Blog 9 "living on the edge" - British households struggling to cope despite improved economy 4/11/14 1:01 a.m

Summary

There is a huge fear in the eyes of millions of British households that they will lose their jobs while continuing to struggle dealing with monthly bills and the fear of interest rates rising.  A poll was taken that found 15 million people were considered to be “living on the edge” regardless of the fact that the economy was improving.  Several households are lagging on their bill payments or using credit as a “safety net” to resort to for covering income gaps and afford necessary outgoings.  Financial security has become a rising concern among many households as 41 percent say they experience stress from issues with money. Households are concerned that this burden will only get worse as interest rates start to shoot up again over time and that there will be an even faster  increase in the amount of people relying on credit to get by.  Some say that even in the midst of economic growth that the population of consumers is going to most likely face increased cost in goods and services.  Another worry is that nearly 13 million households wouldn’t have the necessary savings if they faced a quarter of a drop in their income. Actions to resolve this has been to call on the government to implement a national debt strategy to help more people feel more financial stable.

Analysis

There seems to be a lack of financial responsibility among millions of households to balance their finances well enough so that they don’t have to fall on credit when they hit rock bottom. Although since this is becoming more of a trend in British households with the fear of losing jobs and increasing interest rates, the credit welfare will eventually become overburdened. Thus leads the nation to the social issue of so many not being financially prepared for the future ahead of them. Families in these households are being directly affected as they are finding it harder and harder to makes ends meet.  If they can’t afford to make their payments on time it puts them at risk of losing their homes and possibly being put out on the streets.  Unless the nation of Britain can develop a way to improve the families financial resilience there only going to see more family households  “pushed over the edge” as an outcome from depending solely on credit as their financial life saver. There is an economic and societal problem with debt here and a new policy needs to be implemented.

Published : April 10th, 2014

site:  http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-2601541/Over-15m-British-households-living-edge-despite-improving-economy-says-charity.html

Blog # 8 Should childless People be taxed to help families; Chelsie Stinson 4/4/14 12:12 pm

Summary

A proposal was made to impose a heavier tax on childless families in Australia that have been making over the median household income $57,400 since 2011. The idea was suggested as way to alleviate the overwhelming financial burden of families with children in order to make for a fairer society and help bring up the next generation of taxpayers for Australia.  By taxing childless families who meet the requirement then working families with children could pay a lower tax.  This idea recently floated into the US and has become a controversial proposal. While in Australia the cost to raise two Australian children up to 21 years of age was $800,000 according to National Centre for Social and Economic Modeling last year. The article mentions how Australia’s birth rates are still way below what they need to be for replacement, family sizes are continuing to shrink, and families are being delayed because of this outrageous expense to raise children.  So the question asked was whether Australian childless families are family-friendly enough to contribute in this way to those who are burdened with children or do they continue to live out the idea that is “every man, woman and their children—and every double-income no kids unit—for themself?

Analysis

The positive spectrum of this tax on childless families is the hope that by lowering taxes on families with children it will give them more money to utilize towards child care expenses and potentially open up the opportunity for more women to enter the workplace of Australia.  There was a comparison made between those who are parents working and non-parents working who make the same income while working the same hours but how those with no kids have a more disposable income.  On the negative end of the spectrum this becomes a social issue among many non-parents who disagree with being taxed more. Non-parents may have infertility or other problems preventing them from having a family and shouldn’t be taxed more because they don’t have children as in some cases it may not be by choice.  One of the critics made by an individual said they wouldn‘t mind paying extra taxes if all the concessions and benefits currently allotted to families was eliminated like here in the US but according to the individual, by having both a tax fund supporting families and reducing tax burdens was inefficient.  It can be controversial because so many people believe that families should think twice before having kids if they can’t afford them then don’t have them in the first place it’s as simple as that.

Published : April 2, 2014

 http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/should-childless-people-be-taxed-to-help-families/story-fnet085v-1226872378685

Blog # 6 Africa: Gender Gap Holds Back Africa's Women Farmers - Policies to eliminate inequality, Chelsie Stinson, 3/22/14 1:58 a.m

Summary

         African women farmers make up a significant portion of the agricultural workers in Africa but yet face lower productivity outcomes from their farms in comparison to their male competition. Ethiopia, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda were six of the countries that were used in a report that observed the extreme differences in male and female farmer production and why these differences occurred. This gender gap issue has brought attention to women’s land rights being secured and women’s accessibility to have hired labor as a means to narrow the gap. The story goes on to share how two-thirds of Africa’s citizens livelihood rely on farming and that if women were given equal resources to advance in their farm productivity, how much of a impact it would leave on so many millions of people who go hungry every day.  Other points that have been made pertaining to the solution of the gender gap has been related to government getting involved to invest in agriculture, more specifically its’ women farmers, by looking at key policies that will effectively improve their work ethic such as but not limited to: providing training to women’s need, enhancing women’s use of equipment to reduce amount of labor work on their farm, providing community based-child care centers, encouraging women to use high quality fertilizers, and developing better educational levels in female farmers.

