I just left the Philippines where corruption and poverty are conjoined ("Siamese") twins. There is a strong, culturally enforced two class system. The wealthy own virtually every company and salaries are kept very low. The country rates economic status from A to F, A being the richest, F being dirt poor, though D and E ain't great either. 3% of the population are in class A while 40% are below living wage (E and F).
Over the past few years i watched as government and private industry paid the few workers pitiable wages while exploiting (I hate to use that word, but it fits here) the employees. Example: A man I knew worked as a security guard. he made 525pesos over a12 hour shift (about $10US); a lot of work for low pay. However, he lost 25% of his pay to the company, and another 10% went to his supervisor. He went home every night with about $6US in his pocket.
Every person in a position of power abused his power to line his pockets and gather sex partners, with very few exceptions. This includes bosses, government officials, police, teachers, professors and all catholic priests; not position was noble. Meanwhile, the worker had NO chance to work up the ladder or any hope of a better life without leaving the country for better paying jobs. That's why the Philippines is suffering from a brain drain, the loss of it's best and brightest.
Corruption has many forms. Let us take vote buying as an example. This is very common in poor countries. One law of economics states that if the supply is high the price is low, and if the supply is low the price is high. This law applies to goods and services on one hand, and money supply on the other. Let us consider the supply of money first. The greater the supply of money in the economy the lesser becomes its value. Money weakens its buying power, the prices of goods and services go high and poverty worsens. In other words vote buying is the worst inflationary activity any country can have. By the way, most of the money used comes from government funds. This is people's money in terms of taxes.
Let us consider goods and services. If the billions of money spent for election frauds are spent for free health services, free education, and maintenance of peace and order, things will go better in the long run. Peace and order will stimulate business activity. Free education and health services will make the work force more efficient. Consequently, there will be an increase in productivity in terms of goods and services . Since the supply is high, prices will go down and poverty is alleviated. This scenario is happening in the US and Canada.
Well, back in the Regan years, Bob Dole's daughter was carted off to prison because she was stealing housing money from projects to help the homeless. She was in charge of HUD then, and she and her accomplises made off with an unholy sum of money destined to help poor people get a better start in life.
So, in this example, government corruption perpetuated poverty.
poverty leads to desperate people...desperate people leads to corruption because they will do ANYTHING to get some money....
good example is Mexico, most people there are very poor and are willing to do anything to get a few bucks...children hold knives to tourists throats for a dollar...
i went to Hermosillo knowing that people were very poor..so i left the housekeepers $30 tips and they started crying because down there they'd be lucky to make $30 in 3 months...
Poverty in third world countries is caused by lack of contraception because they keep having children and can't afford to feed them. As for corruption I have no clear examples of those to hand
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I just left the Philippines where corruption and poverty are conjoined ("Siamese") twins. There is a strong, culturally enforced two class system. The wealthy own virtually every company and salaries are kept very low. The country rates economic status from A to F, A being the richest, F being dirt poor, though D and E ain't great either. 3% of the population are in class A while 40% are below living wage (E and F).
Over the past few years i watched as government and private industry paid the few workers pitiable wages while exploiting (I hate to use that word, but it fits here) the employees. Example: A man I knew worked as a security guard. he made 525pesos over a12 hour shift (about $10US); a lot of work for low pay. However, he lost 25% of his pay to the company, and another 10% went to his supervisor. He went home every night with about $6US in his pocket.
Every person in a position of power abused his power to line his pockets and gather sex partners, with very few exceptions. This includes bosses, government officials, police, teachers, professors and all catholic priests; not position was noble. Meanwhile, the worker had NO chance to work up the ladder or any hope of a better life without leaving the country for better paying jobs. That's why the Philippines is suffering from a brain drain, the loss of it's best and brightest.
I was personally disgusted.
Corruption has many forms. Let us take vote buying as an example. This is very common in poor countries. One law of economics states that if the supply is high the price is low, and if the supply is low the price is high. This law applies to goods and services on one hand, and money supply on the other. Let us consider the supply of money first. The greater the supply of money in the economy the lesser becomes its value. Money weakens its buying power, the prices of goods and services go high and poverty worsens. In other words vote buying is the worst inflationary activity any country can have. By the way, most of the money used comes from government funds. This is people's money in terms of taxes.
Let us consider goods and services. If the billions of money spent for election frauds are spent for free health services, free education, and maintenance of peace and order, things will go better in the long run. Peace and order will stimulate business activity. Free education and health services will make the work force more efficient. Consequently, there will be an increase in productivity in terms of goods and services . Since the supply is high, prices will go down and poverty is alleviated. This scenario is happening in the US and Canada.
Well, back in the Regan years, Bob Dole's daughter was carted off to prison because she was stealing housing money from projects to help the homeless. She was in charge of HUD then, and she and her accomplises made off with an unholy sum of money destined to help poor people get a better start in life.
So, in this example, government corruption perpetuated poverty.
poverty leads to desperate people...desperate people leads to corruption because they will do ANYTHING to get some money....
good example is Mexico, most people there are very poor and are willing to do anything to get a few bucks...children hold knives to tourists throats for a dollar...
i went to Hermosillo knowing that people were very poor..so i left the housekeepers $30 tips and they started crying because down there they'd be lucky to make $30 in 3 months...
Poverty in third world countries is caused by lack of contraception because they keep having children and can't afford to feed them. As for corruption I have no clear examples of those to hand