The 1% grabbed 82% of all wealth created in 2017
More than $8 of every $10 of wealth created last year went to the richest 1%.
That's according to a new report from Oxfam International, which estimates that the bottom 50% of the world's population saw no increase in wealth.
Oxfam says the trend shows that the global economy is skewed in favor of the rich, rewarding wealth instead of work.
"The billionaire boom is not a sign of a thriving economy but a symptom of a failing economic system," said Winnie Byanyima, executive director of Oxfam International.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 27 2018, @10:51PM
Venezuela's problem is the Capitalism that remains there (and the resulting Oligarchy that remains).
The usual boom-and-bust thing associated with the Capitalist economic system applies with those, as well as the corruption of The Rich trying to manipulate the system (see Thomas Piketty's 696-page book analyzing Capitalism).
OTOH, there are "communes" in that country.
(I have seen the figure of 1400 communes since Chavez got that going; Maduro is NOT doing an impressive job of increasing that number.)
A century ago, a really smart guy suggested that only -idle- capital should be taxed.
Henry George Had An Answer To Economic Inequality Years Before Karl Marx Published His Theories [googleusercontent.com] (orig) [dissidentvoice.org]
Venezuela's communes have taken that 1 better.
They are commandeering idle farmland and factories and putting them back into production.
Venezuela’s Communes: a Great Social Achievement [counterpunch.org]
...and USA.gov's money and subterfuge in Venezuela is the biggest disrupter there.
Venezuela in Crisis: Too Much US intervention; Too Little Socialism [counterpunch.org]
If you wanted to pick an example of the failure of the collective ownership of the means of production by The Workers, Venezuela is far from the ideal place to support your argument.
Venezuela has lots and lots of instances of Socialism working well.
Now, if you want to put the bad mouth on welfare states (and Capitalist paradigms) where people get money while performing no labor, have at it.
That is NOT what Socialism is.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]