Ferrari's and Dirt Floors

Ferrari’s and Dirt Floors

By Duncan Drewry

The smell of burnt rubber and tire smoke as a blur of a red Ferrari 458 speeds through the dark streets of the city of Johannesburg. It speeds past an elderly man. He once was a native living in a village very far from any major settlements. That time has passed now. He hobbles along the roadside due to a sprained ankle that he sustained months ago at his job in construction that has not healed because of his long work days. As the supercar's engine drones into the darkness, the absence of light swallows up both car and man.The wealth gap in much of Africa is astounding just as this represents. There are many people who have little to nothing why live and work alongside those who make a lot of money. This is a real issue because it’s overall impacts the South African economy immensely and if everyone is not earning money then there is less wealth that is spread out.

In order to fully understand why the wealth gap is such an issue, we first need to look at its origins. The void between the two extremes of the income field of South Africa, the whites and the blacks, have very dark origins. Before the inequality that people in South Africa experience today, there was apartheid which split the nation into two isolated extremes. The richer than life white community and the poorer black community. The Hope Project, an organization that makes the world a better place, states that the lives of the black community in South Africa has not really changed much in terms of the earning and wealth gap since they got rid of the old regime (H. Daniel). The partition and the injustices started with the rampant racism of apartheid and continues today with the wealth and pay gap between the races.

The wealth gap in parts of Africa are massive and in the overall scheme of things it means that the government is actually losing money overall. Let me explain. There are many people who have little to nothing while they live and work alongside those who make a lot of money. This is a real issue because overall it impacts the economy negatively and if everyone is not earning money then there is less wealth distribution. According to a Bloomberg Business Article by Mike Cohen, in black South African households the amount of money earned over ten years increased about an average of one hundred and seventy percent but the average was still a sixth of the average of whites (Cohen). This shows that the whites are earning more but also that there is not a lot of wealth distribution. As a result, in the case of the South African government, it is in fact losing money overall by paying a few people more than the rest. Now you may wonder, what does this have to do with the wealth gap and the economy? If someone who is well off buys a car then the dealership makes money. They are paid enough to buy a few cars but they don’t need another car so they only buy one. This hurts business for the people of the nation. If the government paid a few people a lot then more than one person could buy a car. According to a report by Irin News, of the 1,409 households surveyed in the third quarter of 2007, just over half  (51 percent) earned below US$230 per month, and one in five people had no income at all (Irin News). Because of the lack of wealth distribution governments in Africa are losing money.

Wealth distribution, disparity, the gap between the rich and the poor, in the country has continued to widen. South Africa’s Apartheid caused the people of the nation to be divided and favored paying a few people a lot of money. This is how it began. It is a shame that the government got corrupt and they do not think of the people who could really make a difference in the world and also help out their nation. With this frame of mind we need to remember that the ongoing wealth gap is truly a tragic and present issue that needs to be addressed in order for the world to be a better place. A ferrari and a man cannot change the world. Governments can. People can. You can.

Works Cited

Cohen, Mike. "South Africa's Racial Income Inequality Persists, Census Shows."

Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, 30 Oct. 2012. Web. 13 Mar. 2015. The author is saying how the wealth gap negatively affects the income of many South Africans. The authority is very informative and it is from a business article which is well known and is very informed on the topic. This has the bias of another country looking in but the facts are true despite that discrepancy. This is similar to the Irin report in that both biases were similar.

H, Daniel. "South Africa's Alarming Wealth Inequality." The Hope Project. The Hope Project, 8

Aug. 2013. Web. 13 Mar. 2015. This piece is about the wealth inequality in South Africa in terms of what can be done and other causes of it. The Hope Project is all about trying to make the world a better place therefore it might want the wealth gap to end but because of this it is well informed on the issue. This is similar to the Bloomberg article because they both are well informed on the topic at hand.

"SOUTH AFRICA: Wealth Gap Becoming a Chasm." IRINnews. Irin News, n.d. Web. 13 Mar.

2015. This article talks a lot about how the wealth gap continues to grow and it does so with an informative authority. There is no bias here because it states the facts of what is going on. This is related to the Bloomberg article because it talks about the issue from another country's perspective.