I've been to Egypt a couple of times (including Cairo) and I don't think the Egyptian people are lazy, far from it. I recall being asked by various people i met about our (UK) political system, could we really criticize the govt and so forth. They also wanted to know why we didn't allow more than 1 wife per guy. I told them it was too expensive!
A state cannot productively govern more than 2 million citizens. Time to decentralize world into Cantons as in Switzerland. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantons_of_Switzerland
Mubarak family fortune could reach $70bn, say experts http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/04/hosni-mubarak-family-fortune How many slave labors to support his lifestyle - and that of his cronies?
There are plenty of falafel sellers, no shortage there. Do you think those people in the crowd have any money in their pockets?
Anyone who's been to North Africa would know that the place is bustling with small merchants. They buy a small cart and sell fruits and vegetables. If they manage to save some money after the extortion fees by local policemen they can then purchase a license to sell bottled water to tourists or sell mobile phones from a hole in the wall. Profit margins remain small though until you manage to climb the grease pole and reach a position from where you can extract and coerce yourself. It's not really a society that's conducive to human dignity.
Compare the price of street food: In Cairo A plate of Koshari is 25p = $0.05 A Falafel goes for 50p = $0.10 A Falafel in NYC at Murray's = $6 = 35 Egyptian Pounds. 1 NYC Falafel = 60 Cairo Falafels Think about how many Egyptians one of our Haliburton supplied $480 tear canisters could have fed.
Left to the Corporate Fascists in this country we'll all be making two bucks a day, and 75% of that will be taxed by our corrupt government.
I have trouble believing those prices. I've been around to a few countries and food prices are never that cheap unless subsidized by the government. Even if you buy rice in bulk(by the metric ton) the wholesale cost of the rice alone in a plate of Kushari is 6 to 7 cents (assumming 100 grams of rice per plate) , so I cant see the whole thing only costing 5 cents and also making a profit on it. You must have seen those prices 20 years ago, or whoever told you those prices was pulling your leg.