Less noticeable in terms of how it affects how people live. You tend to react to an increase in food, when it is close to 100% of your income as oppose to about 10% of the income food represent among US households.
USDA report that US households spend less then 10% of disposable income on food:
http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/September08/Findings/PercentofIncome.htmIn Egypt the income of the poorest elements is quite low, it is 90th country on income inequity (The US, the worse in the developed world is 42nd). 20% of its population live below the poverty line (The US holds to about 12%). 32% of the population is tied in in farming (In Comparison less the .7 percent of the US Population are farmers). Please note the CIA admits "rich" Countries set a higher level for poverty then "poor" countries, but the CIA Fact book uses each countries own definitions. Thus 20% for Egypt much worse then a 20% in the US (and the US poverty rate is only 12%). Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capital is $6200 in Egypt, $47, 000 in the US. In simple terms the AVERAGE GDP for Egypt is $4000 below the official poverty line for the US of $10,800 for one person.
From CIA Fact book:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/eg.html2011 Poverty level
http://www.coverageforall.org/pdf/FHCE_FedPovertyLevel.pdf:18.5% of the Egyptian population live on less then $2 dollars a day ($700 a year). Through less then 2% of the population lives on less then $1.25 a day, the "Official" international definition of poverty.
Given this low level of income, any increase in food, for whatever reason, will lead to such low income people demanding change so they can earn more money OR the price of food to drop. The recent increase in world wide food prices have driven this group to become more disparate, so that the fear by being killed is now a minor fear compared to seeing their wives and children starving to death.
Thus the price of food is what is driving the revolts in the Islamic World (I have to exclude Libya, for its income was close to Western Europe, thus for the revolt to succeed, NATO had to intervene).
Sidenote: Could the "revolt" in Libya be part of a NATO plot to have a base from which they could attack Egypt, if Egypt's revolution went to far? Libyan oil was never a good excuse, whoever ruled Libya would sell the oil. Something else is kicking in, and it could be fears of a Egypt controlled by The Moslem Brotherhood. With Libya, Egypt could be attacked from two sides making it harder for Egypt to hold onto Cairo and the rest of Lower Egypt from a Military attack from Israel and Libya (And Israel may NOT want to participate in such an invasion, occupying Egypt should be an Israeli nightmare not a goal).
The same results can be seen in Qatar and Syria, food prices goes up, revolts break out. Lets also note that the Egyptian, Qatar and Syrian revolts are more like a Marxist/Leninist revolt as oppose to a traditional coup or mass peasant revolt (A mass peasant revolt is how Mao and the Communists of China took over China, not a urban working poor revolt, as occurred in Egypt, Qatar and Syria (Through Syria may just be a tribal fight that was taken to actual fighting do to the pressure caused by the increase in food prices).
Lets not forget what Lenin and Marx saw in a worker's revolt, the revolt is a demand for change and without someone taking charge of it, such revolts fail. Thus the key for such revolts is to have a dedicated group (Lenin told his follows to be like the Jesuits when it came to unity and purpose, Lenin said he could take over a country with just 5% of the population during such a revolt, for then he could lead the revolt in a direction when what Lenin thought the country should go would go). The key is to have a dedicated group ready willing and able to take charge of the revolt and put themselves in power as the representatives of the people in revolt. Right now, the communists are NOT capable of providing such leadership anywhere in the world, but the Moslem Brotherhood and their allies in Sunni countries are more then capable. This is the big fear in Western Capitals, not Qaddafi and his followers, but the Moslem Brotherhood in Egypt and that the Moslem Brotherhood is in the position to take over the Government of Egypt do to the revolt caused by the people demanding food.
Just pointing out that the revolts will go on in those countries with the least income to its poorest citizens. Those poor are facing starving to death. In such a situation the fear of being shot disappears. With that disappearance rule by fear fails. The US is no where near such a situation, thus you will see more such revolts throughout the Middle East, mostly among allies of the US. Even in a semi-democracy like Iran, the needs of the Poor will be heard and addressed, but not among the dictators that are most US allies in the region. The social groups in those nations support the dictator for the simple reason, such dictators do what they can to aid those groups, even at the expense of the poor and the country as a whole. The recent continuing increase in price is the tender that is ready to be set off. The price increases in food will lead to revolts, revolts that sooner or later the dictators will NOT be able to suppress. What is needed is a reduction in the price of food (And no one is doing anything in that regards, look at the corn to oil program, designed to make food into oil, at the cost of less food and thus higher prices for food). No wants to address this problem for it is tied in with the price of oil. No one wants to say the price of oil is to LOW. Thus we are facing some hard times not only for ourselves but for out middle east allies.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
