East Villagers Non-Profit Community News » Society

The 5th Amendment

Sharon Li — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 18:00:12 +0000

America has a law that people can’t be trailed for Double Jeopardy; it’s not just a law, it is the 5th of the First 10 Amendments. My friends and I were having a discussion about Casey Anthony…Although many people have forgotten about this incident I still remember it, after doing so much research about the horrific evidence.
My friends and I believe that she did murder her child, but the judge decided her not guilty. No Double Jeopardy is when a person cannot be trialed for the same thing twice. So if someone was in court, and they were proven not-guilty, but later they confessed or real evidence was found saying they were, they could not be put in jail for it. The words that are in the Bill of Rights would be “No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.[1”]
I thought that if Casey Anthony ever confessed that she really did murder Caylee Anthony, then there would be nothing anyone could ever do about it. Many people have mixed feelings about this law seeing that there could be possible murderers, kidnappers, robbers…etc. on the loose and they could be living right next to you. I believe that this law has its pros and cons to it. Because the court would have made a mistake and it is sometimes the government’s duty to take care of things like this. But also, although the person cannot be trialed for the same crime, they can be for another crime, but just waiting for a criminal to perform another crime is bad enough as it is.
This Amendment has been the point of many debates all over the United States and still continues to do so. And although it does have reasoning behind it, it also has many consequences as well.

http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com/5th-amendment.html

http://www.google.com/imgres?

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America Education Cons

Sharon Li — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 17:10:46 +0000

Although America’s education allows any children opportunities that other kid’s from other countries are not able to have, it also is actually very behind other countries.
I was shocked when I read an article how “15-year-olds in the U.S. placed 25th out of 30 countries in math performance and 21st in science performance.” America gives kid’s a lose grip on what they want to be, this country has many opportunities with children who want to be more creative when they grow up as well. I think this is great, and it’s a large contributor to the fact that many people move here from oversees to give their kid’s a wider variety of choices. Unfortunately, we are also far behind other countries academic skills.
I suppose it all depends on what and who is being compared to places. It’s proven that by the end of 8th grade, students are two years behind in math studied by other students in other countries. And over 50% of students cannot read at their grade level and most likely, never will be able to catch up. Although, others believe that we are better-rounded than other countries that offer academics and basically nothing else, he still are beginning to drag behind as well.
Not only this, but because of the recent budget cuts, students find themselves with less opportunities to choose from as well. Over the past couple of years, I’ve noticed that the graduation rates of students have declined, not too noticeable for others, but around .9 percent. Because not every job available has a good strong education required, many people drop out, believing that they can still get whatever career that they choose.
A documentation called “Two Million Minutes” is about two students from three countries, China, India, and America. One of the Indian students comments how American’s education “seems like a dream”. The movie has the top students describe what their life is like and is compared to the other students from other countries. It was astounding how hard and dedicated the kids from China and China seemed to be, and although I had originally thought the American students worked diligently (not that they don’t) it seemed as though all the other students did was study.
Nowadays, people describe that America’s education lacks the strength and drive of other students oversees, and are not globally “aware” of the standings of countries around the world.

http://www.studentsfirst.org/pages/the-stats

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bFmWlyBcrs

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American Education Pro

Sharon Li — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 16:54:09 +0000

America’s education is something many people take for granted. Growing up in the United States made me believe that everyone had the same opportunities as I did. As I wrote in some of my blogs from before, China’s education excludes many activities that involve the child’s creativity side to come out. Also in many parts of the world, it’s difficult to even get a good public education at all.
When I visited my friend from New York, I was surprised to discover that almost everyone went to private school, whether they could afford it or not. While I was walking around the city I saw run down beat up public schools that I, frankly, was afraid to go in. Because New York City and other cities in the state are some of the busiest, most crowded places in the United States; it’s difficult to find a well-run public school.
Although we do have some kinks that we have to work out, America’s educational system is something, I believe, has improved a lot over the years and is still on its way to getting better. Children here have such a wide variety of places to go from, there are schools within walking distance or biking distance, or if not, the ability to take the bus for free, then things like free and reduced lunch for kids who sometimes cannot afford it.
I was looking at a world map the other day, of the percentage people that are literate around the globe. America, Canada, Argentina, 4/5ths of Asia, Europe, and Australia are all pretty much one hundred percent literate. But as for Africa, a large portion of it remains for most people being illiterate. Other countries in South America, and the ones unlisted follow somewhere between 60% to 95% literate.
America is really working hard on having a higher percentage of graduating students and lower of student drop outs as well.

