question_answer 30)

In 2004, a report published in USA pointed to the increasing inequalities in that country. Inequalities in income reflected in the participation of people in democracy. It also shaped their abilities to influence the decisions taken by the government. The report highlighted that   •If an average Black family earns $ 100 then the income of average White family is $ 162. A White family has twelve times more wealth than the average Black family.   •In a President's election nearly 9 out of 10 individuals in families with income over $ 75.000 have voted. These people are the top 20% of the population in terms of their income. On the other hand only 5 people out of 10 from families with income less than $ 15,000 have voted. They are the bottom 20% of the population in terms of their income.   •About 95% contribution to the political parties comes from the rich. This gives them opportunity to express their opinions and concerns, which is not available to most citizens.   •As poor sections participate less in politics, the government does not listen to their concerns - coming out of poverty, getting job, education, health care and housing for them. Politicians hear most regularly about the concerns of business persons and the rich.   Write an essay on 'Democracy and Poverty' using the information given in this report by using examples from India. Most newspapers have an editorial page. On that page, the newspaper publishes its own opinions about current affairs. The paper also publishes the views of other writers and intellectuals and letters written by the readers. Follow any one newspaper for one month and collect editorials, articles and letters on that page that have anything to do with democracy. Classify these into the following categories   •Constitutional and legal aspects of democracy   •Citizens' rights   •Electoral and party politics   •Criticism of democracy  

Answer:

There is no denying the (act that poverty has a direct and deep impact a democracy. Modern democracy is a form of government run by the rich section of society. The rich control the media and use it for their own benefit. Influence of the rich over politics is clearly visible in the countries like England, USA and India. In India, only rich can contest the election. The of poor people are bought and sold. The poor cannot fight elections against the rich and get elected.   As a result, the rich influence the government when it takes decisions about the policies. The government formed by the different politicians pays much attention to the interests of the business class and rich sections of the society. As poor people participate less in our Parliamentary democracy, their interests, viz, education, employment, healthcare, housing problems etc are neglected.   Our government has taken many Welfare Scheme like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY), Indira Awaas Yajona (IAY) etc. But their implementation is far from satisfactory. Like USA and in India different political parties pay more attention to the concerns of the rich who contribute most of their funds.