This time I want to share with you a very serious topic. In such a society or a very serious situation has appeared on the surface, that is, the gap between the rich and the poor is getting bigger and bigger. The rich are getting richer and richer. This poor man has always been in a poor world and he can’t escape.
We visited several countries, saw the lives of poor people. We are looking for the root cause of poverty, trying to find the way out. Seeing capitalism which tends to benefit the rich, injustice gets an opportunity, there is very little attention from politicians who prioritize their own interests, to get elected.
In this global village, 1% of the richest people own 48.0% of the world’s wealth, 19% control 46.5% of the wealth, and most of the remaining 80% have only 5.5% of the world’s wealth. A few leaders dare to speak on this issue.
Among them, President Xi Jinping from China has cracked down on monopoly, concentrated resources in the hands of a few or a group of people, provided equal opportunities for all, and proposed common prosperity. He started in education, real estate, financial companies, technology and Internet giants, gaming industry, film and entertainment industry. Let’s see what China has done!
Table of content
1. Rich people ……………………….... 1
2. Life of the poor …………………..... 3
3. Rich and poor comparison ............22
4. Reason the gap widens ……......... 27
5. How to resolve it ………………..... 30
6. Action taken by China………….... 35
7. Harmony and happy life ….…..... 69 For eBook go to Amazon.com, only $ 2.99 per book.
The first 10 pages of the book, pictures are not include.
Today I want
to share with you a very serious topic. In such a society or a very serious
situation has appeared on the surface now, that is, the gap between the rich
and the poor is getting bigger and bigger. The rich are getting richer and richer. This poor
man has always been in a poor world and he can’t escape. And such a situation
seems to be getting worse after the outbreak of Coronavirus disease (Covid-19). We want
to show everyone, every time after a major disaster, after the redistribution
of wealth, the people at the bottom of the society are always the victims. It
is often described that the economic structure of the entire society is a
pyramid. At the top of the pyramid, they will always be standing at a very high
position, flooding, heavy rains, earthquakes, landslides, and whatever happens, they continue to accumulate their
wealth. But at the bottom of the pyramid, the vast majority of people will
always be unlucky. For them, it will always be such a situation. So let
everyone think about how to solve this gap between the rich and the poor.
First of all, we want to take everyone to see that the poorer getting poorer, the richer getting richer. From Forbes’ rich list, let’s take a look at these rich people and their changes. Actually, in the past epidemics and during the outbreak, we just mentioned that someone still accumulates their wealth, even if he invests in a vaccine company, he will get rich faster. Then you said how to invest in a vaccine company, you said we are only small guys, what channels are there? Of course there are still rich people, so some people do the things of rich people, and they become richer and richer.
Let’s take a look. In this Forbes ranking list, you can see that the number of so-called billionaires continues to increase. Forbes’s rich list has a standard, what kind of person you are, so that you can be listed in the rankings. That is, you first have to become a billionaire. One hundred million dollars is called the lowest threshold. How many are these billionaires with a net worth of $100 million? Forbes rich list, which has many different categories, for example, the list will be assigned to a certain country, and then determine in a certain city, which city has the most wealthy people.
In the past, New York has always been the wealthiest city in the United States, with the most billionaires, and almost all the richest people in the world may live here. But by 2021, it will be surpassed by Beijing, which has more billionaires than New Yorkers. There are more wealthy people in China. Of course, you can say that because China was the first to control the epidemic, the economy recovered very quickly. Then of course the wealth of the rich people multiplies faster and is less likely to be dragged down by the epidemic, so Beijing has hundreds of billionaires. It used to be New York. This year, Beijing may become the most wealthy city. But in general, the overall wealth of Chinese billionaires is still relatively small. But if you give him a few more years, I believe that the wealthy people in Beijing will become richer and richer. But overall, the benefits of the epidemic were immediately suppressed, and the total number of billionaires in China increased by 210, compared to this number is still the largest in the United States. Among the billionaires, there are 724 in the United States and 698 in China. Now there is a difference of 26. I hope this Chinese will work harder and add another 26 people to become billionaires.