http://broadeducation.org/about/crisis_stats.html

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Kidnapping Rates

Sharon Li — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 16:48:26 +0000

Right now a child just reported as missing or abducted in the United States. In another forty seconds the same thing will happen. Imagine that. Many times, we find it hard to believe that anything like this would ever happen to yourself or someone in your family, but every single forty seconds, another person is realizing that that is not true.
Kidnapping is a large contributor to why children go missing annually. Over forty percent of children who are kidnapped end up being killed and four percent are never found. For those children who are murdered, they are usually murdered within three hours of the kidnapping. And in ALL cases, the victim was assaulted in some sort of way. Forty six percent of the time, he/she was sexually abused, thirty one percent is physically abused and the remaining percentage is when some weapon was used.
Seventy one percent of kidnappings are when the kidnappers are total strangers to the child, and the other remaining twenty nine percent is when the kidnapper is a slight acquaintance. And most of the time, the kidnapping occurs within less of half a mile of the victim’s home.
So who is the kidnapper? Although many times, the kidnapper is never found, the average kidnapper is a male that is under the age of thirty, usually three fourths of the time, this is the case. But who do they kidnap? More than sixty five percent, the victim is a girl under the age of 20, and older than the age of 6. Interestingly enough, if the victim is a boy, the usual age of kidnapping occurs when he is either three to nine, or fifteen to twenty one. The usual age for girls is ages eighteen to twenty one, highly more popular than any other age.
Although there are still too many kidnapping and reported missing children, the crime rates have drastically fallen since 1990’s where there was a huge spurge of criminal activity all over the U.S.

http://kidsfightingchance.com/stats.php

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Libya

Sharon Li — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 16:47:44 +0000

Muammar Gaddafi has been the ruler of Libya, an oil-rich nation located in North Africa since 1969, from seizing power by leading a group of young military officers against the King. After King Idris was overthrown and had fled the country, Gaddafi began a monarchy, which led to a series of events. His time of power has been the fourth longest ruler that was not ruler since 1900. It has been forty long years for Libyan people being ruled under a dictatorship. Some things he has done over this large span of time included hiring assassins to “eliminate” all opponents of his or others who tried to go against him, restricting the lives of Libyans by taking away some of their rights as ordinary people, holding a monopoly over the economy, and so much more other things, like beginning several wars and very inhumanely ruling for his time.
America’s standing in Libya is on the side of the rebels. As of the end of February near the 24th or 25th, the Unites States has been fighting against Muammar Gaddafi and the rest of his force, also known as the Libya Loyalists. Although at first, the government was unsure about where it should stand in this war, after nine long days, President Obama decided to take part in it.
So currently, there has been much talk of the Libyans on the way of overthrowing their dictator. In Tripoli, Libya fighters have already begun their march to where they think Muammar Gaddafi and his three sons are in hiding. Many believe that he is underground, waiting for the riot to “pass” over; but about one hundred miles away in Tripolo’s main square, hundreds and thousands of people of all ages are celebrating Gaddafi’s forces being run out of the city, a little over a week ago. Although the country has been with war with itself for quite some time now, the people of Libya are still on the verge of succeeding.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/sunday-review/what-libyas-lessons-mean-for-nato.html

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Bubblewrapped Children

Onome Uwhuba — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 02:05:47 +0000

In moving to America, one of the first and most prominent things I noticed was the extraordinary amount of litigation that takes place over the most mundane of issues. This litigation, and hence extreme fear of litigation, has many ill-effects, one of which is addressed in an article by the New York Times, titled “Can a Playground be Too Safe?”

At first thought, a playground should be safe for children, with only minor injuries like children falling off equipment and banging up their elbows. But it is these minor injuries that have caused the changes in the New York City playground system.

The older taller jungle gyms and slides and monkey bars are now a rare occurrence in playgrounds, due to “parental concerns, federal guidelines, new manufacturer safety standards—mostly due to fear of lawsuits”. There was also replacement of the hard playground surface with softer surfaces.

