A Couple of Things Piss Me Off About the World by Alberto Domenico Mastroeni

A COUPLE THINGS THAT PISS ME OFF ABOUT THE WORLD

by Alberto Mastroeni

TAX DODGING AND TAX BREAKS FOR THE SUPER-RICH In this day and age of austerity it is 100% legal for the elite to avoid paying billions in taxes through offshore bank accounts (an estimated ÂŁ2.7 billion in the UK alone in 2013-14). In the meantime, the amount of people struggling to maintain them-

selves is skyrocketing. This form of greed could pay for many different things that the government claims there are no funds for.

In addition to that, the Republican Party in the US is currently passing a bill to allow the richest individuals and corporations to

pay avoid paying hundreds of billions less in tax. Some politicians have the audacity to claim that these tax breaks are beneficial for society due to economic

growth, but it is obvious that the only people benefiting from it are the 1%.

SLAVE LABOUR 20 to 30 million people are in slavery at the moment. The International Labour Organisation estimates it was 12.3 million in 2005. The increasing consumerism in the developed world has enabled the exploitation of workers in developing countries and a growing wealth gap. Even though we are all aware of this problem, we must not forget to stand up for these people and to boycott the brands behind inhumane working conditions as much as we can.

SHOP LOCAL BUY SECOND HAND BE LESS MATERIALISTIC

Illegal substances will always find their way to the consumer. Why not allow a safer distribution?

The prohibition of drugs is not stopping the population from taking them, nor is it reducing the criminal activity behind its trafficking. It is, as a consequence, a key cause of mass incarceration.

70 to 80% of food in the US is produced from genetically modified crops. Not only are they a potential health threat and not labelled on packaging, but it is also a monopoly.

Few companies, like the giant corporation Monsanto, own the crops and without a licence, you are not allowed to grow them. Intensive lobbying has made it possible for these companies to sue farmers that have had the crops blown onto their fields and have

accidentally started growing the GMOs. The farmers are then forced to continuously buy the licence and weed killers like Glyphosate, that has created “super weeds” and bugs that are immune to it (essentially creating the constant need for a stronger weed killer).

Luckily, regulations have ensured that the production of most GMOs is banned from the EU. Let’s see how that works out after Brexit…

WORLD LEADERS NEGLECTING INDISPUTABLE SCIENTIFIC FACTS

FOR THEIR PERSONAL GAIN

FOR PROFIT PRISONS Privately managed prisons are a massive problem in the US, because they are run by corporate greed.

The prison industry is worth millions, these institutions make profit from keeping people incarcerated.

This harms communities of minorities, who are more likely to get stuck in the cycle of constantly getting in and out of prison. They are continuously sentenced or fined, to the point of not being able to pay the fine (and being sent to prison as a consequence).

It is a scary thought that this system could slowly become reality in places outside of the US if overlooked.