Wealth - A dividing line

The world is richer than ever, and the gaps between rich and poor are wider - Anna Lindh

RICH AND POOR

The gap between the rich and poor expanding getting bigger by the day

But in a fair and just society things would never be this way
Those born into a poor family are forsaken by the gods
And if they wish to be successful they must fight against all odds.

In the slum parts of the city you will only see decay

Homes and gardens looking shabby everything look old and gray
Ninety per cent live off welfare and those with jobs work for low pay
And all would choose to be born elsewhere if in their births they had a say.

In the yuppies part of the city things are very different there
Brand new homes and well kept gardens, new cars they drive and new suits they wear
Children of affluent parents and advantaged from the start
The slum end only three miles distant seems a continent apart.

Life is hard and never easy for those from the slum parts of town
And it is hard to be successful with others trying to drag you down
Most employers do not want to know you your address your enemy
But do not count yourself a failure if you are born into poverty.

The gap between the rich and poor expanding getting bigger by the day
But in a fair and just society things would never be this way
Those who speak that all are equal in god's eyes are talking rot
For the people of the slum parts it would seem by god forgot. 

Francis Duggan

(i) The stark differences in wealth in our country is very difficult to overlook. This picture was taken in San Fernando while I was walking through Irving park, waiting on my brother from extra classes and these two houses just stood out to me. The big, pink concrete house had air condition, a new roof, proper guttering and was surrounded by a wall and gate. The other was an older, poorly maintained wooden house with broken windows, an old galvanise roof with holes and was enclosed by a “make shift” wall made of used galvanise and an old iron gate which was literally falling apart.  One so new and one so old, on both ends of the extreme. I wondered to myself, how do the people in the pink house feel about living next to people of a lower socio-economic class? How do the peple living in the old wooden house feel abo\out living next to people of a higher socio economic class? Do they really have a choice? Should they really be segregated? This sight is actually common throughout Trinidad, of course except in gated communities and exclusive high class areas.

Source: http://capitalismisover.com/census-finds-record-gap-between-rich-and-poor/

(ii) Globalization especially hurts the poor

Critics: Globalization is a process through which the rich get richer and the poor become poorer. A recent report by the World Bank on income disparities between households, found there was evidence that the gap between rich and poor is widening. Betweem 1988 and 1993, the poorest 5% lost almost 25% of their incomes whereas the incomes of the rickets 5% grew by 12%. More than 1 billion people (20%of the global population) live on less than $1 per day and this figure is increasing, whereas there are now 358 dollar billionaires and this elite club is likely to increase. The report concludes that the middle class in many developing countries is disappearing and the increasing gap between rich and poor in developing countries may lead to the collapse if nations.

Advocates: According to studies by economists from Harvard and the World Bank, it had been shown that increased export trade and engagement in the process of market liberalization have been the main factors in increasing wealth across the world. Over the past 40 years, the poor have benefited considerably in most countries and particularly in developing countries. Although sceptics refute this argument on the basis that regression analysis is too easily manipulated, advocates claim there is growing, irrefutable evidence to show that globalization has a net positive affect on the income of all, both the rich and poor, in all of those countries that have embraced the globalized market system. Advocates further argue that there has been no other system, which has achieved such rapid rates of poverty alleviation as this latest round of global market reform. Advocates concede that the notable exceptions to this rule are some of the African counties where growth is not evident and it is argued that this has been because governments have neither embraced market reforms nor supported globalization and their peoples have therefore been excluded from the benefits.

Disparities between rich and poor in Rio de Janeiro
Source : morgarruya.blogspot.com

References

Robbins, P. and R.S.B. Ferris.2003. The Impact of Globalization on the Agricultural Sectors of East and Central African Countries. Nigeria: IITA.

(iii) Here is some extra information which will help in understanding this topic:

Programmes the government implemented to help bridge the gap between the rich and poor: http://legacy.guardian.co.tt/archives/2005-07-22/Womanwise/wwise1.html

Enjoy this video thought it really captured the essence of this topic.