If I Could Change The World: Poverty
Image Link: HERE
Do you know that nearly half the world (3 billion people) survive on less that US$2.50 a day? If there was anything I could change in the world I would start with poverty. The gap between the rich and poor has never been greater. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) says, “Income inequality in OECD countries is at its highest level for the past half century. The average income of the richest 10% of the population is about nine times that of the poorest 10% across the OECD, up from around seven times 25 years ago.” Although our world has made progress with technology and medicine we still face appalling problems with the increasing Poverty Gap.
Military
Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read or sign their names and better education is a key factor in ending poverty. Instead of wasting so much money on our vast military, we should reallocate 3% of that budget in order to send every child to school by 2020. The United States currently spends US$450 billion per annum on its military, but only puts aside US$16 billion for development assistance. This shows that our priorities are not dedicated towards ending poverty but more focused on buying weapons that only create more poverty and suffering. Unfortunately there is so much money tied up in weapons manufacture in the USA, both in manufacturing and selling such weapons to overseas buyers, that there is considerable resistance to decreasing the defense budget.
Diseases
Other factors that create poverty are diseases such as malaria and AIDS. Millions of people, mostly children, die from these diseases and it would only take $3 billion from a wealthy nation to save over 3 million malarial deaths each year. In countries such as Botswana life expectancy has dropped to below 40 years because of AIDS. If the richest nations of the world came together and just donated a fraction of their wealth they could end these crises and create a better world.
Water
Millions of women spend several hours per day collecting water. This is because they don’t have running water, which means they have to walk for hours to collect a bucketful of infected water for their families to drink. Close to half of all people in developing countries are suffering at any given time from a health problem caused by dirty water and sanitation deficits. If society helped build wells for those in need, we could make a massive impact on ending poverty.
Goals
Poverty is a problem that society needs to unite around. If I were in charge of the world I would start focusing on ways to end this terrible situation and reduce the unacceptable gap between the rich and the poor. For example, a study by the World Institute for Development Economics Research at the United Nations University reports that the richest 1% of adults owned more than 40% of global assets in the year 2000. I would start by improving education for those who don’t have access to it, reallocating more of the budget towards poverty related issues, tax the rich more heavily, invest in fighting diseases that affect the poor such as Malaria and distribute medicine to those who most need it. I would aim to create a better and fairer world by improving the one we have currently.
Source :
"Poverty Facts and Stats." - Global Issues. Web. 27 Jan. 2015. <http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats>.
Image Link: HERE
Do you know that nearly half the world (3 billion people) survive on less that US$2.50 a day? If there was anything I could change in the world I would start with poverty. The gap between the rich and poor has never been greater. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) says, “Income inequality in OECD countries is at its highest level for the past half century. The average income of the richest 10% of the population is about nine times that of the poorest 10% across the OECD, up from around seven times 25 years ago.” Although our world has made progress with technology and medicine we still face appalling problems with the increasing Poverty Gap.
Military
Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read or sign their names and better education is a key factor in ending poverty. Instead of wasting so much money on our vast military, we should reallocate 3% of that budget in order to send every child to school by 2020. The United States currently spends US$450 billion per annum on its military, but only puts aside US$16 billion for development assistance. This shows that our priorities are not dedicated towards ending poverty but more focused on buying weapons that only create more poverty and suffering. Unfortunately there is so much money tied up in weapons manufacture in the USA, both in manufacturing and selling such weapons to overseas buyers, that there is considerable resistance to decreasing the defense budget.
Diseases
Other factors that create poverty are diseases such as malaria and AIDS. Millions of people, mostly children, die from these diseases and it would only take $3 billion from a wealthy nation to save over 3 million malarial deaths each year. In countries such as Botswana life expectancy has dropped to below 40 years because of AIDS. If the richest nations of the world came together and just donated a fraction of their wealth they could end these crises and create a better world.
Water
Millions of women spend several hours per day collecting water. This is because they don’t have running water, which means they have to walk for hours to collect a bucketful of infected water for their families to drink. Close to half of all people in developing countries are suffering at any given time from a health problem caused by dirty water and sanitation deficits. If society helped build wells for those in need, we could make a massive impact on ending poverty.
Goals
Poverty is a problem that society needs to unite around. If I were in charge of the world I would start focusing on ways to end this terrible situation and reduce the unacceptable gap between the rich and the poor. For example, a study by the World Institute for Development Economics Research at the United Nations University reports that the richest 1% of adults owned more than 40% of global assets in the year 2000. I would start by improving education for those who don’t have access to it, reallocating more of the budget towards poverty related issues, tax the rich more heavily, invest in fighting diseases that affect the poor such as Malaria and distribute medicine to those who most need it. I would aim to create a better and fairer world by improving the one we have currently.
Source :
"Poverty Facts and Stats." - Global Issues. Web. 27 Jan. 2015. <http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats>.