Analysis

               This gender gap has not only caused discrepancies among female farmers of Africa but has been a general pattern across the world as women have not been provided with equal access to resources like male farmers, which puts them at a disadvantage. But Africa in particular is facing direct impact to families from this form of inequality as it affects the family’s household income potentials, the amount of food that is produced to feed growing families, and creates an injustice to the women of the families.  I have to agree with the statement that was made how this issue really hinders the economic growth & food security of the continent as well as employment/business opportunities that could arise for the youth population entering the job sector.  As mentioned before, this problem is not just one affecting Africa but other countries around the world as well and if the governments of these countries, especially Africa’s, don’t step up and consider the key policies towards necessary improvements then they could eventually see detrimental backfires on their stubborn decisions to ignore the larger issue that is at stake. 

Published: March 18th, 2014

Source:  http://allafrica.com/stories/201403191389.html

Blog 4: Society Ready for same-sex marriage: activists

Summary

Taiwan government has experienced pressure from its society and gender rights advocates to go ahead and make same-sex marriages legal. According to the Taiwan alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights there should be no issue in going forward with this procedure because Government officials say that it should be based on society consensus and the majority of the society is ready.  There was an issue brought up by a lady and her same sex partner that used ectogenesis abroad as a way to have a child but according to Taiwan laws their child was not theirs and would not be given the same legal rights as other children if the worst took place with her and her partner.  The partners exclaim there was family support from both sides and wanted to know “was the government ready?” for same –sex marriage. Further steps are being taken in order to meet with Taiwan’s premier Jiang Yi-huah in order to discuss this issue in more detail.

Analysis

Same-sex marriages has been an on-going social issue as it has affected many individuals human rights and has involved an overwhelming amount of attention from both the church systems and government systems. Although the church was not brought up in this particular news story, other factors are still contributing to whether Taiwan’s government allows such act to be legalized.  The issue with family is how children’s lives are effected in addition to those that are considered the caregivers, as we seen in this news story that children aren’t granted same legal rights which is out of their control to begin with and creates a much larger social issue among many other families that are fighting for this right.  Taiwan as well as many other countries across the globe is being faced with this difficult decision as they have to take into consideration human rights, religious beliefs, the direction in which they want their country to go and other political issues.  Families are being directed effected by either decision as some may have to face sacrifices for the best interest of their child and relationships such as moving to where this is illegal which causes financial burdens.

 http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2014/02/27/2003584466
published February 27th, 2014

Blog 2: Ignoring equality, rights and women’s health risks derailing development – UN officials

Summary

              The United Nations officials stress about this issue over inequalities and rights for all, especially for women and children as they aim to abolish extreme poverty in hopes to create a world of better sustainable development.  There was a international conference on population and growth development held back in 1994 that launched a historical landmark for women’s rights. This conference had started Programme of Action that aimed to “provide universal access to family planning and sexual and reproductive health services and reproductive rights, and deliver gender equality, empowerment of women and equal access to education for girls.”  Although there has been progress made over the past two decades, there still remains issues that haven’t received the much needed attention. According to UNFPA executive director Dr. Osotimehin, he says that the benefits are basically reaped by the wealthy and that over whelming population have been left out from the process and benefits of development. His stance is over the issue that the richest are excelling but the poorest communities including women and children relating to death, status, and child marriage rates are being ignored. Other issues he brings up are related to inequalities between men and women in political and economic power, poor countries not receiving access to sexual and reproductive health services more specifically to family planning.

Analysis

             This article highlights the gap between class statuses and how the lower economic class still are being excluded to greater benefits and left behind while their wealthier competition reap the better life. Not only does this article address the social class gap damages but specifically addresses  how women and children are being directly impacted by such ignorance as to ignore the simple fact that even though progress has been made, there is a larger demand yet to be fulfilled due to not creating equal access to these programs. If this issue can be resolved it could be the breaking point to opening up solutions to development, family and individual well-being, decrease the population growth for countries, and excel overall in a positive direction.  Families are being directly impacted because their human rights are being disregarded either by their social class or sex and don’t deserve such discrimination. The increasing numbers in statistics as well as the fact that this is not just affecting one region as well as could be prevented by social measures makes even more of a social issue.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=47129&Cr=reproductive+health&Cr1=#.Uv5t1Pm8Dm4