Giving Compass' Take:

• In this story from Pacific Standard, author Luis Gómez Romero discusses the austerity measures imposed by Mexican President López Obrador which seek to end corruption and poverty.

• What are the potential positive and negative effects of this action? How can the nonprofit sector mitigate the negative effects and promote the positive ones.

• To learn more about the expected impact of President López Obrador's administration, click here.

[Mexican President] López Obrador said his government would embrace what he called "Franciscan poverty" if it would "transfer funds to the people" and achieve "development, jobs, and welfare." Francis of Assisi was a Catholic saint who disdained material wealth to follow Christ as a poor man.

López Obrador's poverty vow is more bureaucratic than religious. As part of an ambitious effort to fight poverty and reduce government corruption, the president proposed to cut the salaries of public officials, including his own, slash federal budgets, and lay off 70 percent of non-unionized federal workers. An estimated 276,290 public employees will lose their jobs.

He also set his salary at a "moderate" 108,000 pesos, about $5,700 a month—roughly $68,400 a year. That's 60 percent less than his predecessor, Enrique Peña Nieto, who earned the equivalent of $14,200 a month in 2018.

At least 12,817 Mexican public servants have already been laid off under López Obrador's austerity plan. Many of those who have kept their jobs have seen their social security benefits and vacation time eliminated under the new law.

Beyond its questionable constitutionality, López Obrador's de facto salary cap on public servants does not take into account the expertise, seniority, or skills required of high-level positions. Less than $5,700 a month is simply insufficient payment for the most highly skilled workers, Mexican constitutional expert Elisur Arteaga told the newspaper La Razon last year. He expects talent will flee the government for the private sector.

Read the full article about corruption and poverty by Luis Gómez Romero at Pacific Standard