This article further illustrates the disparity between the rich and poor. Its quite astonishing that the top 1 percent has more wealth then the 99 percent.
I really thinks this government is very misleading. Governments holds most all of the wealth in the world and that is done through confiscation of income via taxation, property taxes, sales taxes, etc. Also, all of the government owned land across the world too adds to wealth. I find it very misleading to say they have the ability to pinpoint wealth of individuals without any indication to the wealth held by governments.
Half of the wealth being owned by 1/100th of the world is very discouraging in terms of income inequality. It shows how this is not just a U.S. problem, but instead a widespread world problem. Outliars within this probably include the fact that third world countries contribute a lot of people to the world but cannot compete with the rich in modern countries. However, the amount of money owned by the top is probably too much in all fairness for everyone to get a good life.
This article was extremely eye opening. It is a perfect graphic for those who aren't necessarily logical about economics, like myself- there's really no way to misread it. It's really impossible to wrap one's mind around inequality that great- how can 80 people have more wealth than 3.5 million people? This illustrates that inequality is so much more of a problem than most of us can even understand.
One of the most tragic things I found about this article is that 85 richest people on the planet have the same wealth as the poorest 50%, 1 billion of these live according to the World Bank in extreme poverty. It’s hard for us to imagine how large this number really is, but its easy to imagine 85 people, and the fact that these two groups have about an equal amount of wealth is a very sad fact for humanity. The article quoted people warning leaders that this economic inequality will lead to economic and political instability as the inequality grows and then mentioned that Oxfam gave the leaders advice about how to counter this trend. It is very difficult to imagine that any of those advices will be taken seriously since not implementing those suggestions is precisely why these people have become so rich and, as history has taught us, people with power and privilege are unlikely to give it up willingly. - Visar Berisha
I think it's really great that Oxfam is forcing this issue into the face of many of the people who have the power to help it, but also have the most to gain from ignoring it. It's very easy to pretend things like economic inequality do not exist but I'm glad that Oxfam is bringing it directly to a large forum and forcing it to be considered.
It is really interesting to see that only 1% of the world's population has the power to do changes in the world. As one of the speakers say, it is not an accident that that these 1% had become richer when there was a depression in the USA (2008). It was that they had the tools to make their way into making more profit, while the rest of the population was economic struggling. I think that Europe is at least trying to have that inequality. I also think that the ideas that the Obama administration are great for the change in the big gap between who has power and who does not. But I think it would take that, as they the article said, the Republicans and the people who have the most power will not make it easy. However, I think that just knowing these facts make ordinary people know that there is something going on in the government and the country. The Oxfam is contributing a lot at showing researches that will make an awareness of what is going on. Although the representatives of these organizations who want equality in the world do not have much power as the 1%, they have other forms of power (their voices) to try to combat this issue. It will take time for some little change, but I think inequality will always exists in these great magnitude. That is the way politics and governments are build on.
The biggest takeaway i got from this article is the fact that "...on current trends the richest 1% would own more than 50% of the world’s wealth by 2016." This statement is so interesting to me because it shows how much power the richest 1% of America really have, and it adds on to why many people believe that rising inequality is extremely dangerous. If we allow the richest 1% to own more than 50% of the world's wealth then we are placing every other individual in society at risk of being completely overlooked and discriminated against. Not every human being can be wealthy, but is important that as a fair and equal society we provide them with the opportunities to someday reach that level. Ordinary peoples voices need to be heard too and they cannot just be tossed aside as if they do not exist because our forefathers promised each and every human being the exact same rights in the Constitution; therefore, it would be wrong to completely leave out a specific group of individuals.
This article shows the reality of today’s society. The majority of people believe that if you work hard they can become rich. According to this article only 1% of the world population owns more than the rest of the population (99%). This statistic shows that with the cost of living getting higher the chances of becoming really wealthy are very low. Also the article mentions that by 2016 the richest 1% will own more than 50% of the world’s wealth. The article also mentions that to avoid this type of inequality there are seven steps to follow. One of these steps is wage equality for women. I believe that to change wealth inequality in society the first step is definitely fix the wage gap between males and females.
It's mind blowing to think that by next year, less than 1% of the world's population will own more than half of all the wealth in the entire world. Honestly, it's absolutely ridiculous. There's no reason that thousands of people around the world should starve while a small portion of the population sits on more money than they could ever dream of spending. I'm surprised that no legislation has been passed to fix the inequality, because it's clear that it is a well-known problem. Yet, people continue to ignore it and sweep it under the rug.
