High Poverty Destabilizes Nation

There is much focus on the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, but Joe Guzzardi reports about the poverty in Egypt. He writes that, ever since Mubarak's approval of family planning, the Egyptian population has doubled to 82 million. He further explains that,

"More than 15 million Egyptians live on less than $1 a day, a key factor driving last month's protests. The divide in Egypt between rich and poor, where resistance to birth control is high, is startling.
Even though Egypt has severely limited resources, especially fertile land and water (only 3 inches of rain falls annually), the numbers of poor steadily increases."

 Guzzardi suggests that the Egyptian crisis was not only caused by Mubarak's corrupt dictatorship, but also a "failed" population. Overpopulation seems to be the major problem contributing to the poverty issue.

"Egyptian high fertility has imposed costly socioeconomic burdens on the nation. Economic development is stalled and quality of life eroded because of reduced access to jobs, education, water and food.
Little wonder Egyptians took to the streets. But too many decades ignoring an exploding population have left Egypt with few options for future improvement."