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 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

Topic: Inequality

For my topic i will be looking into global inequalities concerning crime as to how the prison, youth incarceration and judicial systems of the world treat people.

Blog 10: UN Report Suggests Social Unrest Linked To Inequality In Latin America

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            This article explains how violence and unrest in Latin America have been a result of inequality. The United Nations issued a report saying that the Latin American countries with the greatest number of conflict are those with broad social inequalities. In countries like Argentina, Bolivia and Peru, there was extremely high social conflict. The UN also found that there is a limited capacity to manage unrest. The specific conflict ultimately determines the effectiveness of that country’s political process.

            Costa, Chile, and El Salvador are the countries with the lowest levels of unrest. Heraldo Munoz, who is the United Nations Development Programs Director for Latin America and the Caribbean said in a press release that democracies enable social conflict as a constructive tool for peoples’ demands for improved quality of life. According to the report unrest was categorized as social, institutional and cultural tensions and said that the unrest in Latin America is numerous compared to the other regions and is characterized by a high amount of citizen participation. Munoz believed that depending on how these situations are managed, social conflicts can easily become gateways for change as opposed to destruction. Munoz stated that “If they are managed through dialogue and negotiation and their causes are addressed, they are great opportunities for profound transformations – and for a more equitable and just Latin America.” He is saying that if there is a way to compromise and talk on their level then there will be an opportunity to stop or at least reduce the violence.

            The UN’s findings seem counter intuitive to the political and social climates in a majority of Latin American countries. Even though there are anti-government sentiments in both Argentina and Bolivia, the two countries are generally deemed by experts to have fairly stable governments even though they may be considered poor. However, El Salvador has a large scale of problems with violence related to the country’s maras, or gangs, and Chile has been dealing with student and environmental protests since the start of President Sebastián Piñera’s duration in office.

            It was also found that just under 60 percent of the organizations and individuals involved in social conflicts had a presence on the Internet, which along with other communications technologies allows social movements to interact, spread messages through videos and raise funds. There was a UNDP news release that stated that the Internet and other tools have also been increasingly important for historically marginalized groups as well as indigenous people.

            Social conflict is what starts violence. When the people of a country are not getting treated fairly they often protest and take action. Unfortunately these protests in Latin America led to violent behavior. Governments need to learn how to adhere to their citizens. Even though there are many people in the United States that disagree or dislike the government, the United States still have a good system. There has to be a way that the United Nations can do more to stop these chaotic events because the things that are going on now are not working very well. 

 Article Link: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2013/04/17/un-report-suggests-social-unrest-linked-to-inequality-in-latin-america/

Blog 9: Welfare cuts deepen Britain's income inequalities

This article explains how budget cuts in Scotland and the United Kingdom will lead to greater inequalities. There was research done by Sheffield Hallam University that found that the welfare cuts will cost Scotland £1.66bn a year. There are councils that are covering the poorest areas that are being hit the hardest. This increases Britain’s deep income inequalities. There are reports that have been issued that give warning of the damage these cuts will have on fragile local economies. The loss of benefit income, which is often large, will have bad consequences for local spending and for local employment as well. This results in a downward pattern in terms of economy.

There has been a recent Scottish Government analysis that has found the cumulative impact of all the cuts in the UK Budget, autumn statement and spending review would be £4.5bn by the year 2015. This could potentially result in the loss of up to 17,000 jobs. Jamie Hepburn, who is Deputy Convener of the Scottish Parliament’s Welfare Reform Committee, reacted to the report. He said that these new figures have once again laid bare to the scale of the human and economic damage of Westminster’s brutal welfare cuts. The Bedroom Tax has attracted widespread condemnation and protest. Unfortunately this resulted in a devastating impact. From cuts to incapacity benefit to tax credit changes and child benefit cuts, the most vulnerable are being made to pay the price for the economic incompetence of Westminster. Hepburn feels that it is terribly horrific that councils on Scotland who are covering the poorest areas are hit hardest. The UK is already the fourth most unequal society in the developed world, which is considered a disgraceful position for resource-rich Scotland to find itself in.

