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opinionAlso in this section:
Bernal, Martín's "Fifth Bench" throne room Syracuse, High profile political murders in Guatemala Jackson, Mitt Romney leads GOP candidate fundraising Sirias, A painful plunge back into English
Facing the poor with choices by Clarence E. Pilgrim At the turn of the last century, many lofty goals were set by humankind to advance humanity to higher heights of human development. The Millennium Development Goals, an initiative of the United Nations, is a unique campaign which calls for the citizens of our world to hold their governments accountable for the realization of specific promises, which they indicated their commitment, by the stroke of a pen. Among the emphases on the fight to reduce poverty within a certain time-frame are the need to 1) reduce by half the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day; and 2) reduce by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger. But are these two significant goals achievable or merely geopolitical rhetoric? Time and time again when voters have the opportunity to cast a vote at the ballot for a candidate with a proactive platform, they end up voting for who can create the greatest “feel good” impression for the day and moment. Sometimes votes are given for less than lofty ideals. But if the citizens of the world are serious about getting the right kind of leadership then the first thought is to examine the individual(s) by their works and actions. We must look at candidates whose platforms include poverty eradication as a central focus. The candidate to look at will be the one who promotes such issues as primary education; affordable preventive health care; creating economic and political opportunity, protecting the environment and developing alternative sources of energy; and the creation of a fertile neighborhood that enables entrepreneurs to create realistic opportunities. According to the report by the International Financial Corporation, the World Bank's private sector arm, “[there is] the need for governments to pick up the pace of reforms to the operating and regulatory environment, so that it becomes easier to do business....” The report further states that the world's estimated four billion people who live under the poverty line represent an untapped global market worth $5 trillion in local purchasing power. Today's politicians, whether they are conservative or liberal, seem to follow the belief that there is no solution to the vicious cycle of poverty. Their speeches are often focused on the oppressed and downtrodden masses, but it is a rare leader who moves beyond the rhetoric and actually try to give the poor what they need --- MONEY! Many believe that prevailing attitudes have contributed to the present state of the economy and on our collective ability and capacity to aspire to self-sustaining growth and economic balance. Our market-driven economy will only survive if there is not an undue concentration of wealth and economic power in the hands of a selected few. If the economic base is not sufficiently broad to attract fresh ideas and committed entrepreneurs with vision who will release their creative energies and talents then our countries will spiral downwards into a period of stagnation and loss of productivity. Even though we’re facing huge challenges, we cannot afford to give in to dysfunctional thoughts based on pessimism and hopelessness. An area where its sordid tentacles permeate though every facet of society is crime. The link between crime and poverty is a clearly marked straight line. Yet it would be an illusion to suggest that removing poverty would remove crime. Evil transcends many a boundary. But in our efforts to work towards producing a society of relevance in the context of rising to the summit of our potential as a new civilization, we must not forget that along the way the right choice of leadership is important. Be it in the Caribbean Community, United States or Japan, there is a choice that the electorate must make. This choice will determine the kind and quality of government that will tackle such social issues such as drug addiction or the economic addiction to oil. We have to determine what kind of world we think we need, the vision we have and who is the best suited to take us there.
The author is an educator and senior civil service officer in Antigua & Barbuda
Also in this section:
Bernal, Martín's "Fifth Bench" throne room Syracuse, High profile political murders in Guatemala Jackson, Mitt Romney leads GOP candidate fundraising Sirias, A painful plunge back into English
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