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Wealthiest 1% set to be richer than other 99% combined
Wealthiest 1% set to be richer than other 99% combined
26/1/16
Global
wealth continues to concentrate in fewer and fewer hands with the top 1% of the
world's population wealthier than the other 99% combined, according to a
surprising new study by Oxfam.
It
found that a mere 62 individuals hold as much wealth as the poorer half of the
entire world's population of 3.6 billion people.
It
described how a "broken" economic model ravaged by deregulation,
privatization and financial secrecy has boosted the wealth of the richest 62
people by 44% in just five years to a staggering $1.76tn (£1.23tn, 1.61tn
euro). During the same period, the wealth of the poorest 3.6 billion people
plunged by 41%.
Winnie
Byanyima, Executive Director of Oxfam International, said: “Do we really want
to live in a world where the one percent own more than the rest of us combined?
The scale of global inequality is quite simply staggering and despite the
issues shooting up the global agenda, the gap between the richest and the rest
is widening fast.
“In
the past 12 months we have seen world leaders from President Obama to Christine
Lagarde talk more about tackling extreme inequality but we are still waiting
for many of them to walk the walk. It is time our leaders took on the powerful
vested interests that stand in the way of a fairer and more prosperous world.
“Business
as usual for the elite isn’t a cost free option – failure to tackle inequality
will set the fight against poverty back decades. The poor are hurt twice by
rising inequality – they get a smaller share of the economic pie and because
extreme inequality hurts growth, there is less pie to be shared around.”
Oxfam
singled out the particular problems of increasing tax havens and lower taxes
for the wealthy, and called for taxes to fall heavier on wealth and capital
rather than on labor and consumption.
It
also called for a living wage for all workers, an end to the gender pay gap,
and restrictions on influence spending that continues to skew social benefits
to the rich instead of to those who need them the most.
The
rapidly increasing wealth gap threatens us all, the Oxfam report emphasized.
The international Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
"notes that increasing income inequality poses a risk for social cohesion
and threatens to slow down the current economic recovery," researchers
point out.
The
three richest men in the world — software mogul Bill Gates, Mexican telecom
magnate Carlos Slim Helu and investor Warren Buffett — have a combined net
worth of $230bn (£161bn, 211bn euros) Forbes reported in 2015.
In
China, the richest 1% of
households own a third of the country's wealth while the bottom 25% hold a mere
1%, according to a new report by Peking
University researchers.
In Britain,
new data has shown that the richest 10% own nearly half of the country's total
private wealth.
The
International Monetary Fund last year warned the gap between rich and poor in
advanced economies was now at its highest level in decades, making widening
income inequality the "defining challenge of our time."
In
Vietnam,
the income inequality becomes clearer and tougher; the poor households mainly
concentrate in disadvantaged areas which have harsh natural conditions, bad
infrastructure, low literacy levels and fragmented production. In addition,
there are some poor objectives in areas that are in the process of urbanization
and people who are migrant labor in cities. They have a lot of difficulties and
accept the lower incomes than local people. These are the factors that
contribute to the increase in the relapse in poverty and create the uneven pace
of poverty reduction across region in the country.
The
rate of wealth disparity in Vietnam
is now higher than countries that have passed the long process of the market
economy’s development. In general, our market economy, that is new or even
“wild” as someone call, have created chances for some people to take advantage
to enrich themselves. These people do not only share the State’s burden but
also make the economic potentials decline. Therefore, if the institution does
not quickly be fulfilled, especially in building a democratic regime, a lawful
state, resolving the interest group, cross-ownership, monopoly abuse... the wealth disparity is going to increase rapidly.
To
solve this challenge, the Government and society are demanded to not only
stimulate the good rich ones, but also have measures to increase the income of
the poor, ensuring the rate under control, aiming to reduce the gap between
rich and poor. The Government has a lot of policies to encourage the rich to
join the social life by reducing tax for voluntary contributions or giving preferential
regulations for businesses who have charitable activities.
To have the fairness, the regulatory instruments
must be used, that are accepted by everyone. And then, the rich is not
scrutinized and envied by the others in the society. They also should be
honored. The regulatory instruments are effective when everyone have enough
food to eat, clothes to wear, to live happily... the basic conditions must be
achieved. Then the wealth disparity will placed back to its position as the
natural incident of the market economy./.
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All comments [ 10 ]
There’s some truth to this. The tasks most people used to do can now be done more cheaply by lower-paid workers abroad or by computer-driven machines.
Economic inequality, also known as income inequality and wealth inequality, is the difference found in various measures of economic well-being among individuals in a group, among groups in a population, or among countries.
The issue of economic inequality can be relevant to notions of equity, equality of outcome, and equality of opportunity
inequality as a growing social problem.Too much inequality can be destructive,because income inequality and wealth concentration can hinder long term growth
greater income equality—less inequality—increased the duration of countries' economic growth spells more than free trade, low government corruption, foreign investment, or low foreign debt
Economic inequality varies between societies, historical periods, economic structures and systems.
Economic inequality (also known as the gap between rich and poor) consists of disparities in the distribution of wealth and income.
A major cause of economic inequality within modern economies is the determination of wages by the capitalist market.
Apart from market-driven factors that affect wage inequality, government sponsored initiatives can also increase or decrease inequality.
When there is high supply and low demand for a job, it results in a low wage. Conversely, if there is low supply and high demand (as with particular highly skilled jobs), it will result in a high wage. The gap in wages produces inequality between different types of workers.
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