Blog 10: High marriage costs leave many in rural China in debt 4/18/14 2:36p.m

Summary

               Northern China farmer families are facing financial impacts of the rising cost on marriages as they scratch and scram for every penny that goes towards such expenses as the ceremony and the dowry.  Farmer families in villages have complained how expensive it has been for them to fork out the money to help their son/sons pay for expenses such as a house and a car at the request of their bride’s family. The parent’s of these son/sons are going far beyond what they can afford financially just to give their son/sons a traditional wedding.  Some reports that were included said that it cost as high as 200,000 yuan or $32,200 in US dollars for the dowry and wedding ceremony but on top of that it cost the son another 200,000 yuan for a house and 80,000 yuan ( 12,900 US dollars) for a car. On the other hand it has become harder to find a wife in villages due to a shortage of women in these areas as a result of the country’s one child policy.  Other reasons have been because of traditional preference for male heir and a rise of women living in urban areas.

Analysis

             The social issue here is that high prices have put an economical weight on many of these families as they have had to resort to other means in order to find enough money. Farmer families have to borrow money to make ends meet while they continue to put themselves in even deeper dept. While they continue to put themselves in further debt just to cover the cost of weddings it is hurting them in other areas of their life such as: lack of money to go towards farm supplies and seeds to provide food for their family, living expenses with their homes, and other necessary expenses to take care of the rest of the family. The director of the sociology department at the school of the central committee of CPC suggested that the government needs to implement a plan to have stronger education provided to these villages in order to reduce these high costs towards weddings. 

Published :  4/15/2014 

 http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20140415000146&cid=1503

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 #7: Family Benefit Scheme falters in India. 3/28/14 Chelsie Stinson 3:00pm

Summary

In India, the National Family Benefit Scheme program that was implemented in 1995 has recently received attention that the plan has reached faulty lines.  Under this scheme, money could be awarded to those families who have fallen below the national poverty line and their breadwinner, or main financial spouse, has become deceased. Also under this scheme they mention there is no specific time period as to when an applicant can apply. But according to the data collected, there have been over 1,000 women who have been rejected after applying a year later from their spouse’s death.  Just last year between April and December of 2013, there were 52 or more applications that were rejected out of 294 according to the Social Welfare and Women and Child Welfare department. India follows the traditional social set up where men go out into the work force while women run the household but there has been a social shift in these roles as more women are going into the workforce.

Analysis

The family benefit scheme that was formulated by India’s government was not thoroughly thought out to compensate for women as well as men. This scheme has been and still practices gender inequality toward women as it may or may not have taken into consideration that more women are taken the double shift of being both a housewife and employee. The scheme does not explicitly state guidelines on how to apply for aid therefore many applicants are being mislead that applying at anytime will still guarantee them aid. Based on statistics of applicants who apply a year after their spouse’s death, typically women, there is a clear discrepancy that aid is being rejected versus if they had applied before a year. This continual rejection of aid to these families who fall below the poverty line are being directly affected because they are falling further below that poverty line while not having the economic support to raise their family on a daily basis.  This becomes a social issue because it goes beyond more than just a single family problem. A majority of families that fall below poverty line in India’s capital of Delhi, specifically those lead by women, are facing gender inequality.

 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2590968/Governments-family-benefit-scheme-falters-figures-not-single-man-helped-Capital-1995.html

Published: March 27, 2014 

 

Blog #5: Home Prices in China may hurt Families. Chelsie Stinson 3/6/14 7:55pm

Summary

China’s outrages prices for houses has caused thousands of families their savings according to one rather large survey, including 28,000 households, which was taken last summer.  This has been an on-going issue with housing prices continuing to rise for more than 10 years now. In addition, the survey found that most of the assets were in the family homes with limited diversification in stocks, bonds, and other assets.  Two cities in China (Shanghai and Shenzhen) experienced a drop of 4.5% in stock markets this past week before coming to a stabilized low.  There has been  attempts by the government to slow down the paste of  real estate prices by demanding banks to get down payments of 30% +  on first homes,  while increasing the amount or eliminating mortgage entirely on additional homes.  According to an earlier editorial on this story “Chinese policy makers must take measures to prevent house prices from becoming a source of financial instability, and they should prepare as early as possible to deal with the social impact that falling home prices may exert.”  An interesting statistic found by the Southwestern university of Finance in Chengdu, China mentioned how China has 66% of assets found in homes versus the US with only 41%.   This trend we see has been a general a representation of the middle class population where homes are costing them all their money.  Also there seems to be a decline in urbanization in which large numbers of educated youth have migrated to more cities from their rural locations.

Analysis

Home prices rising has obviously left many in an overwhelming state of stress as they continue to struggle with paying off mortgage they currently owe. This becomes a very concerning issue as it brings about social instability since housing has become progressively unaffordable for the ordinary common people.  Low-income families are being outsourced as well as burdened with these cost and could eventually lead to an alarming amount being forced out of their homes if policies are not changed to accommodate for this Socioeconomic-class issue.  There is already a gap between the rich and poor existing but here is a prime example of how this gap will continue to grow further apart if it continues at this rate. Not only does this affect the rich-poor gap but also because there has been a trend of more people moving into larger cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, these cities have faced growing population issues such as the raise in the standard of living, puts higher demand on education, and job opportunities.  People in the cities have thus suffered and new comers will find it harder to even find a place to rent or even afford to rent.

 http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/03/business/international/families-left-vulnerable-in-chinas-housing-market-study-finds.html

published in print March 3, 2014;  posted March 1, 2014