In the future, it may become the richest country in the world, or it may be China. However, we often find it interesting to talk about these wealthy people. But after all, they are not yours, nor mine. We are just wasting time talking about it. Our theme is rich and poor. Let's take a look at the lives of the poor. We will take you to several countries: Afghanistan, Indonesia, China, America and others.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, the official name, The Emirate Islamic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country on the West Asian plateau in central and western Asia. It borders Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan to the north, Iran to the west, Pakistan to the south and east, and China to the northeast. Afghanistan covers an area of 647,500 square kilometers, almost the same as France in Europe, the climate is mainly continental, with "Afghan wind" in autumn, and the northeast is a plateau mountain climate zone. As of February 2021, Afghanistan has 34 provinces, and the capital is Kabul, the population of Afghanistan is approximately 32.9 million people.
Afghanistan is an underdeveloped country in the world, and more than 6 million refugees have been produced by wars in more than 30 years. Life expectancy 45 years. Although Afghanistan is rich in mineral resources, it has not been developed due to the war, and its industrial base has almost collapsed. As a country of agriculture and animal husbandry, Afghanistan, with farmers and herders accounting for about 80% of the country’s population, is the center of the "Golden Crescent", the world's largest drug source, producing about 20,000 tons of opium per year. Afghanistan is the cradle of Mahayana Buddhism. The main tourist resources are Bamiyan Valley and Jam Minaret.
Afghanistan is a multiethnic and mostly tribal society. The population of the country consists of numerous ethnolinguistic groups, mainly Pashtun, 38 % of population; Tajik, 37%; Hazara, 10%; Uzbek, 9%; others 6%. In 2020 the Gross Domestic Products accounted for 19.81 billion dollars, representing 0.02 percent of the world economy. The GDP per capita is 587 dollars, it is less than 2 dollars a day. At current global economic conditions, the pandemic, climate change, inflation and shortage of food supply. The life of the Afghan people has not changed much, it is still deprived and difficult, only that there is no more foreign occupation.
Micah Barangay is going to visit Afghanistan. He knows that the country is unstable and dangerous, so he made some preparations before leaving. He learned the local language, the way of life of Muslims, and learned to read the Quran and pray. From Pakistan, he would cross into Afghanistan as a backpacker alone, would stay in Kabul for a few days, then take public transport north to Mazar-e-Sharif. He will tell interesting stories about life, which he saw and experienced himself.
When he lived in Kabul, he felt like he was back in time 100 years ago. The streets are narrow, a bit dirty and unorganized. One night he took a taxi to go back to the hotel, the taxi driver took him to a rather dark and hilly place, then asked him for money. Micah Barangay said, I am a journalist from an Islamic country, I do not have a lot of money. The taxi driver insisted, I will tie you into a house if you don't give me money. Micah recited verses in the Quran repeatedly and prayed. The taxi driver finally took him to the hotel. It's no secret, in Afghanistan, foreigners are often kidnapped, asking the embassy for money from where you come from. After the money is given you will be released.
Micah continued to travel north by public transportation. The car rolled for a while, stopped at a market in the small town, and rested for a while. Passengers get off and walk around the small market. When Micah saw something covered with cloth, he approached and the locals asked the seller. What is covered by the cloth? The seller replied with the goat head and opened the cloth cover at the same time. Buyer, how much is it? Seller: 80 Afghanis. The buyer bid for 30 Afghanis. The seller replied that this is a goat's head, not a human head. Buyer don't want to lose, so if the human head I can get it for free. Please note that goat heads are usually purchased by low income people who cannot afford goat meat. 80 Afghanis are only worth one dollar. These talks show that the lives of Afghans are worthless. Due to the conflict between the tribes and the protracted war, the bomb was dropped and exploded, and then the scattered iron pieces were flying like knives at the surrounding area, separating the head from the body. It is not uncommon, not even one, but several heads. The US military denied the use of these kinds of bombs. But this is happening on the field.
