Thursday 25 June 2015

the 1%

“What? The land of the free?
Whoever told you that is your enemy…”
Yes I know my enemies…
Compromise, conformity, assimilation, submission
Ignorance, hypocrisy, brutality, the elite…”
- Rage against the Machine “Know your Enemy”.

“It's a mystery to me
We have a greed, to which we have agreed
And you think you have to want more than you need…
Society, have mercy on me
I hope you're not angry if I disagree
Society, you're crazy indeed
I hope you're not lonely without me”
- Eddie Vedder “Society”

Samoa will receive about AUD$70M in foreign aid funds just from Australia and NZ this year
…then add in aid from Japan, US, China, the EU and others
…and remittances- money sent back from Samoans overseas (currently estimated at $12M per year)
…and you’ll surpass $200M

That equates to about $2000 tala gifted per man, woman and child- one of the highest concentrations of foreign aid on the globe.

According to Ministry of Commerce Industry and Labour...
- 117,500 reported Samoan working age population
- 37,800 Samona Labour Force...
- Reported employment rate 91%
- which leaves 79,700 working age adults not considered "in the labour force..."

$150-$200 tala- average wage earning per week in Samoa for employees.
$80,000 tala- average market minimum for an assistant CEO (equivalent to a commercial senior manager)

Such figures require some context. To put this in a global perspective…

USD $34,000 per person after tax 
Annual income required to be in the world’s weathiest 1%

USD $1,225 a year
Global median income

7.244 billion
World population as of July 2014

$1.25 per day
The World Bank's global poverty line measure

1.9bn people 
lived on less than $1.25 per day in 1990

1.3bn 
lived on less than $1.25 per day in 2008

$2 per day
Median poverty line among developing countries

Between 1981 and 2008 the number of people living between $1.25 and $2 doubled

$79,767
Average salary in Australia June 2014

$76,538
Average salary in NZ January 2015

“It is too difficult to think nobly when one thinks only of earning a living.”
"When the people shall have nothing more to eat, they will eat the rich..."
- Jean Jacques Rousseau 

“We all know how 'modern democracies take loaves from the wealthy.' It's the slipups in the 'pass them out to the poor' department that inspire a study of Economics.”
- P.J. O'Rourke

"Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice… poverty is not natural. It is man-made…”
- Nelson Mandela

“Once poverty is gone, we'll need to build museums to display its horrors to future generations. They'll wonder why poverty continued so long in human society - how a few people could live in luxury while billions dwelt in misery, deprivation and despair.” 
- Muhammad Yunus

“I may be no better, but at least I am different.”
- Jean Jacques Rousseau…again
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