What should be the Conservative plan to deal with poverty, inequality and homelessness?

The answer to all three is largely economic growth.

In terms of poverty, rather than trying to slice the pie differently (often shrinking an economy by transferring resources from the productive to unproductive), one grows the pie. This is how resource poor states like Hong Kong created one of the wealthiest societies in human history. Wages rise from increased demand, society benefits from the excess fruits of the labor, and tax receipts increase without raising rates.

Inequality depends upon how you define it. Most conservatives believe in equality of rights and justice. Men are not entitled to more rights than women, and Whites than Blacks. Liberals believe in inequality of rights and justice. Affirmative action, minority quotas, one-sided hate crime prosecutions, and the Minneapolis Suspension Program are all examples of this.

Inequality of income is a relative terms, and therefore meaningless. If a poor person earns $10,000 per annum, it doesn't matter what another's income is. They have to live on $10,000. A conservative should be concerned with the absolute wealth of people relative to the costs of living. However, people should be paid what their labor is worth to the market. If one wishes to earn more, one needs to increase their skills and dedication. Economic growth is once again an answer that doesn't ultimately damage lives.

Homelessness is a problem of poverty, individual addiction, and child neglect. Most conservatives would rely upon economic growth and private charities to service this issue. Simply put, in strong economic times, homelessness decreases considerably. For the habitual drug users and alcoholics, there is little one can do save attempt to reduce future numbers. For the kids from broken homes, strictly enforcing child abuse/neglect laws and holding parents responsible for the well being of their kids would do a lot to fund shelters.

/r/askaconservative Thread