The world’s wealth is growing increasingly concentrated according to the latest Oxfam report which shows that world’s 26 wealthiest individuals control the same assets as 3.8 billion people who form the poorest half of the Earth’s population. Oxfam releases its annual wealth check every year to coincide with the Davos and according to the charity last year was yet another one where the rich grew richer whilst the poor became poorer.
Problems in the fight against poverty
The NGO says growing inequality is posing problems in the fight against poverty. Oxfam claims that a 1 per cent wealth tax levied on the super-rich would raise £325 billion every year. To put that into context, that is enough money to provide education for every child currently not in school and deliver healthcare that would prevent as many as 3 million deaths. The report claims that the wealth of the world’s 2,2200 billionaires grew by a combined $900 billion last year or by $2.5 billion per day.
The rich getting richer whilst the poor get poorer
Oxfam reckons that whilst the poorest half of the world saw their wealth fall by 11 per cent last year, the richest saw their wealth increase by 12 per cent. In 2017 43 billionaires had the same wealth as the world’s poorest half, and that number fell to 26 last year. In the 10 years since the global financial crisis, the number of billionaires has doubled and a new billionaire emerged once every two days between 2017 and 2018. 1 per cent of Jeff Bezos $112 billion fortune is equal to the entire Ethiopian health budget, a country with a population of 105 million. After accounting for VAT the poorest 10 per cent of Britons have a higher effective tax rate compared to the richest (49 per cent compared with 34%).
Everyone should get a fair shot
Matthew Spencer a spokesperson for Oxfam says whilst the greatest achievement of the last few decades has been the dramatic fall in the number of people living in extreme poverty, growing inequality jeopardises any future progress. Wealth is increasingly becoming concentrated amongst an elite whilst millions are struggling to get by. Mr Spencer says it does not have to be this way because there is more than enough wealth to give every one a fair shot at life.
Fairer tax policy and better public services
Oxfam thinks that Governments need to raise taxes from wealthy individuals and companies and make sure that the money is spent on providing high quality public services that have the effect of transforming and saving people’s lives. According to the report by failing to invest enough in public services, governments were in effect making inequality worse. The NGO says that governments need to provide universal public services and fund it by dealing with tax avoidance and making sure tax policy is fair.
