EXPERTS PREDICT THE WINNER
We are slipping fast in the leadership roll, as idiots ran our financial and international policies. The last eight years controlled by the Bush-Cheney-Rove Empire may of cost us world leadership. Four new financial nations have emerged and eventually will challenge us.
I would also remind you that Japan and Korea are already there as players. The acronym for the new emerges is B-R-I-C. Brazil, Russia, India, China. The expected winner by default as we gave them everything will be the Chinese. We know a lot about the last three but what about Brazil?
A WONDERFUL COUNTRY (More on WIKIPEDIA)
Brazil is a political and economic leader in Latin America and the Western Hemisphere.
Between World War II and 1990, both democratic and military governments sought to expand Brazil's influence in the world by pursuing a state-led industrial policy and an independent foreign policy. The country has aimed to strengthen ties with other South American countries, engage in multilateral diplomacy through the United Nations and the Organization of American States.
Brazil is the largest national economy in Latin America, the world's tenth largest economy at market exchange rates and the ninth largest in purchasing power parity. The country has been expanding its presence in international financial and commodities markets, and is regarded as one of the group of four emerging economies with the biggest investment boom in its history.
In 2007, Brazil launched a four-year plan to spend $300 billion to modernize its road network, power plants and ports. I spent some time this week shooting (I am both a two-fingered hacker and all around photographer) at an attraction in Tampa and met some wonderful children on holiday here from Brazil.
They spoke both Portuguese and English which I was happy for since I don’t speak Portuguese. They were bright, attentive, about as courteous as you can expect from 12-14 year olds and proud of their country. They screamed and yelled on the coasters just like our kids...
In another part of Brazil, I also saw the tremendous poverty in the cities there with barrio slums and kids sifting garbage for whatever they could find to survive. Brazil also suffers from tremendous inequality. For a country with rich natural resources, rapid economic development, and a huge economy, the nation has wide cracks in social equality. There are major problems with poverty, hunger, disease and inadequate public services such as medical, electricity, housing etc.
It is a social class state literally with the largest income difference between rich and poor ranking 49.3 in the GINI index. The Gini coefficient is a measure of statistical dispersion developed by the Italian statistician Corrado Gini and published in his 1912 paper "Variability and Mutability". The richest 10% of Brazilians received 50% of the nation's income, while the poorest 10% receive less than 1%.
It has a long way to go and needs to look internally.