4% of the world's pop. owns 33% of the cars

I hate to be a downer, but I am compelled to bring up another inconvenient truth.

In the interest of identifying one of the root causes of "U.S. - Other" hostilities, I turn to the subject of resource distribution and usage.  A statistic:

* Americans, while making up only four percent of the world's population, operated one third of its automobiles. [1]

Ignoring the ideological and religious disagreements which lead to conflict, we can make a simple economic statement:

If there were 100 people in a village made up of citizens from all over the world, and there were 100 cars, let's suppose four (4) of the people (the only Americans in town) owned 33 of the autos.  And they didn't like to share them.  That would mean the other 96 people would have to compete for the ownership and usage of 67 cars. 

I can only speak for myself but I imagine, if I were a non-American villager, I would be a bit peeved with the situation.

(Why am I 'supposing' in this story?  This is actually how it is...)

Picture this scene:  I am walking home from the grocery store, carrying hemp bags heavy with ramen noodles, cans of refried beans, and bags of rice, arms tiring, body soaking wet from the near-constant rain (our hypothetical village is in the Northwest of the U.S.A.), and feeling a little sorry for myself.  I pass one of the four mansions in town:  a humungous colonial with 18 bedrooms and two four-car garages, with their massive doors open.  There are three guys polishing three of the seven parked cars, while the eighth car is backing out, ready to set off for destinations unknown. 

I continue moving, passing old ladies, unemployed 20-somethings, and men and women from all walks of life.  I also see others driving their autos.

I come upon a modest house with a car parked in front, a 'for-sale' sign in the window.  For this middle class auto owner, it became a choice between doctors' bills and driving to and from work.  There are four or five people circling the vehicle, like sharks circling a bloody carcass. 

One middle classer's fortunes rise a bit, so she buys a car.  Another's fortunes sink, so he sells.  The 96 scurry around for economic crumbs, like a flock of pigeons running after not-nearly-enough crusts of stale bread. 

Across the street, seated in his plush leather chair in an office adjoining his nine-car garage, mansion-owner number two (of four) phones his stock broker to see how his multi-million dollar portfolio is doing.

And people wonder why demonstrators are occupying Wall Street...

'Faction' for thought...

[1] http://articles.cnn.com/1999-10-12/us/9910_12_population.cosumption_1_global-population-worlds-scientists?_s=PM:US