Who Cares?

This week in class we are focusing on the trends and realities that exist regarding the inequalities that exist throughout the world. While there is much information that exists about this topic, the fact is simple in that a small portion of the entire world is in control of the vast majority of this planets wealth. Our textbook claims that the GNI (per-person gross national income) in a typical high-income country is 56 times as much as in a classified low-income country.

All this interests me, however the bigger question I have is whether it seriously impacts our American lives or is this simply how the world is going to be and not much can be done. I know that the impact of globalization means that countries thousands of miles away are becoming more and more interconnected with each other. Every piece of clothing I wear is made in a different country. I heard an interesting story about wood in North Carolina that was chopped down then shipped to China to be made into furniture... shipped BACK to North Carolina to be sold. The cheap labor available in China makes this a profitable, all be it seemingly inefficient.

After looking at the statistics, the most personally impacting effect of inequality worldwide is the lack of food and health provided to those in poor countries. You see commercials on TV asking for donations to feed needy children and cannot help but feel impacted even in a small way. More than a personal connection, the malnutrition that exists in low income countries is a sign that many things are wrong throughout the world. We should care about this because it is a sign of natural drought, internal warfare, conflict, economic and health problem. These can have an impact on our lives as they can create a situation that calls for intervention by other countries. It also can impact American lives by raising prices of the products we buy. The rising cost of gas is just one product many of us purchase on a regular basis that can be driven up to uncomfortable rates.