I agree that poverty probably won't be eliminated under any social or political system we can envision today. The best we can do is, as you say, take the rough edges off. While I don't think we need to ensure every poor person has a plasma TV and a Wii, I think we should try to make sure no one starves to death or has to sleep with their children in the rain or under an overpass. Any system that allows an individual to amass a $50 billion fortune while children starve across town- well, that system has some bugs that need to be worked out.

BTW, major kudos to the 2 American gentlemen who have that much money, namely Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. Both of them use massive amounts of their wealth for philanthropic endeavors. Good on them!