These cuts say something about the Westminster Government’s commitment to building a fairer society. The Tories claim that these cuts are in someway necessary to secure economic recovery. However, they are in fact destroying jobs and destroying confidence in the economy. Hepburn feels that it doesn’t have to be this way because Scotland has already made its opposition to these welfare cuts absolutely clear. Also a majority of Scots believe that the Scottish Government would be best at deciding welfare policy for Scotland. This case is believed to start becoming unanswerable.

The government needs to start distributing welfare out more evenly. There is no excuse for all of the inequalities that is going on in the world right now. The United Nations needs to get together and figure out how they can stop inequalities throughout the world. I know it’s difficult because each country has their different systems, but there should be more planning that goes into this. The world needs to change and in order for that to happen the government needs to have a different approach when it comes to certain matters. The less fortunate rely on welfare to survive and there needs to be a system that is more fair. Either way something needs to be done.

Article Link: http://www.snp.org/media-centre/news/2013/apr/welfare-cuts-deepen-britains-income-inequalities

Blog 8: Hong Kong's surging real estate prices shed light on rising inequality

          In this article, Benjamin Carlson describes the inequality in Hong Kong, a city that has one of the steepest wealth gaps in Asia. Since 2001, the city’s Gini coefficient which is a measure of inequality from 0 to 1, in which a score of one indicates a country where all the income goes to one person, has risen from 0.525 to 0.537, higher than New York City or Washington, DC. The middle class has fewer opportunities to become rich in this system and the rich are often resented. Hong Kong is known for a high rate of consumption. This city of 7 million owns more Rolls Royces and drinks more cognac per capita than any place on Earth. It has the world’s most expensive retail real estate and the highest concentration of luxury stores. And Hong Kong is consistently ranked as having the “freest” economy in the world, thanks to its low income taxes and untaxed capital gains.

            Inequality in Hong Kong has become so great that social tensions are rising. Public anger over unaffordable housing and inequality erupted repeatedly in 2012. In July, there were up to 400,000 people that took to the streets following the inauguration of new Chief Executive CY Leung. Between 2001 and 2010, the incomes for Hong Kong’s top 10 percent grew by 60 percent, while the bottom 10 percent saw their incomes drop by a fifth.

            Over the last two decades the city’s economy has hollowed out because manufacturers seeking cheaper labor moved factories across the border into China. Hong Kong’s population is aging fast. In 2011, the median age of Hong Kong was 41, and more than 28 percent of households included an elderly person over age 65. Every public park is filled with elderly retirees playing Chinese chess, or taking advantage of free seating. Finally, expansion in the city’s high-flying financial sector has concentrated income gains in the hands of a few high-skilled workers.

            The biggest factor in inequality is real estate. Hong Kong is the world’s most expensive place to own a home. Since 2009, housing prices have gone up 85 percent. To buy a one-bedroom, 852-square-foot apartment at The Belcher’s, a building on the west side of Hong Kong island, costs over $1.5 million. Houses on Victoria Peak — the tallest mountain on Hong Kong island , start selling at $20 million or more. In November, a Frank Gehry designed apartment on the peak sold for an astounding $60 million. For ordinary homes the median home price in Hong Kong is now nearly 13 times the annual median household income. In the US that figure is three.

The government of Chief Executive CY Leung, who took office last summer, has given some poor people hope by promising to tamp down on the real-estate frenzy, and expand the availability of public housing. In late 2012, he rolled out a measure intended to discourage foreign and mainland Chinese buyers of Hong Kong property by imposing a 15 percent tax on property purchased by non-residents. Many doubt that Leung will allow prices to fall significantly.

Among the wealthy in Hong Kong, there’s a feeling that the government is perhaps already giving too much. There are not enough resources to go around but people who live in Hong Kong get their health care taken care of if they have a career. The distribution of wealth creates a problem because many people feel that it needs to be distributed more evenly. I think that it will be difficult to change Hong Kong’s system but something needs to be done in order to stop this inequality. 