So these changes should reduce injuries (and lawsuits), and create a beneficial environment for children right? Actually not. According to researchers, the risk of injuries actually increased after the introduction of softer surfaces in British and Australian playgrounds. Furthermore, psychologists fear that inculcating the overly protective environment so early in childhood can create increased fears and phobias—counterintuitive to the idea that falls as a child caused fear of heights, lack of falls are actually the stronger culprits.

So overprotective parents are now creating a generation of phobic children—at least psychologists will earn more in the long run…but that should not be the concern of parents. While I would rather the surfaces of playgrounds not be hard marble, they shouldn’t be soft mush that you cannot run on. But as long as overly-litigious and blameful parents remain, the world will become increasingly wrapped in bubble wrap.

References:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/science/19tierney.html#

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Down the Slippery Slope of Oil

Onome Uwhuba — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 22:37:06 +0000

I would like to preface this article by admitting that I am from the Niger Delta (as in born and raised there, all my ancestors are from there, etc.), and therefore my perspective is definitely not the objective outsider, but one struggling to show one side with little sympathy for the other side.

Growing up in Nigeria, I always assumed that the ever present blue-green tinge that often appeared after it rained was common everywhere and came from oil and petrol everywhere. I assumed that the ever present natural gas flares visible near the coast where a staple of oil mining. I never once considered that it was a sign that my city Warri, was just the urban face of a continual multi-decade pollution business plan.

Most Americans remember the BP Oil spill last year, and the wave of public (American) outrage against BP, Britain and what they saw as an affront to their nation and a lack of ownership by the management of BP. In the coming weeks, the amount of scrutiny paid by the American media and news-watching public was severe and critical.

At first, I was equally as outraged, but also resigned. But then when I saw the wave of public indignation, and the fact that BP was taking responsibility for the spill, I became very outraged. In the Niger Delta, spills the size of BP’s spill occur multiple times every year.

Oil in Nigeria has always been an incredibly political issue, one that remains very dangerous to speak up about. In 1995, a peaceful activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, lead protests against the environmental degradation of his land—and he was promptly arrested and executed by hanging after a tribunal. It is incredibly naive to assume that the Oil companies and their close relationships with Nigerian politicians then, and now, had nothing to do with the execution. In fact, with the help of several human rights activists, the Wiwa family sued Royal Dutch Shell for human rights violations including: summary execution, crimes against humanity, torture, inhumane treatment and arbitrary arrest and detention. And….then days before the trial could begin, Shell paid the family $15.5 million while still denying any liability for his death

As I watched the news programs attacking BP, I thought about the three largest oil companies in Nigeria—Shell (a Dutch company), Exxon Mobil (an American company) and Chevron (also an American company)—and how they must be sitting in their tidy offices laughing at the powerless Africans they’ve trampled on for years. While the Americans raised their fists and raged against the British company—perhaps bringing up their inherited or adopted anti-Britain sentiments—they (and the media) remained firmly closed to the fact that their own American companies are doing the same things in places where a $15.5 million settlement is rarely if ever seen and thus justice could never really be brought.

But I refuse to the deny the parts that my own people have played in the environmental crises. I have written countlessly about the corruptness of the Nigerian government. In fact, the last Governor of Delta state was arrested for money laundering. These officials make deals for the betterments of their pockets and not with the consent or care of the people who supposedly elected them into office. This has led to widespread loss of livelihood with the destructions of numerous waterways and fish sources. The oil companies—Shell in particular—have also blamed the people for the spills, stating (and proving in some cases) that civilians cut into oil pipelines to siphon oil to sell on the black market. In fact, in my father’s village in 1998, an oil leak resulted in people attempting to siphon oil for later sale, however an explosion soon occurred, killing about 1000 people.

To add more intrigue to the Jesse fire, there have been several arguments and testimonies that the oil company and the government was to blame:

“The company and the government then sent a helicopter to the area. The officials in the helicopter warned the people in English to disperse or something would happen to them. Most of the crowd did not understand what was being said and the sight of the helicopter added more fun to the fetching of the liquid gold manna.

The officials followed up their threat with firing nerve gas at the crowd, which made it impossible for them to run. Those who attempted to run could not move their limps with agility. Then the horror came; the place was set on fire with the intention of killing everybody present and to prevent anybody from giving evidence.”

