A Comparison Of Poverty In The United States And Vietnam

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Currently, I am living in Germany. This is a very rich country for such a small country. Germany has a strong social net (for now) so poverty here is low, but on the other side, Vietnam is a developing country that is producing many things. Poverty in Vietnam is fairly rampant. Today I will compare the two.

Germany has a very low poverty rate due to their Herz IV program. This program is put in place in order keep its citizens from being destitute on the street. This program tries to place people in a job program but will not cut them off from aid. Every able-bodied adult who receives government aid is expected to actively seek a job. Although this keeps people off the street, it can also be detrimental and has capitalist undertones …show more content…

The median income in Vietnam is $1800 per year (“Average Salary”, n.d.). There is no medical safety net in this country and many NGO’s are in Vietnam to help provide medical care to the less fortunate. This country is a country of much industry such as textiles and metals. This is exploited for its cheap labor by countries like the UK, US and Italy. The Government here is communist, but as I was there in January, 2018, one could see that only the regime is communist. The country itself is a capitalist country. There are very few social programs to help the poor, one earns what one can in a job and the government does not regulate wages like in the old DDR (East Germany). The government does not set prices for goods and services the market does. This country is more capitalist than America as there are very few consumer protections in place. There are many laws but very little enforcement. The people here have the strongest work ethic I have seen. In fact, the Vietnamese work 12-14 hour days regularly for very little money. They are proud of their factory jobs in the country and according to Phillips (2016), over 98% of all Vietnamese think factories and trade with the west is a good thing. Income inequality is a major problem here. When the average median income is so low, only the factory owners and westerners can earn a decent living in this country. Vietnam has a 10% VAT and spends 18% of its GDP on education. They have prioritized education and we should see some highly qualified people enter the workforce from Vietnam and it’s GDP should rise as human capital rise. Globalization has indeed, helped the Vietnamese but if ever so slightly. The Vietnamese seem to think their lives are a lot better because of it and perhaps, with the government spending money on education, Vietnam will become in player in high tech