little. Another number that didn’t make sense to me was the $21 a month conditionally granted to teenagers in Brazil. Why go to school for $21 a month, when you can work for $77 a month? There is no incentive. Maybe we’ll be able to answer these questions in class.
Even though I definitely found the reading very interesting, I sort of wish it elaborated a bit more on democracy’s “lifesaving” abilities. It might have given new meaning to “Give me Liberty, or give me death!”