This article was not surprising to me. There are people that possess an enormous amount of wealth in the world, and they are only getting wealthier as time goes on. I appreciate the fact that these facts are surfacing and that policies are being created to address the issue, but I honestly have trouble imagining wealth inequality dramatically decreasing in my lifetime. -Damarr Gordon
It is interesting when you think about it how the United States caused the 2008 the financial crisis that reverberated around the world into a global recession. I wonder if Oxfam would be able to rally for a global redistribution tax for the 20% of the 1600 billionaires who are in the financial sector and make them fund Oxfam to help solve global poverty. I do not think the United States is at a place of disillusion towards the wealthy for a redistribution tax to be implemented especially considering the 500 million dollar lobbyists spend fighting wealth equality.
This article was an interesting read with a couple of informative facts and figures. I’m glad to read about people and organizations that realize inequalities and want to correct them. It’s outrageous to learn the richest 80 people have more money than the poorest 50% of the world.
Prior to reading this article I knew about these Davos billionaire meeting that were held every year, but I did not the specifics. The article talks about how a charity was invented this year to speak about the disparity between the wealthy and the poor. I would like to know more about the qualifications that each person needs to have to be able to participant because it is obvious that only the 1% can attend. Also I would like to know about what they actually talk about at these annual meetings. Also since they are considered important meetings are they allowed to be recorded so that the none 1% can be informed.
While it's likely that the attendees are wealthy, I believe its more about political and private affiliation then just being in the top 1%. Granted, I do agree with Danny’s point above that even though they may have the influence, it isn’t in their best interest to do anything about it.
Most of this article I don't find that surprising. Worldwide, inequality between the upper and lower class is generally widening and there isn't a lot being done to solve this. The one fact that stood out to me was that "the richest 1% would own more than 50% of the world's wealth by 2016." Its hard to believe that the wealth gap is so large and still increasing and nothing is still being done. How can people live so blindly of the poverty around them without willing to help? How may things be different if that 1% distributed their wealth in a way that benefited those that live in poverty?
I knew that the top 1% earned a great portion of the world's wealth, but to see the numbers on paper is such a smack in the face. I can't believe that by 2016, the top 1% will earn 50% of the world's wealth. 99% of the world's population will be sharing the remaining 50% of the wealth. Like the article claims, there is no natural law dictating that this must be the case, so what are we doing wrong? What can we do to shift this inequality without dropping everything and adopting a socialist agenda?
a. This article allowed me to see that there is a widening inequality gap in the world. It was unbelievable to see that the amount of wealth the top 1% held in 2009 increased from 44% to 48% in 2014. If this trend increases then that means the majority of the worlds wealth will be held by the top 1%. If the inequality gap continues to become larger, then the rest 99% will become more voiceless and they will be unable to express their concerns. I knew there was a income gap, but reading in the article that the richest 85 people have the same amount of wealth as the poorest 50% of the population really surprised me.
This article brings up an important issue about wealth inequality and makes it clear with some startling numbers. 85 people are as wealthy as the poorest 50% (3.5 billion people). While it is clear that changes would be beneficial for poor people and humanity, the problem is with how to make the rich stop hoarding money. I don’t agree with redistributive policies as the main tactic because it feels like attacking the rich and they will find ways to fight back and avoid regulation, causing even more problems to deal with. They should instead be encouraged to invest their money back into the economy, but that’s easier said than done.
sara-ruth gabriel My question is now that this is a known fact, what are we doing to help decrease the inequality with the rich and poor? And what can average citizens do to decrease the inequality, if there is anything we can do.
This article sheds light on a problem that most know exist, that being income inequality. It is astonishing that 1 percent of the entire world controls half of the wealth. However, I do not see this "issue" changing anytime soon. It is unfortunate that there is such a large gap between the rich and poor, yet that is how a free trade market works, and that is essentially what the globe is a free trade market with restrictions imposed by each countries government. Depending on the country, policies may be different, which make room for more income equality, but in the end greed will always prevail. It is human nature.
The fourth sentence of this article made my heart drop, I am currently feeling chest pains as I am reading this. I want to believe that change is possible, that combined minds that see that this level of inequality is harmful to the economy will truly work at narrowing the gap. I mean in reality one could say "why should the rich give back, why should they care?" the answer to that is once you have sucked up all the resources (money) what is there left. Rich people need the rest of us to have money, in order for them to remain rich, and have something to do with their lives. It is a cycle. Honestly there needs to be a way to get this information out to the world, show the people, the other 99%, that we have to get involved in making things right. So often I hear people complain but not enough solutions and rarely any action. -Yasmeen Brown
"Do we really want to live in a world where the 1% own more than the rest of us combined?"
