Fun Facts [Archive]

James

14th August 2002, 11:01

~Inequality declined within many countries between 1946-1970s, but since the tenets of the “Washington Consensus” became mainstream there has been a reversal of this trend all over the world.

~“Number of people living in extreme poverty, considered here as living on less than a dollar a day, has increased…in every developing country” – UN Human Development Report 2000

~India – around half the population live off the equivalent of less than $1.50 a day.

~36.5 million Americans (13.7% of the American population) live in poverty, while 40% of the US’ money is owned by the top 1%.

~All 50,000 workers at the Yue Yen Nike factory in China would have to work for 19 years to earn what Nike spends on advertising in one year.

~Wal-Mart’s annual sales are worth 120 more than Haiti’s entire annual Budget.

~Disney CEO Michael Eisner earns $9,783 an hour while a Haitian worker earns 28 cents an hour.

~It would take a Haitian worker 16.8 years to earn Eisner’s hourly income.

~3% of the American male workforce is in prison.

~Number of British families below the poverty line rose by 60% in the 1980s.

~By 1996 the UK had the highest proportion in Europe of children living in poverty, with 300,000 British children worse off in absolute terms in 1995-1996 than in 1979.

~The anti-depressant market grew 16% per year in G7 countries between 1989 and 1999 – The IMS Health Report

~Half of the UK’s fathers spend less than 5 minutes a day in direct contact with their children.

~Death rates from some of the most significant diseases are reduced when income differentials are lowered.

~The $181 million in stock options Eisner exercised in 1996 is enough to take care of his 19,000 Haitian work force and their families for the next 14 years.

~Communicable diseases cause 59% of deaths among the poorest 20% of the world population. For the richest: 8%.

~In India, 15-19 year olds from the richest 20% of households have completed an average ten years of schooling. Children from the poorest 40% of households have on average NO schooling.

~Higher crime rates (including murders and violent crimes etc) are correlated with wider income differences.

~The 100 largest multinational corporations now control about 20% of Global foreign assets.

~51 of the 100 biggest economies in the world are now corporations only 49 are nation states.

~The sales of General Motors and Ford are greater than the GDP of the whole sub-Saharan Africa.

~The assets of IBM, BP and General Electric outstrip the economic capabilities of most small nations.

~Wal-Mart has higher revenues than most central and eastern European states: Including, Poland, The Czech Republic, Ukraine, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.

~Americans spend $8 billion a year on cosmetics while the world cannot find the $9 billion the UN reckons is needed to give all people across the globe access to clean drinking water and sanitation.

~The New Labour party has gone on record as saying that wealth creation is now more important than wealth redistribution.

~45 million Americans have no health insurance.

~In America, during the ten years from 1988, income for the poorest families rose less than 1%, while it jumped 15% for the richest 5%.

~¾ of Americans now think that business has gained too much power over many aspects of their lives.

~Top 10% of South African homes account for almost 50% of total consumer spending, while the bottom 10% account for just 1%.

~The states primary role is to now, “provide an attractive environment for corporations or international financial investors”

(Edited by James at 11:06 am on Aug. 14, 2002)

Guest

15th August 2002, 18:30

What do I have to say about that? All right...
I don't have the resources to go sifting through thousands of reports for facts that support my argument, but I think you'll find most of this to be reasonable:

-Cuba and North Korea are the only two communist nations in the world. People there are incredibly poor. They can't always count on having food on the table (particurlarly in N.K.). There is work to be done, but it does not get done, because people have no incentive to work.
The dream of becoming wealthy inspires people in capitalist countries to get off their fat asses and go do things. Personally, were it not for my desire to make money, I never would have gone to college. In a communist country, I probably would have played video games all my life, if I could have afforded a computer. If not, I'd probably play baseball all day.

Just look at how the standard of living in the People's Republic of China has improved in the past ten years. Yes, some people are getting wealthy off the work of others, some are amassing huge amounts of property and using it to generate wealth, but that's a small price to pay for everybody being better off.

"Number of people living in extreme poverty, considered here as living on less than a dollar a day, has increased... in every developing country"
-The number of people in every developing country has increased.
-The average income of people in developed nations is much higher than that of people in the third world. It's fair to assume that the average income of people in developing nations is increasing as they do things like get jobs.
-If you can live on a dollar a day, you're probably living outside or in a hut, and you probably live off the land. You have sources of income other than money.

