Global wealth inequality widened last year as billionaires increased their fortunes by $2.5 billion per day, anti-poverty campaigner Oxfam said in a new report.
While the poorest half of humanity saw their wealth dwindle by 11%, billionaires' riches increased by 12%. The mega-wealthy have also become a more concentrated bunch. Last year, the top 26 wealthiest people owned $1.4 trillion, or as much as the 3.8 billion poorest people. The year before, it was the top 43 people.
[...] To address many of these ills, Oxfam advocated raising taxes. It estimated that a 1% wealth tax would be enough to educate 262 million out of school children and to save 3.3 million lives. As of 2015 returns, Oxfam says that only four cents in every tax dollar collected globally came from tariffs on wealth, such as inheritance or property. The report also claims that the rich are hiding $7.6 trillion in offshore accounts
Previously: Only 1% of World's Population Grabbed 82% of all 2017 Wealth
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 22 2019, @11:34AM (25 children)
Eat the rich
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 22 2019, @11:53AM
Mmmm, criiispy baaacon.
(Score: 2) by Nuke on Tuesday January 22 2019, @01:36PM
26 people, no matter how overweight they are, won't go very far among 3.8 billion people. And think of the arguments over who gets the choicest cuts. We need implement that idea on an industrial scale, like in a film I once saw called ...er ... Something Green?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 22 2019, @02:53PM (2 children)
Or we could try the one that works long-term: "Kill the poor"
Poverty solved.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Tuesday January 22 2019, @04:30PM
Do it. We'll be waiting for you at the gates of Hell, all of us, to throw you in and slam them on you. Go on; do it.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 22 2019, @04:41PM
Then who would the rich exploit?
(Score: 2) by donkeyhotay on Tuesday January 22 2019, @03:10PM (18 children)
BTW, "Eat The Rich" is a book by P.J. O'Rourke written in 1998. Although it is 20 years old, it still holds up pretty well. O'Rourke travels to countries all over the world and examines what makes some economies work well; and why others do not. Why, for instance, does socialism work in Sweden, but not in Cuba?
Would merely taxing the rich solve the problem of income inequality? I'm not entirely convinced of that. Out of those 3.8 billion poorest people, how many live in countries where there are private property rights and a strong rule of law? Once you start asking those kinds of questions you're on the track towards finding a solution.
(Score: 1, Troll) by VLM on Tuesday January 22 2019, @03:57PM (16 children)
Thats where you get into topics that can't be discussed in our modern Lysenkoism era. There is no intelligence, there are no races, there are no human biological differences all brains are all perfect clones just like we're all the same height weight and color, etc.
An infinite amount of money cannot turn Haiti into pre-invasion Sweden, unless the population is replaced. Likewise you can economically punish South Africa and it'll still be wealthier and higher quality of life as long as certain groups are in charge, and once other groups take over, even sending an infinite amount of money cannot prevent Rhodesia 2.0.
Fundamentally its kinda like democracy or freedom of speech ... you can't spread that to races that can't handle it, not even at the point of a gun, but you can't stop it from being implemented by some races even at the point of a gun opposing it. Essentially all this "Africa is poor" complaining is inherently colonialist imperialist and racist. You can't expect any amount of money or military force to make people of race X act and have identical outcomes as people of race Y; oppression just doesn't work.
Africa, for example, has an African economy and quality of life because of Africans; no amount of cultural imperialism, guilt trips, military force, or economic bribes will ever turn Africa into Montana. Population replacement, sure.
(Score: 0, Flamebait) by Azuma Hazuki on Tuesday January 22 2019, @04:32PM (13 children)
Did a black man steal your girlfriend in college or something? (Because if so, serves ya right...)
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 0, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 22 2019, @04:54PM (3 children)
>> Did a black man steal ...
Way to continue propagating negative racial stereotypes.