This was the most striking quote from the reading to me. But the thing I like most about the article is Oxfam's seven point plan. Everyone knows the rich are rich, and there are an infinite number of ways to show how rich the 1% is. But it's encouraging to see that there are people with an actual plan to fix this distribution, albeit, a rather optimistic one (they may have very well added an eighth point to introduce world peace). But it's also interesting to note that the audience for this conference was indeed the wealthy elite. This shows that there is at the very least an interest in making changes on a global-scale. - Greg Battista
The article provides a lot of sad but compelling information about the huge gap between the richest of the rich and everyone else, I knew that the 1% held a huge sum of the worlds wealth but i didn't know that they held half, and it's upsetting to think that it's only going to get worse as time goes on if something isn't done now. It's a hard thing to try to fix, but increasing taxes on the rich may be a good step in putting some of the money back into the 99%'s hand because there would be more money to provide through care plans, etc.
I thought it was interesting how the end of the article reminded us that inequality is not something that exists without choice. We have chosen to enact policies that encourage inequality, and whether we think inequality is a positive or negative effect on society is what determines our political opinions. I never truly thought about politics in this sense until taking this course, and this article reminded me of how true it is.
I think by now most people know that wealth is concentrated. I am more concerned about methods on how to decrease the gap, and see a plan put into action-hence the 7 at the end of this article. After research is conducted, then possible solution should be created, and those solution should be implemented….then repeat if needed.
Note: summits are important, but what is next? For once, I would like to read an article about the results of the applied solutions.
Lastly, it is sad and shameful that minimal wage does not cover living wage. People are working hard (some with multiple jobs) and they still cannot afford the basics!
I am a strong believer in the systems we have to help the poorest people in America, on paper I think we have done a lot of positive things to help decrease the gap. It is both the enforcers and a portion of the people receiving assistance who create this gap. Politicians who are consumed with greed, and people who are beat down by the system and forced to take undesirable paths (one example: having unwanted children due to stigmatization of abortion/difficulty paying for birth control).
Before reading this article i didn't know organization such as oxfam were around. Its refreshing to see an organization tackling issues such as inequality.
When I read this article, everything that I already knew became even more apparent. I knew about the gap, but now that I am in college and on my way to become an adult with a job, bills, and a family it is hitting me more now than ever. Money equals power. It is heartbreaking to think that I'm working so hard to make something of myself and my voice will barely be heard. The top 1% gets to control everything because they have money and the rest of the 99% can only rely on hope. I have hope that this gap will decrease because this world will go down if decisions are only made to keep those with the most money happy. We outnumber them in terms of population, but without outnumbering them in terms of money, there is not a lot we can do to make change. There are ways that we can speak out on things, I just hope that one day that are voices are not only heard but are taken seriously so that the world can be a great place for everyone to live, bot just those who have the most money.
The fact that a mere 85 people have as much wealth as the poorest 50% of all people should say something about how severe our inequality problem is. Also shocking is how quickly the wealthy seem to be gaining more wealth; in a mere five years, from 2009 to 2014, the amount of wealth the top 1% held rose frm 44% of all wealth to 48%. The more we allow this continue, the more wealthy the wealthy will become, until there is very little left in the lower classes. This needs to stop, or else we may reach a point where it may not be possible to stop them.
It is sad that 1 percent of the world's population can hold 50 percent of global wealth. This alone is enough to show how the inequality gap between classes is very prevalent and an urgent problem in our world today. Although this gap is so obvious and prevalent, there is not much being done to solve these inequalities. This unequal distribution of wealth keeps the rich getting richer, while the lower classes suffer. The question is, "How are we going to solve this?" As mentioned by engl444mk, it is difficult to solve this problem with adopting a "socialist agenda." Hopefully, more research and solutions can be found to help guide us away from this widening wealth gap.
To me its an oxymoron that the people apart of the 1% are the ones discussing on how to combat inequality. Unless there is a complete redistribution of wealth I believe that income inequality will continue to be an issue and the 1% will continually get smaller. -Gregory Brown
This article continues to show the trend about how the top 1% continue to control the world. I thought it was shocking 80 of the richest people on the Earth made more money than the poorest %50 percent. It just goes to show the rich continue to get richer, while the poor get poorer, and the graph is the perfect example of this.
This article further illustrates the disparity between the rich and poor. Its quite astonishing that the top 1 percent has more wealth then the 99 percent.
ReplyDeleteI really thinks this government is very misleading. Governments holds most all of the wealth in the world and that is done through confiscation of income via taxation, property taxes, sales taxes, etc. Also, all of the government owned land across the world too adds to wealth. I find it very misleading to say they have the ability to pinpoint wealth of individuals without any indication to the wealth held by governments.
ReplyDeleteHalf of the wealth being owned by 1/100th of the world is very discouraging in terms of income inequality. It shows how this is not just a U.S. problem, but instead a widespread world problem. Outliars within this probably include the fact that third world countries contribute a lot of people to the world but cannot compete with the rich in modern countries. However, the amount of money owned by the top is probably too much in all fairness for everyone to get a good life.