"Wal-Mart's annual sales are worth 120 more than Haiti's entire annual Budget."
-120 what? 120 times more?
-Wal-Mart provides high-quality durable goods and consumables to millions of people a day. They oversee distribution of incredibly huge quantities of consumer goods very efficiently. Were it not for the financial incentive to do well, would Sam Walton have cared how efficient his stores are? No. And then Wal-Mart would be as efficient as the Politburo.
-Sam's Club daily moves thousands of metric tons of groceries at low prices and very small profit margins (<1%). Those who are willing to work for high quality food, get it. Those who aren't, get crappy food. But they get fed. Everybody gets fed, here. Always.

"Disney CEO Michael Eisner earns $9,783 an hour while a Haitian worker earns 28 cents an hour."
Yeah, and this disgusts me. Disney doesn't make any real products. They have the eye and ear of the masses. The masses think they are getting high-quality entertainment, and I maybe they are (based on the fact that they choose Disney products in the face of alternatives), but more likely they are having ABC/Disney's thought subtly suggested to them, day in and day out. They are being moulded into mindless automatons that go to work and buy Disney products on their way home every day. Still, I'd take regulated* capitalist television over a state-run network any day.

*In the United States, there are laws regarding how many television and radio stations a single entity can own. Generally, the limit is one of each per area. The goal of these laws is to prevent somebody from controlling everything people see and hear in the media.

"3% of the American male workforce is in prison."
But if we let 'em out, would they amount to much? Probably not. They'd probably still live on state money. Or maybe a goodly portion of that 3% are all those marijuana users we lock up.
Well, what portion of Stalin's people went off to his prisons?
Anyway, it's not capitalism that got those people locked up. It's the American "justice" system, a topic for another forum.

"45 million Americans have no health insurance."
So? I don't, either, and yes, I can afford it. Health insurance is just another way for fat cats to take your money away. You don't need health insurance, and you don't need western medicine or any other treatment (unless you are seriously ill).

"The New Labour party has gone on record as saying that wealth creation is now more important than wealth redistribution."
My sentiments as well. Redistribution (having what you've worked so hard for stripped away from you) is demoralizing. Receiving handouts, similarly, makes people not feel like working.

"Communicable diseases cause 59% of deaths among the poorest 20% of the world population. For the richest: 8%."
The moral of the story: get an education and a job, quit screwing every girl in town, and quit drinking from the same river you defecate in.

"there is no innocent in a enemy territory"
Holy crap, you make me sick! Enemy territory is populated almost entirely by innocents. I hope they drag your ass to the Hague and lock you away for war crimes, Stalin. j/k, I know you don't take that quote seriously.

A lot of your stats point to the incredible size of mega-corporations. True. They are huge and getting bigger. So what? They get a lot of real work done, and as long as there is healthy competition (which, for the most part, there is), I don't see any reason to fear them.
No single corporation is, for example, in a position to raise the price of a bottle of ketchup. If they try, they'll find people flocking to their competitors.

Many of your stats talk about the huge income disparity between emerging nations and industrial nations. Yep, it's the difference between having been developing industrially for two hundred years versus fewer than thirty. Communism wouldn't make it all better, though. In fact, capitalism will: the factories will go in stable nations where the supply of labor most greatly exceeds demand. That's where labor is cheapest. When people in those nations have jobs and money in their pockets, people are going to want to sell them goods.
Will Americans, Brits, Germans, and Japanese end up owning the whole world? I think not. No, people in developing countries will soon have enough money to start their own businesses. Some of those businesses will thrive and compete on the world market. Which ones? The most efficient, innovative ones. Capitalism automatically seeks out the most efficient solution.

Now, all you 'communists' out there: you seem to have access to a computer. I bet you wouldn't if you lived in Cuba or North Korea. You're probably mostly disgruntled teenage (or 20-something) American (or European or Canadian) males like me, fed up with the wrongs of the incredibly wealthy. Well, I've taken a good, objective look around, and I do believe communism wouldn't help. It would make things a bit more fair, but equanimity is not as important as well-being. It's my opinion that our best bet lies with Moderate Republicans the likes of Senator McCain, who seeks to make the world a place where hard working, self-reliant, and morally upright persons prosper. It is my opinion that his campaign finance reform bill will take much of the corruption of monied interests out of American politics.
Maybe I'm slightly wrong about that. Maybe we need a mindset more like that of another capitalist American politician I respect: Ralph Nader. He would be less gentle on big business, but he wouldn't put them out of business (which would put most people out of jobs).
At any rate, I strongly encourage you to actively work to make the world a better place. I applaud your eagerness to help out the downtrodden. Still, I don't think your advocacy of communism is going to get us anywhere. I'd like to see you join other, more realistic and productive leftist organizations.

I eagerly await your response.

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