thatsracist.gif
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Azuma Hazuki on Tuesday January 22 2019, @05:21PM (2 children)
Hurr hurr hurr...shut up. No it's not. What it is is an only half-joking attempt to figure ou where this guy's constant anti-black "scientific" racism comes from. I'm trying to imagine how his mind works and just not coming up with anything coherent aside from a trauma model.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 23 2019, @04:55AM (1 child)
Fuck off, Azuma. You're a notorious SJW hyper-troll on here and you're not fooling anyone. Facts don't care about your feelings. Go fuck yourself.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday January 23 2019, @07:23AM
Wrong on two counts, "SJW" and "troll" of any description. We are in a sad state when someone who has the courage and moral fortitude to stand up to the rising tide of authoritarian right-wing batshit sludge that's slowly dissolving this place is called "troll." You, good sir, and I am *certain* you are a "sir," can go fuck YOURself. If you can get ahold of that microscopic excuse for genitalia, I mean.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 1, Interesting) by khallow on Tuesday January 22 2019, @05:27PM (8 children)
(Score: 0, Troll) by Azuma Hazuki on Tuesday January 22 2019, @05:48PM (7 children)
Maybe this needs some further explanation here: it's fairly obvious the guy's *always* been a racist, but this constant posting, in every goddamn thread, about the exact same thing, smacks of the zeal of the newly-converted. In other words, this guy is basically the equivalent of someone who always thoughtlessly voted Republican, then one day lost his job and went completely batshit Dominionist insane.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 0, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 22 2019, @07:20PM (6 children)
Khallow has a long slow process of discovery ahead. I guess it is just so easy for hints of racism to slide past, explained away by "they're just bringing up uncomfortable topics stop being so sensitive!" VLM, Jmorris, and Ethanol Fueled are the most clearly racist users around here. EF might get a pass by being just a massively stupid troll, but I doubt someone could pull that off for years without actually being racist. Runaway1956 is a closeted racist. Those are the only ones I have clear memories of racist postings but there are quite a few others that probably are as well.
So khallow, ready to realize that its only been a short time since the Civil Rights Movement when it was ridiculously obvious how racist parts of the US are? Things have gotten better but yes, there really truly 100% actually are a lot of racists still hanging around.
(Score: 1, Flamebait) by khallow on Tuesday January 22 2019, @07:54PM (5 children)
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 23 2019, @01:52AM (4 children)
Well, I can't speak for the original AC but I don't want them on SN because (a) they are tedious and damned annoying and (b) I don't want people to think I am one of them (guilt by association).
True, as far as that goes.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday January 23 2019, @03:13AM (3 children)
How does "guilt by association" work?
It sounds to me (yes, I'm WAGging here), like you are claiming that if someone advocates a loathsome idea on a forum that has your name in it somewhere that somehow you risk being associated with that. Would it be something like an HR grunt typing in "John Doe" into their Google search, seeing some SN article on wealth inequality, and then reading a scary VLM screed elsewhere on the web page as a John Doe post, then vetoing your employment due to scary racist post that you had nothing to do with?
I suppose, if that were true, this is my take [xkcd.com] on that, especially given that we're giving pseudonyms anyway.
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Wednesday January 23 2019, @07:00AM (2 children)
Guilt by association: You fucking racist, khallow! Did you repudiate Ethanol_filleted? No? Racist. Did you renounce VLM's call to round up and exterminate all left-handed Americans? No? Racist! And did you stick a red-hot poker up jmorris's ass, for saying all the bigoted and racist things he has said, including suggesting that some races are more racier than others? No? You are a racist, khallow. Racist by association, Racist by ommission, Racist by lack of repudiation of racism! And if I did not personally know that you are African-American, I might think you are racist by white privilege. So, there, you racist bastard.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday January 23 2019, @07:39AM (1 child)
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Wednesday January 23 2019, @08:27AM
Tax khallow's shit! It is not given! I suspect he is THE Super-Donor!
(Score: 2, Interesting) by khallow on Tuesday January 22 2019, @06:51PM
Economic development and rule of law on the other hand have turned a lot of shitholes into pretty nice places to live. I think I'd rather try those tools out instead, particularly since they're already working in Africa!
(Score: 4, Funny) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday January 22 2019, @06:59PM
Thats where you get into topics that can't be discussed in our modern Lysenkoism era. There is no intelligence, there are no races, there are no human biological differences all brains are all perfect clones just like we're all the same height weight and color, etc.
Thankfully for you, the are people made entirely out of straw, though.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by nitehawk214 on Tuesday January 22 2019, @06:33PM
People think there is no solution because any solution that might work will not fit in 140 characters.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Sulla on Tuesday January 22 2019, @07:49PM
Define rich, and when will that definition shift to you? I mean yeah sure we can get rid of all the billionaires. But then those people with 100+ million need to be dealt with. Then of course we need to punish those with 10s of millions. Why is that jackass at the end of the street with a million dollar savings skirting by? That guy "owns" a duplex worth 400k he is renting out half of for 1k/month, that practically theft. How dare anybody earn more than 100k a year? Anyone making more than the 35k/year 1% of the planet need to be dealt with too.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam