Letter to the Editor

To Whom it May Concern,
I wish that your magazine would have an in depth article about the growing global trend of microloans. Seeing as the goal of your publication is to inform the public about the economy and various business ventures I would think that microloans would be easy to incorporate into any issue.
The truth of the matter is that microloans are a great way for people to make a contribution to the developing countries of the world, and the most poverty stricken people, without giving up time or money. While temporarily the lender has to part with their hard earned money they eventually get it back.
Many people express concern that the business that they support will not succeed and therefore they will not get repaid. This however, is an empty fear, for many reasons. First, the lender chooses to whom they loan their money. Therefore it is in the hands of the lender to choose an entrepreneur whose business they (the lender) believe will succeed. Second, microloans have a very high success and return rate. Third, should the business fail then the financial contribution of the lender is not so great a sum that it will prove to be a significant burden to the lender.
I feel that one reason that many people do not want to partake in microloans is because they are not tax deductible. With charity a person may do good, and receive a tax break. That is not the case with microloans. I wonder if microloans, if they were designated as cyclical donations, were tax deductible if more people would be willing to make a donation. A cyclical donation is a loan that is re-lent after it has been paid back.
Imagine the good that could be done if even a small percentage of the population donated as little as $100 in cyclical donations. The chain reaction of positive implementations is endless. Hundreds of small businesses could be funded, boosting the economies of developing countries.
Microloans were created on the idea that credit, not charity is the best way to end poverty. When we look at the chain of events cyclical donations can make it is apparent that credit is a great way to fight poverty. If your magazine would run an article discussing the benefits of microloans I feel certain that the number of loans made would jump. The biggest issue facing the microloan foundations is not the personal interest I mentioned earlier, but lack of public awareness. There are thousands of people who feel that the best they can do for society is to throw their spare change in the Salvation Army buckets. If people knew what a difference they could make for so little then surely they would be eager to help. Even running a pole about whether people would be more willing to lend if there was some sort of tax deduction would help boost public awareness. Microloans are a truly worthy cause. It is a shame that not more people know about them, and make the global difference that we are all capable of making.
Sincerely- Kat Brentano