Why should I be ashamed that other people are not helping themselves? Stop blaming the rich. The rich are NOT rich BECAUSE much of the world is poor, and the poor are NOT poor because the rich caused it. I'm sick of that socialist drivel. They didn't take all that wealth from the poor. Wealth is not zero-sum - it is created. Everyone could be at least relatively wealthy if everyone worked hard/smart. It's not as if the poor are unable to help themselves. Africa for example is resource-rich and huge, yet African countries themselves often spend what little there is on weapons to kill one another. Nobody forces them to. The poor should be ashamed for not doing more hard work and thinking and organising to lift themselves out of their own situation. It's not someone else's responsibility to give you a hand-out just because they could if they wanted to. It's not the responsibility of the rich to care for every sick child in the world just because they could.

Are you always obligated to help someone else and give something to someone else just because you're in a position to be able to? I don't think so. That would mean you should stop spending on money on things like bandwidth and give it to the poor.

There are some things on that list I agree with. Food dumping is bad.

Corruption: Are the rich countries themselves responsible for much of the corrupt activities within poor countries? Debatable, but even if it were true, it is STILL not the rich countries' fault, because the poor countries could still just KICK THEM OUT. You CAN kick them out and don't, you ALLOW them to proceed, so don't blame others.

The REAL cause of ongoing poverty is this culture of blaming others for your situation. How can you EVER get out of poverty if you don't accept responsibility for your own situation. It's impossible. The day you stop blaming others is the day you start becoming wealthier.

There's a lot of profit in selling weapons to Africa. It keeps the "natives" fighting while you rape their natural resources with corrupt governments you can buy off.

Yes, the poor need to get off their asses but the rich need to give. Capitalism as we have found thrives on exploitation.

But you don't really care if child labour is behind the products you buy... do you you. You are rich, you are more in a position of power to positively influence the world for a better future but you don't. What do you care? Sis.

Nobody is forcing Africa to buy weapons. Africa WANTS THEM and willingly and voluntarily places orders for them. If Africa wanted text books instead of weapons, I promise you that the "developed world" would immediately start making "a lot of profit" by selling text books to Africa instead.

Why do the rich "need" to give? You think people should be forced to give away their own money? That's immoral. Can I also compel you to give your money to whomever I see fit?

Capitalism doesn't thrive on exploitation. All trade is mutually beneficial, otherwise it would not occur. Capitalism in fact requires you to PRODUCE SOMETHING FOR OTHERS before you are allowed anything at all in exchange - that doesn't sound exploitative to me, it sounds almost philanthropic. Under capitalism, you CAN ONLY get something by giving something of your own away.

Can you tell me what products I buy that are made with child labour? I'll stop buying them. Or are you just making ridiculous assumptions and blanket generalisations about anyone with money being evil? Or do you think all material products involve child labour?

Nobody is forcing Africa to buy weapons. Africa WANTS THEM and willingly and voluntarily places orders for them.

I wish you knew something about Africa. Kids also want guns! Lets give them all guns!

Why do the rich "need" to give?

To be better people? To help humanity? Oh wait... that doesnt mean anything to you. So 80`s.


Capitalism doesn't thrive on exploitation.

Rubbish. Why are people in 3rd world countries developing the products for the wealthier countries? Cheap exploitable labour. What country are you from? Im trying to understand if you have any idea about whats happening in the rest of the world....

Can you tell me what products I buy that are made with child labour? I'll stop buying them. Or are you just making ridiculous assumptions and blanket generalisations about anyone with money being evil? Or do you think all material products involve child labour?

A quick google for "child labour products" brought up a real extensive list of sites offering lists of known bad products (in the first couple were the names Walmart and Nike).

I really hope that your type of thinking does not spread to my part of the world. Here at least most of us understand the need to help those less fortunate than us. Most of us know the spirit of ubuntu. Its rather sad that you have lost it.

While I can understand your desire in life is to suck as much money out of people as you can... some of us have other agendas in life.

For the record I am not the full blown socialist you would like to make me out to be. I believe in the Scandinavian model is currently the best solution.

Some people care about more than just themselves.

PICKLEDBUSHMAN is right, check this out :

" * An internal Wal-Mart audit found "extensive violations of child-labor laws and state regulations requiring time for breaks and meals.” [New York Times, 1/13/04]
* One week of time records from 25,000 employees in July 2000 found 1,371 instances of minors working too late, during school hours, or for too many hours in a day. There were 60,767 missed breaks and 15,705 lost meal times. [New York Times, 1/13/04]
* Wal-Mart agreed to pay $135,540 to settle child labor violation charges in January 2005 for allegedly breaking child labor laws in 24 incidents. [Wall Street Journal, 2/12/05]
* Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell announced that the state found 11 violations in three Wal-Mart stores in the state and that 337 minors worked at the company's 32 Connecticut stores from 2003 to 2005. The probe came after the Labor Department in February said the retailer had similar violations nationwide. [Bloomberg News, 6/22/05]
* Wal-Mart has also been fined $205,650 for 1,436 violations of child labor laws in Maine for the period 1995 to 1998. The settlement represents the largest number of citations as well as the largest fine ever issued by the Maine Department of Labor for child labor violations. [Bureau of Business Practice News] "


David, it appears for all your wealth that you are missing a decent education. To get a clue please watch documentries such as "Walmart, The high price of low living," "Who killed the electric car" and "The Corporation". You should also watch "Hotel Rwanda and blood diamond" to get some African perspective.

William Bernton, I live in Africa - have lived here all my life - I think I probably have more of an "African perspective" than you might get from watching a few movies.

I don't go to Wal-Mart because it doesn't exist in my country. It might be true that Wal-Mart is exploiting some, but I hardly think this is the "cause" of some global imbalance. However exploited, is Wal-Mart *taking something away* from those labourers? Is it going into their homes and stealing their food out the fridges? Or do they actually still have more than they would have if Wal-Mart didn't exist at all? Enough with the zero-sum economic reasoning.

Wealth today is not really seen for what it represents, rather for what it is - a huge big bank balance. What it represents is work, money pays for work. Work supplies the product from the resource to the 'wanter'. Hence we have the laws of attraction and the laws of thermodynamics played off against each other using little u and me as piggy-in-the-middle doing all the work, or karma involved in satisfying the material want of the 'wanter'. Be careful what you want, if you want it strongly enough, you will have it - often at the cost of life, even though you do not know this. God does not 'make' any thing that you want unless it is already there, made by nature. You and I are the makers of material things from what God has put before us.
The operation of laws of thermodynamics in this situation can be broken down to a ratio of wanters vs workers similar to a situation where 5 people (yourself included) live on an island and what you yourself do not do for others there, you make others there do for you.

So.. that new car you want which costs a few hundred thousand rands which you can afford is going to enslave many many people from all over the world for a lot of work input in order that your car can be produced, to satisfy your material want.

Do what you want.

In many countries the governments are not acting toward
the issue of poverty. because in the public sectors they tend to apply their own powers instead of the powers propounded
by the legislation of the sector.
for example, if the public officials want to maximise their
own wealth by causing corruption, theft and robbery of public
financials..
again,, who to promote transparency if the public officials
are not promoting. And also who will be there to address
poverty while the public officials are maximising their wealth instead of
bringing change to poor people.