NGO
Another Way (Stichting Bakens Verzet), 1018 AM
Edition
03: 06 March, 2011.
Edition
04 : 27 September, 2011.
01. E-course : Diploma in
Integrated Development (Dip. Int. Dev)
SECTION A : DEVELOPMENT PROBLEMS.
Study value :
04 points out of 18.
Indicative
study time: 112 hours out of 504.
Study points are
awarded only after the consolidated exam for Section A : Development
Problems has been passed.
First block : Poverty and quality of life.
Study value :
02 points out of 18.
Indicative study
time: 57 hours out of 504.
Study points
are awarded only after the consolidated exam for Section A : Development
Problems has been passed.
First block : Poverty and quality of life.
First Block : Section 1.
Analysis of the causes of poverty. [26.50 hours]
First Block : Section 2. Services needed for a good quality of
life.
First Block : Exam. [ 4 hours each attempt]
Block 1 of Section
1. Analysis of the causes of poverty. [26.50 hours]
Part 2 : In depth
analysis of the causes of poverty. [14.00
hours]
01. In depth : definition
of poverty.
02. In depth : some
factors linked with poverty.
03. In depth : debts and
subsidies.
04. In depth : financial
leakages : food and water industries.
05. In depth : financial
leakage : energy.
06. In depth : financial
leakage : means of communication..
07. In depth : financial
leakage : health and education.
08. In depth : financial
leakage : theft of resources.
09. In depth : financial
leakage : corruption.
10. In depth : the
industry of poverty.
Report on Section 1 of
Block 1 : [06.00 Hours]
Part 2 : In depth
analysis of the causes of poverty. [14.00
hours]
03. In depth : debts and
subsidies. (At least one hour)
Look at slide:
Consider :
1. THE DEBT SYSTEM
“ Currency came into existence merely as a means of exchange; usury tries
to make it increase [as though it were an end in itself]” Aristotle, Politics,
Book I, Chapter X, transl. Barker E.,
Oxford University Press, 1957 reprint, p. 35.
Debt.
Almost all new financial means are actually created by
private banks in the form of loans. This means our financial system is based on
debt. The net profit of the banks is
called the «bank spread », which is the difference between the rate of
interest the banks charge their clients and the sum of interest they pay
to their depositors, plus administration costs. In principle, “bank
spread” forms part of what we call the real economy. Depositors, people who
have positive bank balances, keep the interest paid to them by their banks.
The positive interest the banks pay to their depositors
is unearned investment income. This accumulates exponentially. It forms the
basis of what we call the “paper economy” or the “speculative economy”.
Look at the following graph. (Source L.F.Manning,
Paraparaumu.
Figure
5.9 : Debt Model of the New Zealand Economy 1978-2009.
1. Research.
Note and
describe the relation between total debt M (the blue line), the speculative
unearned income MS (the red line), and the total of the Gross Domestic Product
(GDP), which is the area between the red line and the blue line. Which changes
occurred between 1978 and 2008 ?
2. Opinion
What do you
think would happen if the rate of increase of speculative income MS (the area
under the red line) were greater than the rate of increase of the Gross Domestic Product (the area between
the red line and the blue line) ?
2. ONE FACE OF THE COIN
During your work on 02.Some factors linked with poverty you
traced the production chain of a can of peas or another industrial product
of your choice.
3. Opinion.
Make a list of the points along your
production chain where interest would be charged. What are your conclusions?
3. THE OTHER FACE OF THE COIN.
During work on factors
linked with poverty the production chain of a can of peas or another industrial
product of your choice was studied.
4. Opinion.
Make a list
of the points along your production chain where subsidies might have been given
to interested parties. What are your conclusions?
The list of possible subsidies is very long.
They include the following. There are many others.
Discount on the purchase of industrial land.
Infrastructures development.
Tax exemptions
Subsidies for advanced technologies (for
example, innovation and the use of better technologies).
Compensatory subsidies (protectionism -example, agricultural subsidies for U.S., European, and Japanese farmers)
Subsidies under the Kyoto treaty.
Ecological liberalisation - or - free pollution.
Research subsidies.
Sales subsidies.
4. MULTINATIONALS.
“The root cause of the business and human rights predicament today lies
in the governance gaps created by globalization - between the scope and impact
of economic forces and actors, and the capacity of societies to manage their
adverse consequences. These governance gaps provide the permissive environment
for wrongful acts by companies of all kinds without adequate sanctioning or
reparation. How to narrow and ultimately bridge the gaps in relation to human
rights is our fundamental challenge.” Ruggie J., Protect, Respect, and Remedy:
A Framework for Business and Human Rights, Report of the Special Representative
of the Secretary-General on Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and Other
Business Enterprises’, Human Rights Council report A/HRC/8/5 dated 7 April 2008, [Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR),
Introduction, Para. 3.
“To attract foreign investment, host States offer protection through
bilateral investment treaties and host government agreements. They promise to
treat investors fairly, equitably, and without discrimination, and to make no
unilateral changes to investment conditions. But investor protections have
expanded with little regard to States’ duties to protect, skewing the balance
between the two. Consequently, host States can find it difficult to strengthen
domestic social and environmental standards, including those related to human
rights, without fear of foreign investor challenge, which can take place under
binding international arbitration.” .”
Ruggie J., (2008, see above), par. 34.
5. Research.
Look at the total public budgets of five
multinationals active in your country
.Make a comparison between them and the budget of your country and with the
National Domestic Product of your country What are your conclusions?.
◄ First block : Poverty and quality of life.
◄ Index : Diploma in Integrated Development (Dip.Int.Dev)
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