Article Link: http://www.minnpost.com/global-post/2013/04/hong-kongs-surging-real-estate-prices-shed-light-rising-inequality

Blog 7: Budget 2013: Reducing inequality should be at the forefront of Osborne’s mind today

             In the article “ Buget 2013: Reducing inequality should be at the forefront of Osborne’s mind today”, Luke Hildyard writes about how there has been a trend in the growth of inequality in the UK for the past 30 years. There is an higher share of the national income captured by a wealthy elite, while the wages of ordinary working people stagnate. In 1979 the richest 1% of the population controlled about 6% of the national income. By 2007, this percentage grew to 15%. Also since 1998, the pay packages of FTSE 100 company chief executives have risen by 500% for the average worker. The pay increase over the same time period has been around 15%.

            Hildyard explains that the UK is also the 7th most unequal OECD country, with only Israel and the US along with the poorer economies of Mexico, Chile, Portugal, and Turkey, which are worse off. “It is the reversal of these destructive, destabilising and unfair trends that ought to be the government’s number one priority, at the forefront of George Osborne’s mind when he stands up to deliver his budget today.

In this context, Osborne’s decision to reduce the top rate of tax from 50p to 45p on earnings over £150,000 seems perverse.” The Research for the High Pay Center suggests that if 10% of the income of those who fall in the 0.9% were redistributed to the bottom 25% of earners, would boost their income by an average of 55 pence an hour. This scenario would bring the average hourly wage of those who are in the bottom quartile to £7.35, which is 10p short of the living wage outside London. “A very minor reduction in the incomes of a tiny proportion of the population – who would remain very wealthy indeed by most people’s standards – would go a long way towards eliminating the problem of people in gainful employment remaining unable to support themselves, if appropriately redistributed.” The key point is that the UK needs to make a few minor adjustments that will help decrease inequality.

            A reversal on the 50p tax rate could be one way to make this happen as long as the link between social security payments and inflation being maintained. The revenue could also be raised by reviving the tax on banker’s bonuses. Bringing Capital Gains Tax in line with income tax would help to counter the growing share of national income accounted for by profits in relation to wages. This has benefitted the rich, who receive a disproportionate amount of their income in profits, at the expense of low and middle-income households, whose earnings are mainly in the form of wages.

            According to Mariana Mazzucato, there is little evidence to suggest that lower Capital Gains Tax rates have enabled greater private sector innovation and that instead, they have merely increased the returns from the typical, short-term venture capital investments in companies that are already at an advanced stage of development.

            The UK government needs to do everything they can to stop this inequality.

Inequality has increased not only in the UK but around the world as well. The UN is trying to assist the UK as well in terms of coming up with a plan. Inequality is a difficult thing to decrease, but it is possible even though it may seem unlikely.   

Article Link: http://www.leftfootforward.org/2013/03/the-budget-should-reduce-inequality/

Blog 6: Women Still Missing from Top Jobs in Business, Government in India: Survey

This article explains how women are still facing barriers to leadership positions in the government and private sector in India and across the Asia/Pacific region, according to MasterCard’s latest Index of Women’s Advancement. The ‘MasterCard Worldwide Index of Women’s Advancement’ measures the socio-economic standing of women across Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa. This index is comprised of three main indicators. The indicators are Employment  (Workforce Participation, Regular Employment), Education (Secondary Education, Tertiary Education) and Leadership (Business Owners, Business Leaders, Political leaders). All of these indicators measure the ratio of women to every 100 men in each of the 14 Asia/Pacific markets covered by the research.

To indicate how close or how far women in each market are to achieving socio-economic parity with men scores are indexed to 100. A score under 100 indicates gender inequality in the favor of males; a score above 100 indicates inequality in the favor of females, and a score of exactly 100 indicates equality between sexes. In the overall rankings among the 14 Asia/Pacific markets in order, New Zealand first with a 77.8 index score, followed by Australia with 76.0, then the Philippines with 70.5, then Singapore with 67.5, and Taiwan with 64.7. India had 38.0, Japan had 48.1 and Korea had 49.7 index scores at the end of the spectrum. This indicates that much more can be done to achieve gender equality.

