Oxfam’s new report, “Public Good or Private Wealth”, shows how the growing gap between rich and poor is undermining the fight against poverty, damaging our economies and fueling public anger across the globe.
Billionaire fortunes increased by 12 percent last year—or $2.5 billion a day—while the 3.8 billion people who make up the poorest half of humanity saw their wealth decline by 11 percent. The research also includes that the number of billionaires has nearly doubled since the financial crisis, yet wealthy individuals and corporations are paying lower rates of tax than they have in decades, thanks in part to the new tax law championed by Donald Trump. The report is being launched as political and business elites head to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland this week.
Oxfam calls on governments to work on policies that ensure all workers receive a minimum ‘living’ wage, eliminating the gender pay gap, protecting the rights of women workers, and ensuring that the wealthy pay their fair share of tax would go far in achieving this goal. In the US, Oxfam pushes for Congress to urgently bring about a new set of tax rules that work for the many, not the few, rules that raise more revenue from under-taxed multinational companies, eliminate the incentives to shift profits offshore, and end the worldwide race to the bottom in corporate tax.
Readboth articles at the Oxfam website located here…….The world’s richest 26 billionaires now have as much money as the poorest 3.8bn people on the planet, figures show.