Michael Spurgeon's novel Let the Water Hold Me Down tells a story about a man named Hank, whose wife and daughter died in a drowning accident, while also giving great supporting information on how much the government plays a part in poverty. After his wife and daughter’s death, Hank then decides to impulsively hop on a plane to Mexico where he will stay with his very rich friend, Cesar. While soul searching in Mexico he ends up getting a job in the poverty ridden town of Chiapas. The poor town is filled with Indians trying to sell handmade items in the town square, much of this type of scene is described in William T. Vollmann's book Poor People. Which in it Vollmann travels the world in search of poverty, aiming to ask people why they are
…show more content…
The leader of the Zapatistas explained the horrible living conditions of the indigenous people, and also said fifteen thousand people die from poverty each year in Mexico, their primary demands were liberty and democracy. In Vollman's travels he finds that some people believe that their poverty is linked to their government’s economical situation, exactly what the Zapatistas believe. They felt they had the right to do this because the Zapatistas felt that there president, was not so much of a president and more of a dictator. This is an instance in which the Government has had direct correlation with poverty in their country, so much so that the Zapatistas believed it was worth a …show more content…
The economic policy institute (EPI) estimates that 600,000 jobs have been lost because of NAFTA in the US alone. It is stated on the organization for Dollars and Sense website that “...during the 1990s, the overall U.S. trade deficit quadrupled, resulting in a net loss of 3 million jobs, according to EPI president Jeff Faux.” However, most of the hurt NAFTA brings is felt south of the border where according to an article on The New York Times website it states that Mexico's “annual per capita growth flatlined to an average of just 1.2 percent -- one of the lowest in the hemisphere. Its real wage has declined and unemployment is up.“ Becuase cheap U.S. imports are being poured into Mexico producer prices have dropped and have forced about two million farmers to leave their land since NAFTA because they cannot compete with the low wage it costs for the U.S. to subsidize the imports. In the 1990’s alone Mexican manufacturing wages fell 21%.
Although not all of Mexico's problems are caused by NAFTA, many have a direct link to it. As an example, under NAFTA, about five hundred thousand jobless Mexicans have migrated into the U.S. per year forced to leave their jobs because of competition or poor wages. As a result of the problems NAFTA has caused, 25 percent of the population (about 32 million) lives in poverty, and on top of that one fifth of all Mexican
The leader of the Zapatistas explained the horrible living conditions of the indigenous people, and also said fifteen thousand people die from poverty each year in Mexico, their primary demands were liberty and democracy. In Vollman's travels he finds that some people believe that their poverty is linked to their government’s economical situation, exactly what the Zapatistas believe. They felt they had the right to do this because the Zapatistas felt that there president, was not so much of a president and more of a dictator. This is an instance in which the Government has had direct correlation with poverty in their country, so much so that the Zapatistas believed it was worth a …show more content…
The economic policy institute (EPI) estimates that 600,000 jobs have been lost because of NAFTA in the US alone. It is stated on the organization for Dollars and Sense website that “...during the 1990s, the overall U.S. trade deficit quadrupled, resulting in a net loss of 3 million jobs, according to EPI president Jeff Faux.” However, most of the hurt NAFTA brings is felt south of the border where according to an article on The New York Times website it states that Mexico's “annual per capita growth flatlined to an average of just 1.2 percent -- one of the lowest in the hemisphere. Its real wage has declined and unemployment is up.“ Becuase cheap U.S. imports are being poured into Mexico producer prices have dropped and have forced about two million farmers to leave their land since NAFTA because they cannot compete with the low wage it costs for the U.S. to subsidize the imports. In the 1990’s alone Mexican manufacturing wages fell 21%.
Although not all of Mexico's problems are caused by NAFTA, many have a direct link to it. As an example, under NAFTA, about five hundred thousand jobless Mexicans have migrated into the U.S. per year forced to leave their jobs because of competition or poor wages. As a result of the problems NAFTA has caused, 25 percent of the population (about 32 million) lives in poverty, and on top of that one fifth of all Mexican