There is an education ranking of 79.3 showing that Indian women have access to secondary and tertiary education. The only problem is that there are barriers preventing them from taking top positions in the government or private sector as indicated by the leadership ranking of 15.9. This information shows that there is much work to be done to remove such institutional barriers allowing women to take up these leadership positions in business and government. There are some immediate improvements that need to be made enable to enhance women’s participation in the workforce. The employment ranking of 43.6 shows that improvement also needs to be made so that women are able to find regular employment.
            The survey indicates overall that there is a lot of room for improvement and a clear need for affirmative action to ensure women’s advancement in Indian society and the work place as well. Georgette Tan, who is the group head of communications in the Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa regions, said, “There is still a lot to be done in our region to enhance the role of women across all aspects of society; there are still too few women leaders in government and business, and not enough women-owned and run businesses. There are standout markets which have repeatedly improved in terms of advancing opportunities and access for women, but more needs to be done.” 

This whole article is just a prime example of how women are treated differently in the workplace. Society has their ideal view of women and there is this idea that they are inferior to men. Times are changing and more needs to be done to advance gender equality, not just in the regions named in this article, but the whole world.

Article Link: http://www.siliconindia.com/news/general/Women-Still-Missing-from-Top-Jobs-in-Business-Government-in-India-Survey-nid-142750-cid-1.html

Blog 5: Online survey: ‘Rule of law, human rights and gender inequalities worry most Pakistanis’

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            Shamsul Islam from The Express Tribune wrote about an online survey that was conducted by Directorate of Students Affairs at the Government College University Faisalabad or the GCUF. The survey has revealed that issues pertaining to rule of law, human rights and gender inequality have been prioritized as one of the biggest problems people face in Pakistan. The survey was titled, “Prioritization themes- Issues for Post-2015 Development Agenda from Pakistani Perspective”. It was taken under the instructions of Vice Chancellor Zakir Hussain of Pakistan. The United Nations Development Program or the UNDP carried in collaboration as well. The survey was put on the university website.

            There was a seminar held to address and share the survey results with the students and faculty. Hussain said that it was meant to prioritize issues that the nation needed to cope with and to map out a comprehensive strategy to move the country up on development indicators. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Dean Professor Pervez Azim, Faculty of Science and Technology Dean Professor Naureen Aziz Qureshi and UNDP Program Officer Shakeel Anjum attended the seminar as the guests of honor. The speakers included Students Affairs Director Dr. Nadeem Sohail and Dr. Sofia Anwar.

            According to Professor Azim there were 2,243 respondents to the survey. Out of the respondents, the major problems that were prioritized included impediments to human development, lack of food security, energy crisis, lack of social development, gender inequality, violence against women and failure to protect and rehabilitate people before and after calamities. When the discussion of global challenges came about, Shakeel Anjum from the UNDP said that 1 billion people in the world were undernourished and more than 205 million were unemployed. He said that only 28 per cent of the world population was covered by social protection systems, which can be quoted from UNDP data. He pointed out that half of the world’s forests in 1980 had been cut due to increasing population and urbanization and that carbon dioxide emissions had increased by 40 per cent over the 33 year long period. The incidents of natural disasters had increased five times in the last four decades.

            Apparently the UNDP is actively working on the agenda to cater to the emerging needs and find solutions to the problems by the end of 2015. Professor Qureshi said that governments along with non government organizations must use data from such surveys to analyze priority issues. This helps the government tackle the problems that are most relevant within the country. Professor Qureshi urged for a coming up with a comprehensive plan to tackle various issues Pakistan was facing. “Over 60 per cent of Pakistan’s population is under 30-years-old. Plans must be devised keeping that in mind.” She feels that there is a reason for this predicament and that things need to be done to reduce this problem. Professor Qureshi also stressed that the children need to enhance their role in the development by training them. These survey questions consisted of score problems from 1-9, 1 being the most important. These results revealed the priorities that Pakistan needs to address. 

          Pakistan is one of many countries that need to change they way that they develop. The survey helps the government understand what needs to be address even though it may be obvious before hand. The people are the ones that know what is best for the country and the government needs to listen and hear their opinion. 

