According to the Asian Development Bank, 1.5 billion people live below the poverty line, not the “official figure” of 0.5 billion., so the Asian poverty rate is 41.2% not 12.7%. The explanation is that the officially set poverty line of $1.25 a day is too low and by increasing it by 25 cents, to $1.50 (ooooh!), the poverty figures explode exponentially.
OK, so the headline is shocking, but so what?
Well, firstly these are BIG numbers. Billions of people (like you and me) don’t have food and water, health and hygiene, jobs and leisure. That’s morbid in a world of such affluence.
Which brings be to another point. Massive wealth creation is only benefiting a few while everyone else works for their benefit. And anyone with a modicum of ethics (you go to church, synagogue, temple, mosque, don’t you) or empathy (put yourself in their shoes) must feel this tragedy.
And whose fault is it? Well certainly governments and multilateral agencies which can’t count or act efficiently, effectively, prudently. But also mine and yours for buying too much cheap stuff made in Asia.
Well, it’s going to come back and bite us in the lifestyle as we start to lose our jobs and liberties because the global system is not working as it ought.
IMD: Asia’s poor increase by one-billion overnight
FT: Asians poorer than official data suggest, says ADB
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