Bread for Poor or Bombs for Barrels

Bread for Poor or Bombs for Barrels

  • Submitted By: humtum
  • Date Submitted: 02/27/2009 3:09 AM
  • Category: Social Issues
  • Words: 1389
  • Page: 6
  • Views: 456

It is my belief that a person or an organization dedicated to peace has more strength than guns, arms and weapons. Governments worldwide believe that military might is totally necessary to feel secure in a dangerous world. However, the truth is that it is a recipe for disaster. No nation, how powerful it may be will still be vulnerable to threats from potential terrorists as we have witnessed in 9/11.
Even after more than six decades of independence, one out of every two Pakistanis is short on food, one out of every two Pakistanis is food-insecure and one out of every two Pakistanis is managing to subsist on less than 2,350 calories per day. In Mar 2007, there were 60 million Pakistanis short on food. That number now stands at 77 million; a 28% increase in just 1 year. 70% of Pakistani population is living either on or under two US $ per day, according the Federal Minister for Information, Sherry Rehman in April 2008.
Our Government spends billions on war instead of spending on desperately needed housing, health, education, and jobs for the poorest people of the nation. In economics, the bomb versus bread model is the classic example of the production possibility frontier. It models the relationship between our nation's investment in defense and civilian goods. Our rulers needs the will and mobilization to provide much needed human security for basic human rights such as food, health care, education and housing, for the betterment of our country.
According to the World Food Program (WFP), over the past year, "food prices in Pakistan have risen at least 40 percent, whereas the minimum wage has risen by just 16 percent, leading to a nearly 50 percent decline in the purchasing power of Pakistan's poor…" On Aug 27, the World Bank warned that "Pakistan must take immediate action to prevent its economy from collapse" and that "painful adjustments" would be needed to prevent a crisis. These painful adjustments required abolishing the subsidies that the government...

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