There is Enough Money in the World

Today while searching for Benin’s position on the global list of countries by GDP (PPP), it is #133 according to the IMF, I came across a January 28th Vanity Fair article that made me throw up in my mouth just a little bit.

The article entitled “Six Countries with GDP’s Smaller Than Hedge-Funder John Paulson’s 2010 Salary” discusses his record breaking personally netted profit of $5 billion in 2010 to the GDP of less fortunate African nations. The list includes Sierra Leone, Central African Republic, Eritrea, Liberia, Burundi, and Zimbabwe. The author even points out that Paulson’s home in Southampton, New York, which is worth $41 million, is equivalent to one-eighth of Zimbabwe’s GDP.

The article is short and to the point but most importantly it is informative for an audience who likely cannot point to any of the six countries on a map. Sorry if some feel that is an inaccurate assumption about Vanity Fair’s readers. I post this article because I think it is good to have a concrete comparison of money in the west versus money in the global south and it also helps to make a wider audience more aware of income disparities between countries.

As I travel around Benin and into the villages I am sometimes saddened by what I see; babies with distended bellies, meals that are lacking protein, and kids in school with uniforms that are torn. As I look at this reality everyday it is hard for me to get behind the idea of extreme capitalism (the sort practiced in America, but not Scandinavian countries). While Mr. Paulson has the right obviously to earn money off of various investments, it just does not seem right on a moral level. Even if he donates 20% of his riches, only from 2010, he is left with $4 billion. One man, in one year, after donating 20% would be left with $4 billion. Why on this planet does that make sense?

The Italian and I the other day were reading the Forbes list of richest athletes and I had the same reaction. While many people in the US are losing their jobs and their homes and being bankrupted by medical bills and the US economy as a whole, struggling to dig itself out, a number of American athletes are making well over $30 million a year! If we don’t even consider the extreme poverty that is persistent in Africa and the rest of the developing world let us consider inner city children who don’t have school books, local government cutting the meager salaries of their employees and slashing pensions, or even HOMELESS people. And for dribbling or spiking a ball, these people are making millions. Again I ask, why are we okay with this? Is it because we have been fed the idea of the American dream and that there is the slightest possibility that you or one of your family members might be lucky enough to be in the multi-millionaire club one day? Is it something that we do not question because we are okay with maintaining the status-quo? Or is it something we don’t think about because we are not the ones suffering?