The 62 Richest People On Earth Now Hold As Much Wealth As The Poorest 3.5 Billion
Within the last 5 years, concentration of wealth has intensified. In 2011, 388 people had as much wealth as half the global population, today 62 people control more money than the poorest 3.6 billion people.
This gross inconsistency of wealth is a result of mismanaged social policy, allowing corporations to store money in “off-shore” bank accounts, and allowing CEOs to dodge out of their tax responsibility. With this gaping hole of missing taxes, the burden falls on people that haven’t been abusing the off-shore loophole.
Oxfam, a global organization dedicated to eradicating poverty, has exposed the dangerous run-up of wealth inequality and even the International Monetary Fund says that economic inequality is the “defining challenge of our time” and acknowledges that “the benefits do not trickle down”.
Oxfam Australia’s chief executive Helen Szoke not only indicates the problem but levies solutions. “Australian multinational companies, and those that operate here, should be required to publish their profits and taxes paid in every country in which they operate,” she said. “Action to recover the missing billions lost to tax havens needs to be accompanied by a commitment by governments to invest in healthcare, schools and other vital public services that make such a big difference to the lives of the poorest people.”
Indeed it is time for humans to wise up. Pooling resources is necessary to make sure we survive and the reason we have democratic governments is to make sure that no one person gains dominance, whether economic or militarily, over everyone else. In this case, we must save capitalism from itself.
*Article originally appeared on Minds.