I personally have a complicated relationship with Shell. My mother used to work as a nurse in state government hospital, when she got a position with Shell that offered her over 3 times her salary as a public servant. She took the job, and I learned to swim in the Shell pool, I attended the summer camp for children of Shell employees, our house was built in part with money from bonuses given to my mother from her work with Shell. But I refuse to be grateful for them, and I would rather the whole world realized this and stood up and raised their voices and fists at Shell, Chevron and Mobil till they were forced to acknowledge that they were destroying lives.

The UN has been conducting research and writing a report to ascertain the causes of the leaks in the Niger Delta, especially in Ogoniland which was the subject of Ken Saro-Wiwa’s protests and later execution. At first, reports indicated that the UN intended to blame the people….and here I lose my objectivity and refrain from writing what I think, but you are welcome to use your imagination. This early reports were in 2010, but the UN was quick to recall and rebuke the early birds, stating that:

Media reports over the past days and weeks have indicated that it is UNEP’s determination that 90 per cent of oil spills are linked with so-called ‘bunkering’ and criminal activity. In referring to this data, UNEP clearly indicated that these figures represented official estimates of the Government of Nigeria, based in part on data supplied by the oil industry. They therefore do not represent nor reflect results of UNEP’s current assessment process which is still ongoing. To link this data with UNEP’s study or indeed any future attribution of responsibility is incorrect.

So basically upon facing public outcry, they quickly went back to the drawing board. This statement was released on August 23rd 2010. It was almost a year after that in August when the report was finally released. And here are some of the fun facts it contains:

In one community, at Nisisioken Ogale, in western Ogoniland, families are drinking water from wells that is contaminated with benzene- a known carcinogen-at levels over 900 times above World Health Organization guidelines. The site is close to a Nigerian National Petroleum Company pipeline.

UNEP scientists found an 8 cm layer of refined oil floating on the groundwater which serves the wells. This was reportedly linked to an oil spill which occurred more than six years ago.

Control and maintenance of oilfield infrastructure in Ogoniland has been and remains inadequate: the Shell Petroleum Development Company’s own procedures have not been applied, creating public health and safety issues.

The impact of oil on mangrove vegetation has been disastrous. Oil pollution in many intertidal creeks has left mangroves-nurseries for fish and natural pollution filters- denuded of leaves and stems with roots coated in a layer of bitumen-type substance sometimes one centimetre or more thick.

I write this article not to be self-righteous, or bash the American public for their lack of international knowledge. I write this to raise awareness, and to bash the American media for the creation of a circular and inclusive space in which while living in and watching the news in America, even the international news, all I end up hearing about is America and not the rest of the world—thus creating and upholding a double standard.

There: I’m done. (I would appreciate any comments that perhaps indicate my increased objectivity or lack thereof).

And by the way, the UN calls for an initial $1 billion dollar fund over a 30-year period to kick-start restoration of the Ogoniland alone. I am not even from the Ogoniland. The Ogoniland is only a small part of the Niger Delta. I have lost my objectivity, and I am proud to say it.

But there has been progress. Shell has admitted responsibility for an Oil Spill in the Bodo community in the Niger Delta (once again, only a small part of the Niger Delta). The oil spilled was 20% that in the BP spill, but spilled in a small creek which represented the livelihood of the Bodo community—a fishing community with no more fish. Shell was told of the spill about 6 weeks after it started, and the spill was not mended for another 4 weeks. So when pushed against the wall, Shell had to admit responsibility. But responsibility is simply not enough. Shell needs to no only pay up, but clean up.

Also, after the UN report, Shell is starting to take responsibility. So is there hope? Yes. But as long as there are Nigerian politicians, hope becomes a tiny sliver only seen through the eye of a needle.

References:

http://hqweb.unep.org/newscentre/Default.aspx?DocumentID=2649&ArticleID=8827&l=en

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/08/un-report-on-ogoni-oil-pollution-fg-to-sanction-shell-if-%E2%80%A6-2/

http://hqweb.unep.org/dnc/Portals/155/countries/nigeria/press_release_ogoniland_en.pdf

http://www.unep.org/nigeria/

http://www.waado.org/Environment/IdjerheFire/CausesOfFireDisaster.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8090493.stm

http://wiwavshell.org/

http://allafrica.com/stories/201107200794.html

http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.Print.asp?DocumentID=646&ArticleID=6727&l=en

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/aug/22/shell-niger-delta-un-investigation

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2011/aug/09/niger-delta-shell-oil-spills?INTCMP=SRCH

http://allafrica.com/stories/201108040967.html

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Too Many People.