On another occasion, Micah Barangay took public transportation to the northern area, passing through mountainous areas with winding, narrow and up and down roads. In the afternoon, the sun will soon disappear, and the whole area will turn into darkness. In a village, there is a small market and some shops are still open. The driver decided to stop here and move on tomorrow. He said that the next city is still far away and the road to the mountains at night is very difficult and dangerous. All the passengers got off the car, each looking for their own way. Micah was confused, got out of the car and walked into the market, not knowing where to go. One by one the shops began to close, just as soon as everyone disappeared, I didn’t know where to go. The market is deserted, all that's left is scattered trash and flying dust. Unexpectedly, he saw a girl still walking in the market, he approached her and asked, where is the inn. The girl replied, there is no inn in this village. Where are you from and where are you going? Micah explained briefly and was about to find shelter. The kind girl, seeing Micah in trouble and a little confused, offered to stay at her house with her mother. The girl explained, the house is not far from here, walk a little from here while pointing at it. Micah has no choice, follows the girl towards her house. Arriving at the house, the girl told her mother that she brought guests, a foreigner would stay at our house. Her mother came out of the room with a welcoming attitude. Inside the house there are no tables and chairs, the floor is dirty and a bit hot. Micah puts the backpack on the ground and is about to take a shower, he asks where he can take a bath. The girl said, the well is almost dry, the water is enough to drink. Then take a cup of water from inside and show it to guests, asking if they have eaten. Micah says no. She takes a bag of bread from inside the room, this is our dinner, please take it. Micah looks at the bag of bread, it has expired. Out of respect for his host he took a piece of bread and just ate. In his mind maybe the bread was stored too long or was picked up from the trash, wasn't the girl still walking around the market after the shops closed. It was night, there were no lights, it was getting dark. Micah was tired, he just slept on the ground covered in dust all over his body.
Next morning, he wakes up and is about to have a bowel movement, he asks where it is. The girl says bring your own paper or whatever, walk behind the house, dig a hole and throw it there, then cover it with soil. Micah feels that although they are poor, they live in poverty, but they have a noble heart and love to help people. Before leaving the house, Micah gave 2 pens to the girl and 400 Afghanis, (about 5 dollars) to the girl's mother as a gift and thanked her very much.
Natural resources
Afghanistan is rich in mineral resources, but basically undeveloped, and is known as the "poor man lying on the gold mine." According to estimates by the Afghan government, Afghanistan’s energy and mineral resources are worth more than 3 trillion U.S. dollars, equivalent to a per capita mineral resource value of 95,000 U.S. dollars. More than 1,400 mineral deposits have been discovered, including iron, ferrochrome, copper, lead, zinc, nickel, lithium, beryllium, gold, silver, platinum, palladium, talc, marble, barite, precious and semi-precious stones, salt, coal, uranium, oil and natural gas, etc. Famous mineral deposits include Haji Jacket Iron Mine, Aynak Copper Mine, Bamiyan Coal Mine, Herat Lithium Mine, Amdalia Oil and Gas Field, Afghanistan-Tajik Basin Oil and Gas Field, etc.
According to the Afghan side, Afghanistan’s coal reserves are about 400 million tons, iron ore reserves are about 10 billion tons, copper, gold and molybdenum ore 30 million tons, marble 30 billion cubic meters, and natural gas 19.15 trillion cubic meters, 35.6 billion barrels of oil, 13.3 billion barrels of condensate oil and gas. These reserves await further exploration and confirmation.
Infrastructure Development
Infrastructure is the key to economic development. In many parts of Afghanistan, it should take 3 hours to drive a car, but it needs 3 days to ride a donkey. Without roads, highways and railways, the flow of goods and people would not be possible. All this is nonsense.
China is willing to develop Afghanistan’s infrastructure, but before the political situation in Afghanistan becomes stable. No serious investment can be made. China has proposed a series of infrastructure projects to Afghanistan more than once. Afghanistan is part of the China-Pakistan-Afghanistan Corridor, a key transportation corridor under the framework of the Belt and Road initiative. Construction started before China put forward the Belt and Road initiative in 2014. Even if only part of this corridor is completed, the flow of goods from China to the region and subsequently to Europe will increase by at least 10%, and the cost will be significantly reduced.
