Project Report – Poverty and Inequality. Specific Topic and Leadership Issues

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Professor’s Name
April 6, 2020
Project Report – Poverty and Inequality
Specific Topic and Leadership Issues
Poverty and Inequality are two of the most prevalent issues that the mankind has tried to resolve from the very beginning. Particularly, this topic talks about the unequal access and distribution to wealth and goods where only 1% of mankind holds almost all the wealth in the planet CITATION Tre15 \l 1033 (Treanor). Even though wealth distribution seems to be a relatively easy task for most Nation States, it must be noted that the very system that causes ‘progress’ (Capitalism) is also the one that creates a skewed distribution of wealth among the populace. Therefore, it is clear that capitalist policies are usually delineated only by a thin line between what is productive (and profitable) and what is oppressive for the people.
In any democratic capitalist society, leaders must be able to balance between their mandatory duty to ensure that the economy is kept afloat as well as its duty to ensure that the people can satisfy their basic needs CITATION Pov12 \l 1033 (Poverty.AC.UK). Thus, in formulating policies that determines the modes of production, labor rights, and corporate rules, among others, it is best to have a set of leaders that would balance the State’s desire for growth and profit (i.e., GDP) and the population’s health, well-being, and right to equal share in the just fruits of production.
In order to achieve this balance, the author believes that it is best to focus on issues that create inequality such as job availability, gender and/or racial inequality, and even social security for those who are unemployed. This focus is due to the fact that inequality to wealth and poverty is usually brought about by lack of jobs as well as the lack of avenues for financial growth. Thus, the leaders that would be invited in the meeting should come from both the corporate sector and the labor groups and/or human rights advocates, respectively. On the one hand, those coming from the corporate sector would focus on how the economy can be benefited by increasing taxes, tariffs, or work regulations. On the other hand, the leader coming from the labor groups and/or human rights advocacy groups, should focus on proposing policies that primarily benefit the ‘ordinary working men’. This might include an increase in base pay, improvement in retirement and healthcare benefits, and possibly an increase in taxes for those who are wealthy.
Lastly, the author would also like to add a representative from the State sector in order to create a truly tripartite working group. The leader who represents the State would discuss on the legality and practicability of the proposed changes, based on the State laws and government efforts.
Leadership Issues
Lastly, some of the leadership issues that might arise from this are (1) lack of alignment and (2) lack of accountability. These two are the most probable especially considering that each of them advocates for a different cause.
Labor Groups and/or Human Rights Sector – Daniel Agbiboa
* Leadership Profile
Daniel Agbiboa is an African American Professor in Harvard University who is also a life-long human rights advocate. He obtained his Masters in Development studies in the University of Cambridge and his PhD in International Development from the University of Oxford CITATION Harnd \l 1033 (Harvard.edu). As of today, he is a professor in Harvard’s Department of African American Studies and have authored several publications, including journal articles, book chapters, working and commissioned papers, and even a book regarding African studies. Aside from his strong academic credentials, he is also a staunch human rights advocate, who is considered as an authority in “non-state governance, subversive mobilities, and the spatialization and materialization of corruption, power, and inequality in cities” CITATION Harnd \l 1033 (Harvard.edu).
* Commentary and Recommendations
Generally, Dr. Agbiboa’s comments and recommendations on the question were mostly based from studies about inequality and the economy. Based from the dialogue conducted, Dr. Agbiboa recommended that that State policies should always be based from the maxim “Salus populi est suprema lex” (The welfare of the people is the supreme law). Initially, he discussed that one of the problems in today’s legislative policies is that it subtly creates some sort of ‘symbolic boundary’ between people from different race, nationality, and gender, among others.
In discussing his talking points, he argued against the other speakers that one of the reasons for the existence of poverty and inequality is the fact that ‘systemic inequalities’ still exists in the current system. To support his contentions, Dr. Agbiboa has cited one recent study by the US Census Bureau that shows that the “median household wealth” of Black Americans are only 7% compared to the wealth of Whites. Dr. Agbiboa addedd that the reason for this disparity is due to the fact that most of America’s poorest families belong to the African American population CITATION Ama19 \l 1033 (Amadeo). Based from the dialogue and response of the other leaders to his comments about Systemic inequality, it seems that they also believed that systemic inequalities still exist and that it is foremost issue that needs to be resolved.
However, during the discussion, Dalio has contended against Agbiboa’s proposal that minorities should be given priority and preference in accessing tax-advantaged form of savings (i.e., municipal bonds, UITs, annuities, etc.) in order to better integrate them with the national economy CITATION Han18 \l 1033 (Hanks, Solomon and Weller). Dalio countered that by giving preference to these tax-advantaged savings, the risks of budget deficits and recession could increase in the long-run especially if the preferred communities (the minorities) fail to pay their fees and processes, similar to what happened during the 2008 Great Depression CITATION Taxnd \l 1033 (TaxPolicyCenter.Org). Dr. Agbiboa responded to this by saying that studies that show that both national and local economies in the United States can be improved in the long run i...