Onome Uwhuba — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 20:10:15 +0000

One in six Africans reside in the country of Nigeria, a country smaller than the American state of Texas. In fact, Nigeria contains about half the population of the US, which when considering geographical boundaries indicates a higher population density in Nigeria. This fact is something that has been noticed by Nigerian politicians, and the World Bank—though not necessarily focused on Nigeria—but in very different ways.

As I near the end of this writing internship, I have re-reading some of my old articles, and I find that I often wrote from strictly the public health perspective, sometimes ignoring the larger sociological complications not related to just “the people”.

By October 31st 2011, the world population is on target to reach 7 billion, an increase from 2.5 billion in 1950—a 4.5 million increase in a mere 60 years. The World Bank has taken notice of this very glaring problem that creates immense additional problems—food scarcity, jobs, resource shortages, lack of space, etc. Furthermore, birth rates in many developing countries are significantly higher than in richer countries, which is further hindering the meeting of the ambitious Millennium Development Goals in 2015.

I read an interesting article that took a different perspective from the World Bank, and encouraged politicians to not use their population size as an excuse for poor results. While the writer further goes on to reference countries like China and India as examples of large (overpopulated) countries that are utilizing their “free” manpower to quickly build-up their countries. He however downplays the fact that just like Nigeria, China and India are facing high amounts of emigration of their trained professionals to more industrialized nations.

So there are good and bad aspects of overpopulation, but the bad definitely overweighs the good, as there comes a point when it is no longer sustainable for a certain number of people, and that is a point no one wants to reach. But the good, and currently untapped for many nations, aspect is the availability of usable (sometimes desperate to be used) manpower that can further industrialize their nations.

So what is the World Bank doing to counter the bad aspects? Well they are increasing financing for reproductive health from $490 million in 2010 to $830 million in 2011 (fiscal years). They are also developing more detailed and individualized for their high-priority countries. The focus is on improving girls’ education and building stronger health systems, focusing in reducing high levels of maternal deaths, and working on results-based financing to countries facing the most challenges with meeting their MDGs due to reproductive health problems.

The best part of the plan that I found was the focus on innovation. Along with the Gates Foundation, the World Bank is funding a global competition to identify and fund life-saving technologies and innovations targeting mothers and children.

So the future is bright, with some dark spots remaining. But always be optimistic!

References:

http://www.mercatornet.com/demography/view/6054/

http://go.worldbank.org/UH8I47MT70

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Voo-Doo, Herbs and Science: a merging of minds?

Onome Uwhuba — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 22:34:21 +0000

A long time ago, when I still entertained dreams of being a chemist—before my meeting with organic chemistry killed all such hope—I had always wondered about African traditional medicines. My rationale was that as a human race, we have survived millennia without the use of “scientific” medicine. The fact that “science” as we know it now only exists because no one has yet to disprove it, further made me more interested in understanding the medications and treatments of generations past. As the daughter of a Nigerian nurse, my experiences with herbal medicine were very very rare, and usually fell to things like drinking really spicy soup to cure a cold. But I was also aware of herbal medicines, and “witch doctors” with their cures. I was never ready to try and of their so called cures, but I was very curious to see if they worked. My previous article discussed the burden that pharmaceuticals place on a country due to their high cost, and I have always wondered if it isn’t best if we just used the tools we already have to make the things we need.

I faced this same issue this summer in Australia. The Indigenous Australians who inhabited their continent for 40,000 years before the present, had the most amazing and ingenious uses for their flora, fauna and landscape. I spent some time there talking to medical professionals about Aboriginal healthcare, especially due to the 17 year life-expectancy gap between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples. One of the reasons for this gap is a lesser use of medical facilities by the indigenous community, whether due to lack of access or due to lack of want. One of the reasons for lack of want, was the incredible fount of medical knowledge held within these communities and tribes. But I still wanted to ask the big question, which was: Does it work? And from my conversations, with medical professionals, they agree that the herbal remedies worked, but there was a big caveat. They worked on illnesses present before the colonization of their continent. They would work on an injury, childbirth or sore muscles but not on diabetes, or heart problems.