Afghanistan has stopped participating in this project for many years, there have been problems in Pakistan and it continues, Micah thinks we can resume the construction of this corridor now. China once proposed to build a road between Kabul and the Wakhan corridor. This is a road that connects the capital of Afghanistan with Chinese territory.
On the way forward for Afghanistan in the future, economic cooperation is the only way for its security and development. The current crisis contains tremendous opportunities, mainly perhaps humanitarian aid and now is the right time for Afghanistan to participate in the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative and achieve peace and prosperity.
The Republic of Indonesia is referred to as Indonesia. It is a Southeast Asian country and its capital city is Jakarta, is going to move to East Kalimantan in 2024. Connect with countries like Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Malaysia. Indonesia has a land area of 1,913,578.68 square kilometers, consists of about 17,508 islands, is the largest archipelagic country in the world, and its territory stretches across Asia and Oceania, crossed by equator, and is also a country with many volcanoes and earthquakes. The larger islands are Kalimantan, Sumatra, Papua, Sulawesi and Java.
Indonesia has a population of 262 million people and
is the fourth most populous country in the world. There are hundreds of ethnic
groups, of which the Javanese account for 45% of the population, Sundanese 14%,
Madurese and Malays 7.5% each. There are more than 200 ethnic languages, and
the official language is Indonesian. About 87% of the population adheres to
Islam, making it the country with the largest Muslim population in the world.
Indonesia is one of the founding countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. It is also the largest economy in Southeast Asia and a member of the Group of 20 countries. Member of RCEP, the largest free trade organization in the world.
In 2020 the Gross Domestic Products accounted for 1,059.64 billion dollars, representing 1.25 percent of the world economy. The GDP per capita is 3,921.62 dollars. At current global economic conditions, the pandemic, climate change, inflation and shortage of food supply. Not everyone enjoys an affluent life.
Micah Barangay will travel to the impoverished areas of Jakarta and the remote islands of West Nusa Tenggara. He started in Jakarta, the current capital of Indonesia. Micah visits a high school teacher in a slum in central Jakarta. He came to the school to see the teacher and promised to visit the teacher's house in the afternoon. The teacher lives in a slum, surrounded by tall buildings and beautiful streets. Micah was accompanied by a student and did not forget to bring a jar of biscuits as a gift. They went to a magnificent and beautiful mall. There was a small road behind the mall building, and then a sidewalk, exuding a musty smell. The road was winding, muddy and dirty, sometimes in front of the house, other times beside the house, then behind the house, full of clotheslines, which hang clothes over the head.
When we meet people, they ask where we are going? We answered, the teacher's house. They just nodded to show understanding. After a while, we arrived at the house, which is very small, 2 meters wide by 2.5 meters long, made of zinc roof, woven bamboo walls, and a dirt floor. There is a bed, a small table and a chair, and a 25-watt electric lamp. A cigarette pack, paper and soap wrappers tucked in the wall, looks like a note from the teacher. There are headache medicine strips too. The teacher explained, he is a migrant from central Java. If he lives in a decent place, his monthly salary is only enough to live half a month. Bathing by the river, there is a water-closet built by the local government not far from here, eating at a roadside stall above the water canal. The problem is that during the rainy season, the river water overflows, flooding this area, if the water is not too high he stays in this house, the bed is quite high. If there is a major flood, you must evacuate to the mosque or go to the mall and stay on the floor. The common secret is that you can only stay in the mall from 10pm to 6am. You must leave before the mall opens and tip the security guard. It is time to say goodbye, we leave a jar of biscuits as a gift and say thank you.
On the way home, we still had time to stop by at a stall appointed by the teacher, to try the street food there. A plate of rice with tofu and tempeh, green bean cooked with coconut milk, the taste is savory and priced at Rp. 10,000 (about 0.65 dollar).