China's Wealth Gap Growing - Grow Grow Grow
by
mammon
on Sat 11 Aug 2007 07:32 PM AKDT
Wealth gap 'spreads across Asia'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6936525.stm
8 August 2007
The gap between rich and poor has widened sharply in China and many other Asian countries as their economies have boomed, research has suggested. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) found that relative inequality had widened more substantially in China than any other Asian country except for Nepal.
The bank said the main reason for widening wealth gaps in recent years was the discrepancy in investment between urban and rural areas which favoured better-educated, better-off urban populations. Urban-dominated growth in China and India has caused social friction as a result of the high levels of migration to cities and a shortage of foreign investment in more isolated areas.
Although basic poverty levels have fallen as Asian economies have expanded, the living standards of the wealthiest in society have improved at a much faster rate, leaving the poorest lagging even further behind.
While increased income disparities were not unusual in countries such as China experiencing rapid economic growth, the ADB said such extreme differences were socially harmful. Growing inequalities can weaken social cohesion.
China's Economic Boom Continues
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4359164.stm
20 October 2005
China's economy grew strongly in the first nine months of the year, despite efforts by the government to put the brakes on growth. The National Bureau of Statistics said the economy was 9.4% bigger than a year ago, but said that trade imbalances threatened economic stability.
US-China Textile Talks are Frayed
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4294654.stm
29 September 2005
The US textile lobby claims that the massive influx of textile exports from China may harm domestic producers, ending in mass redundancies. Imports of shirts, pants, bras, underwear and other clothing to the US rose dramatically after a global quota system ended on 1 January this year.
China Plans to Focus on Wealth Gap
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4330358.stm
11 October 2005
China's ruling party has ended its annual plenary session by approving a new five-year plan to address the growing gap between rich and poor. Few details have come out of the four-day meeting, but delegates are thought to have discussed ways to improve social services. Correspondents say China's leaders are worried that rising discontent may threaten their grip on power. Public unrest over corruption and inequality is rising in rural areas.
#1) Wealth Inequality in 21st Century Threatens Economy and Democracy
http://www.projectcensored.org/publications/2005/1.html
The top 5% is capturing an increasingly greater portion of the pie while the bottom 95% is clearly losing ground, and the highly touted American middle class is fast disappearing. National leaders and mainstream media tell us that the only way out of our own economic hole is through increasing and endless growth-fueled by the resources of other countries.
As rich countries, strip poorer countries of their natural resources in an attempt to re-stabilize their own, the people of poor countries become increasingly desperate. This deteriorating situation, besides pressuring rich countries to allow increased immigration, further exacerbates already stretched political tensions and threatens global political and economic security.
The strict repayment schedules mandated by the global institutions make it virtually impossible for poor countries to move out from under their burden of debt. "In a form of colonialisation that is probably more stringent than the original, many developing countries have become suppliers of raw commodities to the world, and fall further and further behind," says one UN analyst. World economists conclude that if enough of the world's nations reach a point of economic failure, such a situation could collapse the entire global economy.
Testimony of Chairman Alan Greenspan
Monetary Policy Report to the Congress, February 16, 2005
In a democratic society, such a stark bifurcation of wealth and income trends among large segments of the population can fuel resentment and political polarization. These social developments can lead to political clashes and misguided economic policies that work to the detriment of the economy and society as a whole.
The Form of Money