Article Link: http://tribune.com.pk/story/513940/online-survey-rule-of-law-human-rights-and-gender-inequalities-worry-most-pakistanis/

Blog 4: Fixing China's Harmful Inequality

            In the article “Fixing China’s Harmful Inequality”, Yukon Huang from the Wall Street journal wrote about how China recently announced a plan to deal with rising inequalities. He said that there was a problem reaching a consensus and that the debate was unusually broad, ranging from the need for property taxes and agricultural support prices to the role of the state in influencing returns to firms and labor. It is not clear as to how this plan will effectively tackle inequality because of the lack of detail and firm targets.

            China’s economy has rapidly grown, which has caused widening disparities. Their growth has lifted about 600 million people out of poverty even as its Gini coefficient, which is a measure of income inequality, has soared to 47% today from 25% in the mid 1980’s. Despite the high statistics, China’s Gini is still comparable to that of the U.S. and other successful Asian economies such as Singapore and Malaysia. Huang gives an explanation about the significance of the Gini number, “The Gini number is less important than the reasons behind it. Inequality is positive when it emanates from productivity increases, entrepreneurial risk-taking and structural changes that produce sustained growth. Harmful inequality comes from distortions that ultimately undermine the development process. It is the latter kind of inequality that Beijing has been slow to address. First, policy distortions have exaggerated geographical disparities. Second, the government budget has failed to provide equal access to social services. And finally, links between government-party officials and commercial activities have led to excessive rent-seeking.”

            China’s geographical inequality is actually extreme when compared to other countries. Their per capita urban incomes are more than three times that of rural residents, and coastal incomes are more than twice of the interior. Some of blame can be because of the fast industrialization that has been going on along the coast of China. You could also blame the policies such as restrictive residency system known as hukou. Hukou prevents more than 200 million migrant workers who have flocked to the major cities from gaining access to social services and jobs on the same basis as established residents. This exacerbates urban to rural and regional income disparities. The new plan has an intention to liberalize the hukou system.

            For a socialist economy where the state controls the bulk of resources, the budget plays a limited role in providing the level of social services needed to moderate rising disparities. China’s budget as a share of the economy is only two-thirds that of the other middle-income countries, and half that of the European Union, and as a result welfare spending has been inadequate, amounting to about half the level of comparable middle-income countries. Huang explains why budget plays such a limited role, “The limited role of the budget reflects, in part, a failure to secure more revenue from the state enterprises that control much of the country's resources. Their profits have soared over the past decade given their favored position, but compared with other countries, China's state enterprises pay much less to the state in the form of dividends. Even these modest amounts were largely allocated to other firms for investment rather than made available to the budget for social services. Thus, the proposal to increase payments by five percentage points is welcome, although this would still be quite low compared to other countries.“

            Another source of harmful inequality is the linkage between the government-party apparatus, state banks and enterprises. This leads to corrosive practices ranging from clear cases of corruption to grey areas where conflicts of interests and earnings built on relationships generate excessive incomes. Senior leaders recognize that these issues threaten the legitimacy of the political system. The new plan focuses on the symptoms of this problem by demanding that officials report their income and assets. Huang explains that there is much more needed to tackle the underlying causes and that at this broadcast level, dealing with China’s bad inequalities will require a change in the mindset regarding the importance of the rule of law, that is something highly unlikely to happen quickly.

            Reforms to labor migration and divided policies could go a long way toward eliminating bad inequalities. For example, channeling one-third of the overall profits of state enterprises to the budget to fund social services for households would help provide the resources necessary to equalize the quality of such programs across regions. This combined with eliminating hukou restrictions might increase household consumption by several percentage points of GDP. These reforms would dramatically affect the nature of global macro imbalances by increasing China’s imports. Dealing with the harmful sources of income inequality not only addresses a social concern, it also offers a way to reduce trade tensions between China and the West.    

