Calgary’s mayor recently put out a call looking for ‘Big Ideas’ in the realm of poverty reduction. Not really wanting to limit myself to ‘Big’ I have set my sights on ‘Crazy’, which means that these likely will (and probably should) be dismissed out of hand.

More traditional approaches to poverty reduction would include strategies like general economic growth and a broad range of targeted program supports dealing with education, health and employment. All good, but hardly Crazy enough.

1. Meter Poverty

We attend to what we measure. We check the weather report and dress accordingly. We report economic market activity by the minute. Why not report poverty data, daily?

Every few years, a report gets published telling us that poverty still exists, and that society is becoming more unequal. Media outlets will rush to report it, but the attention fades just as quickly. What data could we publish on a weekly, or even daily basis, in the newspaper, on the City website, or in other public places?

While there is a chance that we could become numb to a daily ‘poverty report’, it would be valuable feedback for those who remained engaged. And for those who might want to become engaged, they could enroll in...

2. Reflaction 101

Reflection and Action. Reflaction.

We would all wish that everyone was more educated about issues of concern. The environment, social justice, poverty. But a greater need, in my opinion, is teaching people how to think and take action on the problems that they themselves perceive.

We don’t teach this in schools, but it is the kind of cognitive training that is given to corporate executives, NASA engineers and other agencies dealing with complex challenges. Why not teach it to everyone?

3. Give Up

In the same way we talk about ‘marrying up’, we can talk about ‘giving up’. It may seem strange at first to say that the poor should give to the wealthy, but that is why this idea qualifies as Crazy.

There is something powerful about a voluntary, unexpected gift, particularly when it comes from a position of lower social status. While the gift itself may or may not have monetary value, the giving of it disrupts and compresses the social order.

This strategy could be adopted by someone anywhere on the social ladder, and not just ‘the poor’.

--

Social transformation awaits.