How can we bridge the gulf between rich and poor within nations and between successfully developed and less developed economies? I feel that this has been and on going problem in our society. I don’t feel that there is a way that we can actually bridge the gap between the rich and poor, but there are things that the rich can do for the poor. The United States is notorious for trying to give aid to needy countries. We have organizations that send food and medical assistance to countries such as Ethiopia and Ecuador.
The problems aren’t getting fixed and this is the bottom line. People will always live in poverty. Unless jobs are available and people have the support that is needed to provide an encouraging environment this problem will never get fixed. Programs such as the peace corp. provide temporary assistance to poor economies. I am not sure that there is a way that we can bridge the gap between the rich and poor.
We struggle with that in America. We have homeless residents and actors who make $100,000. per appearance. Unless we as a whole society notice the issues of homelessness it will never change. There is no remedy. A person needs to have a great support system to help guide them through life so that they can make responsible decisions and have the opportunity to find a good job or go to college. Many countries aren’t able to provide a stable enough economy for the parents to even support their families. And the circle continues and the problems go on for generations.
What kinds of pressure should be put on developing nations to assure the development of their market economy and yet treat their workforce fairly? I feel that since the United States offers so much aid throughout the world we should give assistance in developing better economies for other countries. I think there needs to be pressures on other governments to provide equally for the citizens. We have tried this in many Wars, in an attempt to end Communism. But does it really work? I think it does to an extent.
But I don’t think America or any nation has the power to enforce work labor laws in a different country. It’s there country and we can give advice on how things should be ran but other than that it’s not our problem. I have read about the sweatshops that work teenagers of Mexico for hours on end with little money. And there are agencies that overlook American operations from doing such activity. I can remember the case about Kathy Lee Gifford and her clothes line. She was caught using child labor and stated she was unaware of the situation.
We need to enforce laws that will prevent such activity of American Companies. And we also need to work together as one world to ensure we are all treated equally. The question is! How does that happen? What is the impact of increased immigration and freer trade agreements upon on sectors of societies both in development and developing countries? Increased immigration can cause an economy to fall. Australia for example has been going through tough economic times do to the Olympics in Sydney.
With the current immigration growth that Australia has been dealing with they will have to start importing natural resources. The land isn’t able to provide for the extreme population growth. And the economy can only provide so many jobs. Many of the residents are facing unemployment due to increased population growth. The United States is facing this problem also. We are at the control of OPEC for oil. This has caused an increase in gas prices and created less consumer spending. Which in turn will cause the economy to move southward.
And in recent months manufacturing plants have laid off people by the thousands. This will only get worse if our economy doesn’t make an upward shift. The freer trade agreements can only strengthen the economies of the world. For instance, if Ethiopia were able to produce products that are needed throughout the world it would greatly benefit their economy. Although when you look at it from a critic’s perspective it can cause economies harm. Americans tend to buy a lot of “made in china” products. This causes less money going into American companies.
Which could also have a negative effect. Trading needs to be limited to certain goods so that companies within countries can strive selling their own products. I do know that GE has eliminated their small appliances division because they were unable to compete with foreign counterparts. What should the commitment of developing nations be to the reduction of emissions or GHG’s when many developing nations do no think they should have to pay for the abuses of the developed nations? Developing nations don’t have the resources that many nations have.
Although this is one earth and we all need to do our part no matter what the price. Stricter pollutions laws need to be enforced in developed countries so that small nations don’t have to pay the price of industrialized societies. The commitment of the developing nation should be less restrained so that they are able to prosper. Once that level is achieved then stronger pollution laws can be enforced. But its kind of a “don’t kick a man when he is down” situation. These economies are struggling for prosperity and shouldn’t be enforced to attain the same levels of stronger economies.