Article Link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323549204578317633183827770.html

Blog 3:Tackling inequality vital for new development targets

            Mark Tran from guardian.co.uk wrote an article about the United Nations’ developmental plans for the future and how tackling inequality is vital. Helen Clark who is the chairwoman of the United Nations Development Group has contributed her voice to address inequality in debates that should follow the millennium development goals. Helen Clark had a talk at the Overseas Development Institute in London about how inequality has emerged as a key issue in the United Nations consolations. "Inequality is so important. There is a strong feeling among disadvantaged groups that their story is hidden in aggregate figures." Clark is saying that when the United Nations make development plans they need to take the disadvantaged groups into consideration because they are often overlooked. “Her comments came ahead of an international conference in Copenhagen next week on inequality, part of a series of global thematic consultations led by the UN, which will feed into the report of the high-level panel, set up by UN general secretary Ban Ki-moon. A report released ahead of Copenhagen said a self-standing goal on inequalities should be included in any new targets.” This report stated that these new targets should not be limited to economic inequalities but should also address other key dimensions such as gender inequalities and discrimination. These future developments are going to be focused on the most disadvantage groups. However, development experts seem to believe that economic growth without addressing inequalities can be a recipe for disaster. It is important to address inequalities when there is economic growth because in able for a country or region to grow economically their must be an understanding of the inequalities so a particular issue can be solved. The Asian Development Bank is planning to shift its priorities from infrastructure to health and education because growth without adequate social protection programs like health insurance and access to school can damage a country’s social cohesion.

            Helen Clark cited China’s plan to raise the minimum wage to 40% of average urban salaries by 2015 as an example of measures taken to tackle rising inequality. The United Nation’s report on inequalities said submissions argued that social protection is not only affordable but it is a cost-effective way to tackle poverty and protect families against risks and shocks. This report also cited programs in countries such as Mexico and Brazil that marginalized indigenous people. On the subject of gender inequality, Clark said that there were two views on how to make up for the lack of progress. First make it a goal in its own right and second integrate it into the whole framework. The United Kingdom’s international development secretary Justine Greening has an issue with the rights of women and girls. Last month the minister Michelle Bachelet called on the international community to act on violence, against women. However, in a speech that was given last week, Greening did not mention inequality or inclusive growth when she outlined her priorities for the Department for International Development. Also, the prime minister, David Cameron said that economic growth was the priority rather than inequality. The high level panel is scheduled to submit its report to the UN secretary general in May and after that the attention will shift to a UN working group representing 30 countries and comprised of 70 members who are focusing on sustainable development.

            In order to tackle inequality the UN must target underprivileged across the world and come up with a system that will get rid of specific inequalities.

Article Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2013/feb/13/inequality-development-targets-helen-clark

Same-Sex Couples

Jessie Loy Soc 202-02 4:30pm 2-15-13

In this article the reader is presented with a Memo that was sent out in AP on referring to same sex couples or unions. The first memo that was sent stated only that the terms “husband” and “wife” where only to be used in stories with attribution. The memo continued on saying that in general AP used the terms couples or partners when talking about those in civil unions or same-sex marriages. A further memo was sent out to clarify what was meant by the first memo. AP explained that, in general, they used coupes or partners, but if the couple was used to referring to one another as husband and wife, then they where allowed to report as such. 

While I believe that this was simply a typo or a memo not fully thought out, I think it does bring up a very good point. When a reporter goes into the home of, or meets a couple that is of one male and one female, they do not hesitate or even ask to report them as husband and wife. It is simply assumed. That is not true for couples who are of the same sex. They are referred to as a civil union or as a same-sex couple, the same way AP refers to them. 

I personally do not condone this manner at all. We have labeled the use of the word “Husband” to mean the male in the relationship and the word “Wife” to mean the female in the relationship. I would not to demean a male in a same-sex relationship by calling him a wife, nor would I want to demean a female in a same-sex relationship by calling her a husband. It is true that some same-sex couples are fine with these labels and call each other husband and wife, but I find it a little sad that we can as a human race can come up with technology that can change our lives forever and yet we can not find a proper term for a same-sex couple. I honestly feel like right now at this point using terms like same-sex marriage and civil union are a bit awkward as they do not have the same intimate mind set as does husband and wife. I feel that those same-sex couples who do not identify as husband and wife, deserve a term that comes with the same endearment, they should not have to be labeled with terms that are any less than what they feel.  

http://www.mediaite.com/online/spousetrap-the-associated-press-maintains-marriage-inequality-style-ruling/