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Monetary Inequality and the Effects on Our Modern World

There is an endemic disease that is spreading around the world faster than any malady
known to date. No, its not ebola, its poverty, and the monetary inequality that goes along with it.
There is an ever-increasing amount of debt piling up and the brunt of it fails on the shoulders of
lower income families. Many of us have been in dire financial strains, or know of many who are
and this issue will only get worst. Many of us have grown up from little means, and along with
the research that has been done on monetary inequality, one will be able to show why a drastic
change is needed for the betterment of everybody around the world. There should be a change
in the disparity of children, social inequality for women, and the propagation of elitism.
Children from all over the world are the ones that suffer the most, especially in
developing countries. Malnutrition and disease is common with youths, which can lead many to
become ill and die. According to the United Nations Environment Program, There are
approximately 200 million malnourished children in developing countries. Guatemala has the
lowest life expectancy and the highest infant mortality rates in Central America. 44% of children
under the age of five are malnourished. Most of these issues stem from globalization and
privatization of resources within these countries. Places like Bolivia, where privatization has
encompassed everything from the railroads, airlines, and telecommunications. When the
corporation Bechtel took over the country's water supplies, and raised the price of water by
50%, the Bolivian people rose up together by the thousands to kick the corporation out of the
country. Many innocent people were injured or killed in the riots that protested laws like the
collection of rainwater. The United Nations has declared that access to clean water is a
necessity, and there have been changes made to decrease privatization of resources in these
countries.

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Children are not the only casualty on the war against poverty. Women in developing
countries are affected because not only do they have to deal with monetary inequality, but social
inequality as well. Everyday we take for granted the fact that we have access to clean water,
right out of the faucet! Women in developing countries are not so lucky, and have to walk many
miles to have the water they need for their family. This often takes up the majority of their time,
and the journey from the water source and back can be perilous. Often times these women are
attacked by wild animals, or molested by men that will snatch them up along the way. Almost a
third of the worlds population does not have access to affordable clean water.
Even women in the United States have to deal with the issues of social inequality. Not
only do they have to deal with sexual harassment, but have to be paid considerably less to do
so. The Panel Study of Income Dynamics reported, Although there are large differences
between men and womens work skills, our data show that two-thirds the wage gap between
white men and white woman and three quarters a difference between white men and black
women cannot be accounted for by sex differences in skills, work participation, or labor-force
attachment. This is important because it only makes it harder for women to be the head of the
household. An essay written by Joan Smith entitles, The Paradox of Womens Poverty: WageEarning Women and Economic Transformation states, By 1981, close to one-fifth of all families
with minor children are headed by women, who were three times as likely to fall into the poverty
line as their male counterparts.
All of these issues and more stem from the propagation of elitism around the world. The
economic process in which we live today originates 500 years ago with the colonization of South
America by the Spanish Conquistadors and Portuguese. The mine of Potosi in Brazil is a perfect
example on how the Spanish exploited the indigenous people of the area to mine the precious
silver and tin inside. They became so greedy that they brought in African slaves to work the
mine, but the conditions were so grievous that many perished. The writer Eduardo Galeano
stated, That with all of the silver that was mined from Potosi, it would be possible to build a

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bridge from Potosi to Spain. He then states,Another bridge could have been built from Potosi
to Spain with the bones of the people who died in the mines. There has been a recorded
amount of 8 million people that died working the Potosi mine. After World War II, the United
States realized that countries like Britain, Holland, and Japan had taken up most of the prime
resources for their own, and they supported these countrys independence to exploit them by
other means. John Perkins is an author and was also an economic hitman. He stated in the
documentary End to Poverty? Think Again,It was my job to go in and bribe the officials, and if
they didnt want to take the bribe, then we would send in the jackals to overthrow their
government by coup or assassination. Time and time again this has happened, and usually the
economic hitmen are successful. The United States and European countries are so invested
with the idea of capitalism, that they do not care how they treat other human beings, or the finite
amount of resources we have left in this world.

It is time for a drastic change in our outlook on economy and monetary inequality that is
spread throughout the world. It is time to recognize that the system we have in place in
outdated, and all of the power and wealth is left to a very small community. It is time to stand
together and realize that everyone on this planet is worth equal value and should have access
to the same standard of living as everyone else. Thank you for taking the time to listen, and
keeping an open mind. If you agree with the information presented, then it is important to put
your voice out there. It is only when we put all of our voices together, when we will finally be
heard.

Works Cited:

Danzinger, Sheldon H. & Haveman Robert H. Understanding Poverty. Russell Sage

Foundation copyright 2001
Diaz, Philippe. The End of Poverty? Think Again. Cinema Libre Studio. 2010
Whitman, Sylvia. Global Issues: World Poverty. copyright 2008
Gelpi, Barbara, Hartsock, C.M. Nancy, Strober H. Myra. Women and Poverty. The
University of Chicago Press: Chicago and London
Rebelution, Wake Up Call https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax-C3Iprtb4