Effects of Distribution of Political Power

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Effects of Distribution of Political Power

Politics are activities that are associated with the governance of a country especially conflicts or debates among parties or individuals hoping to or having achieved power. Almost all of the political power positions involve people voting to put the politicians there. The regions or the groups with the most number of votes will therefore attract politicians to fight for their interests so that these people keep electing them for representation. Those groups that have few votes will therefore be underrepresented since their votes cannot make major impacts in the number of votes collected. Underrepresentation is commonly noted in terms of race or ethnicity, gender and class.

Representation in political arenas affects the development of the local economy. Political considerations always play a major role during the allocation of government resources. Politicians tend to fight for the needs of the people they represent during resource allocation to gain political mileage so as to score themselves another term in office. There is a huge connection between big businesses and politicians meaning that investments are mostly done at the politicians’ areas of interests. With investments come revenue collections that will affect the local economy. Mostly areas with more populations of African Americans or Hispanics do not experience these huge investments hence the local economies in these areas will improve at a lower rate. This eventually affects the economic independence of such groups. Corruption among the political class has also resulted in them appointing people of certain ethnic affiliations or those they have relations to. A specific ethnic group will therefore experience development in their local economies in their areas of residence at the expense of those who were not related to these politicians. People of higher class also use their connections with politicians to bend the legislation so as to favor their economic interests.

Social inequities have a well-documented relationship to health. Besides the biological roots, illnesses and health also have political and social roots. Political power does generate uneven distribution of resources or income and this eventually affects the ability of the minority to access health services. Facilities such as hospitals and clinics are affected by politicians in terms of their locations. Politicians will debate and convince the government to locate the facilities at places that will best serve the people that voted them into power. What happens to the people whose votes do not count? The facilities will not be located at their convenience locations and therefore on top of them not being able to afford the services, they might also not be able to access the location of the facilities especially during the emergency cases. Better quality of political power may therefore be in a position to correct this injustice. They can minimize these social vectors that are able to impoverish mankind. The minority groups should be represented during discussions that are aimed at improving the health care of the country and their interests be addressed as well. This will help reduce their increasing death rates.

There is a direct relationship between the dynamics of distribution of income and democratization. Political power has given little assistance to a median voter together with their allies towards the improvement of their income share. This has been greatly supported by the median voter hypothesis commonly referred to as MVH. MVH has been found to be a guide that is accurate to democratization’s effects. It underestimates the effects of hegemony and power concentration then assumes, though too glibly, that a middle income earner is an influential voter too. The decisive voters mostly lie in the richest quintile as they gain most from these competitive elections, economic liberalization and fiscal redistribution. Income redistribution usually does not automatically flow from introduction of economic liberalization and democracy but is targeted specifically. This shows that one man one vote does not guarantee that there will be fairness in income distribution. In the end it all narrows down to ones political affiliations. The Hispanics have for instance been known to have the lowest income ranges when compared to their white counterparts. Technology has created trends that have tried to normalize the disparities in income ranges but the policies have been made by the politicians that have negated these efforts (POLICYSHOP, 2013). In the end, African Americans still have the same low income ranges while the white Americans continue to enjoy higher incomes. The high class will still continue to invest their excess income so as to generate more income and employ the Hispanics as their house helps at rates lower than the minimum wage requirements.

This unfairness can be corrected by grass root organizations and lobbies. The political injustices involve the violation of an individual’s liberties and use of political power to undermine one’s right of access to government resources among other rights. The organizations can unite in one voice to condemn the actions of politicians or the bills they pass if they affect them wrongly. Unethical practices such as appointments based on relationships instead of qualifications done by those in political positions can be condemned by the organizations by applying pressure on the government to change these conditions.

Social injustices done by the politicians can also be addressed by the grass root organizations. Denial of gay rights for instance can be condemned. Some states do not allow gay marriages and his can be corrected by organizing rallies and marches so that the government can succumb to the pressure. Modern day slavery whereby the rich employ the poor and pay them extremely low wags that are not commensurate to the quality of their output is a social injustice that should be condemned. The organizations can mobilize these workers not to accept such low wages o that the employers will be forced to offer favorable wages.

Economic injustices are committed when the government fails to provide its citizens with the basic life necessities. Such necessities include access to housing and adequate food. The organizations should lobby the government to provide more jobs to serve the increasing population of Americans. Employment should also not be based on whether or not one is black, brown, white, or gay. Investments done by the government should be spread all over America so that job opportunities are available all over at equal amount. Education greatly improves ones economic status therefore the organizations should voice so that access to education is increased and the funds allocated for scholarships of those bright but disadvantaged students are sufficient.

In summary, the grass roots organizations and lobbies should be in the forefront to rebuke the social, political and economic injustices experienced by those who are underrepresented. Moreover, there is a direct relationship between the dynamics of distribution of income and democratization, besides the biological roots, illnesses and health also have political and social roots, and representation in political arenas affects the development of the local economy. The groups that are underrepresented should therefore be fully represented so as to prevent these injustices.

References

Siavelis, P. M., & Morgenstern, S. (Eds.). (2012). Pathways to power: Political recruitment and candidate selection in Latin America. Penn State Press.

Lasswell, H. D., & Kaplan, A. (2013). Power and society: A framework for political inquiry. Transaction Publishers.

Bowles, S. (2014). Schooling in capitalist America: Educational reform and the contradictions of economic life. Haymarket Books.

Bookman, M. Z. (2013). The demographic struggle for power: the political economy of demographic engineering in the modern world. Routledge.

Honey, M. K. (2012). To Right These Wrongs: The North Carolina Fund and the Battle to End Poverty and Inequality in 1960s America (review). Southern Cultures, 18(1), 110-113.

Hall, A. (2013). Evelyne Huber and John D. Stephens, Democracy and the Left: Social Policy and Inequality in Latin America (Chicago, IL, and London: University of Chicago Press, 2012), pp. xx+ 342, $27.50;£ 18.00, pb. Journal of Latin American Studies, 45(03), 606-607.