A recent article on herbal medicines talks about the two sides: it works, but only for things that could possibly have been around when it was developed. The article discusses the increased export of herbal medicines from India and China, and the continued critique of claims due to lack of scientific proof. While I believe that the best scientific proof is one that can stand the test of millennia, one is hard pressed to decide who to believe. One main point in the article about African traditional medicines is that they were previously made for small communities with one-on-one consultations. Many of these medicine-men have passed away and taken their knowledge with them, both in Africa and Australia. Furthermore, the methods, cleanliness and ethics of the mass-produced “miracle herbs” leaves a lot to be desired—the fact is you are never really sure if you are taking the amazing herb from 2,000 years ago or ground spinach sprinkled with an ‘exotic’ flavor.

So do I believe in herbal medicines? Absolutely. Would I take any herbal medicine? Very unlikely. Why? Because I need to see the proof. I cannot believe a salesman or a company that has not yet been certified or proven. But if the proof is there, sign me up! The best medicine is one you can grow in your kitchen for little to no money and trust to cure you with little (or a lot of) fuss. So for those miracle herbs from “ancient civilizations” that help cure every disease (with side effects that include ‘possible death’), I would advise you to avoid them. But I remain strongly interested in gathering knowledge from the true (though how one would determine this remains a challenge) medicine-men, and then using modern science to test these claims.

Afternote: while a more apt title would be “Juju, herbs and science”, assuming my audience to be American, one would expect that they equate the mystical VooDoo, with the West African “ju-ju” medicine. As for what you would call Aboriginal herbal medicine, I am at a loss.

References:

http://allafrica.com/stories/201107201055.html

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The Burden of “Middle-Income”

Onome Uwhuba — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:31:18 +0000

Unless you have been living under a rock (non-Americans excepted), you have heard the words “middle-class” thrown around in political arguments that perhaps you have convinced yourself that you live in a middle-class country…but, no, America is not a middle-income country, and most Americans are certainly not in the middle class….but that is not the point of this article. For politicians, pointing out and addressing the “lower-class”, “bottom-class”, “below the poverty-line”, and other such euphemisms is most certainly not in vogue—there is really no good euphemism to make “poor” sound like a good thing. But when it comes to the world of HIV anti-retroviral drugs, the poor people have it best, and the middle-class are left out.

According to a report on drug pricing of ARVs, middle-income countries like Brazil, India and China, with high populations of HIV+ individuals, will no longer receive preferential pricing of anti-retroviral drugs. Many of the big pharmaceutical companies including Merck, Pfizer and GSK have reduced or eliminated their preferential pricing, and are now focused on reducing the prices for countries that are low-income.

For someone like me whose focus is sub-Saharan Africa, this hardly changes the picture, as a majority of the countries fall in the “developing” category and a great many are “low income countries” according to the World Bank.

But I suggest you refrain from rejoicing in poverty. There is something drastically wrong and disillusioning about an idea that punishes countries for improving their economic rating. If a low-income sub-Saharan nation is able to raise its rating to upper-middle-class, they stand a chance to lose their benefits to medicines. At the same times, it stands that an increase in the rating indicates an increase in the purchasing power of the nation, which should cushion the hike in prices.

However, it is rarely as clean cut as that and impossible for an increase in lending rating to equal an increase in the financial situation of every household in a nation. The pharmaceutical companies make an exceptional point: “drug company discount programs were not a long-term solution, and governments would have to start using trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) measures to override patents”.

So here is the dilemma: being rich is certainly good and being poor is certainly bad. But being a rich country is certainly not best for the individual (ex: Britain and USA) and being a poor country is also just as certainly not best for the individual. But which is the lesser of two evils? I would argue that actions that try to enrich a “country” while not necessarily doomed to failure, only serve a small population. You can certainly have a rich country where 1% of its population are multi-billionaires and the remaining 99% paupers. I argue that moves to enrich the population, and not the country are best because they are the best bet for a slight guarantee of an equally rich population. Not a society where everyone earns the same, but one where the increases in GDP can be felt from the CEOs of companies to the factory workers that affect production. Only then would increases from “low-income” to “middle-income” become things to celebrate and not look upon with foreboding.

References:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2011/jul/22/hiv-aids-antiretroviral-drugs-pricing

http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-classifications/country-and-lending-groups

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