Poverty is a real issue but to "fix" it we have to work on many different aspects. One that is often overlooked for example is this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofsncCF9O_U
We
Lets examine this again: Shouldn’t We Fix Poverty Before Migrating to Mars
Ok so this is simply our biggest problem. Why can't we just get our act together? Well unless we evolve into somekind of hive cluster we will not have a collective will. Should we have one?
Our road to progress
I do believe that humanity is going in the right direction: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale towards Type 1 ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NPC47qMJVg ) But even when a global culture emerges. Its unlikely that then poverty is "solved".
So as a Society we need better tools for finding consensus. In my opinon blockchain technology is such a tool see my writeup here for more details on that: https://gist.github.com/AndreasS2501/2dc6c5813f5fd8abc79aad44479843be
Our way into the future
I don't think our way into the future is a checklist or whishlist of problems we see clearly or choose to ignore ( like poverty or climate change). As always there are people working for one thing while others play the antagonist. The question is will we find sufficent consensus to do the things that create a balance within human society and the earth as a eco system.
I guess my main point is to be most productive is to engage in a positive manner a goal for the future you find worhtwhile and not to influence efforts of other people in a negative way.
Elon Musk said (see wait but why article about space X) that if humankind build a colony on mars it would be such an incredible endeavour that this by itself could motivate people (to do better things) on earth. Something along these lines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overview_effect
Solving poverty is urgently also on my personal agenda, yet to really do it we have to change quite a bit. We have to think some deep impossible thoughts, like: Universal Basic Income, a 15h work week and a world without borders. These three ideas are the main ideas of the book tha tI just read: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Utopia-Realists-Universal-Borders-Workweek-ebook/dp/B01CZXOHMQ
I can highly recommend it.
Conclusion
So while I'm loving these ideas and promoting them as much as I can (I told eric about them). I would never go to Elon Musk and say: Hey nice going but let's solve poverty first. If you or I or eventually we want that then WE have to do it, not somebody else. To put the blame on other people doing other things won't solve the problem and only create more dissent than we already have on earth.