What is the intended effect of "A Modest Proposal" on the reader?

Historically, Swift had tried several times to get the
attention of the British Parliament and Irish officials, to make them see that the
poverty and overpopulation of Ireland was a huge problem. Since he had tried several
times before to get their attention, to no avail, he decided to get their attention by
proposing that the children of the poor be sold and eaten. The persona that he uses is
misanthropic, but Swift was truly sincere in wanting to help fix the problem for his
people. If you define "the reader" as the government officials, then he was trying to
get their attention so that they would do something about the problem. Nowadays, people
see "A Modest Proposal" as funny and humorous, but we STUDY it to see the very skillful
and exact manner with which he states his proposal. We can take from Swift, an example
of how to create social change through satire.