ReplyDeleteThis article was extremely eye opening. It is a perfect graphic for those who aren't necessarily logical about economics, like myself- there's really no way to misread it. It's really impossible to wrap one's mind around inequality that great- how can 80 people have more wealth than 3.5 million people? This illustrates that inequality is so much more of a problem than most of us can even understand.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most tragic things I found about this article is that 85 richest people on the planet have the same wealth as the poorest 50%, 1 billion of these live according to the World Bank in extreme poverty. It’s hard for us to imagine how large this number really is, but its easy to imagine 85 people, and the fact that these two groups have about an equal amount of wealth is a very sad fact for humanity. The article quoted people warning leaders that this economic inequality will lead to economic and political instability as the inequality grows and then mentioned that Oxfam gave the leaders advice about how to counter this trend. It is very difficult to imagine that any of those advices will be taken seriously since not implementing those suggestions is precisely why these people have become so rich and, as history has taught us, people with power and privilege are unlikely to give it up willingly. - Visar Berisha
ReplyDeleteI think it's really great that Oxfam is forcing this issue into the face of many of the people who have the power to help it, but also have the most to gain from ignoring it. It's very easy to pretend things like economic inequality do not exist but I'm glad that Oxfam is bringing it directly to a large forum and forcing it to be considered.
ReplyDeleteIt is really interesting to see that only 1% of the world's population has the power to do changes in the world. As one of the speakers say, it is not an accident that that these 1% had become richer when there was a depression in the USA (2008). It was that they had the tools to make their way into making more profit, while the rest of the population was economic struggling. I think that Europe is at least trying to have that inequality. I also think that the ideas that the Obama administration are great for the change in the big gap between who has power and who does not. But I think it would take that, as they the article said, the Republicans and the people who have the most power will not make it easy. However, I think that just knowing these facts make ordinary people know that there is something going on in the government and the country. The Oxfam is contributing a lot at showing researches that will make an awareness of what is going on. Although the representatives of these organizations who want equality in the world do not have much power as the 1%, they have other forms of power (their voices) to try to combat this issue. It will take time for some little change, but I think inequality will always exists in these great magnitude. That is the way politics and governments are build on.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest takeaway i got from this article is the fact that "...on current trends the richest 1% would own more than 50% of the world’s wealth by 2016." This statement is so interesting to me because it shows how much power the richest 1% of America really have, and it adds on to why many people believe that rising inequality is extremely dangerous. If we allow the richest 1% to own more than 50% of the world's wealth then we are placing every other individual in society at risk of being completely overlooked and discriminated against. Not every human being can be wealthy, but is important that as a fair and equal society we provide them with the opportunities to someday reach that level. Ordinary peoples voices need to be heard too and they cannot just be tossed aside as if they do not exist because our forefathers promised each and every human being the exact same rights in the Constitution; therefore, it would be wrong to completely leave out a specific group of individuals.
ReplyDeleteThis article shows the reality of today’s society. The majority of people believe that if you work hard they can become rich. According to this article only 1% of the world population owns more than the rest of the population (99%). This statistic shows that with the cost of living getting higher the chances of becoming really wealthy are very low. Also the article mentions that by 2016 the richest 1% will own more than 50% of the world’s wealth. The article also mentions that to avoid this type of inequality there are seven steps to follow. One of these steps is wage equality for women. I believe that to change wealth inequality in society the first step is definitely fix the wage gap between males and females.
ReplyDeleteIt's mind blowing to think that by next year, less than 1% of the world's population will own more than half of all the wealth in the entire world. Honestly, it's absolutely ridiculous. There's no reason that thousands of people around the world should starve while a small portion of the population sits on more money than they could ever dream of spending. I'm surprised that no legislation has been passed to fix the inequality, because it's clear that it is a well-known problem. Yet, people continue to ignore it and sweep it under the rug.
ReplyDeleteThis article was not surprising to me. There are people that possess an enormous amount of wealth in the world, and they are only getting wealthier as time goes on. I appreciate the fact that these facts are surfacing and that policies are being created to address the issue, but I honestly have trouble imagining wealth inequality dramatically decreasing in my lifetime.
ReplyDelete-Damarr Gordon
I agree. It seems to be a trend that is going in the wrong direction.
DeleteIt is interesting when you think about it how the United States caused the 2008 the financial crisis that reverberated around the world into a global recession. I wonder if Oxfam would be able to rally for a global redistribution tax for the 20% of the 1600 billionaires who are in the financial sector and make them fund Oxfam to help solve global poverty. I do not think the United States is at a place of disillusion towards the wealthy for a redistribution tax to be implemented especially considering the 500 million dollar lobbyists spend fighting wealth equality.
ReplyDeleteThis article was an interesting read with a couple of informative facts and figures. I’m glad to read about people and organizations that realize inequalities and want to correct them. It’s outrageous to learn the richest 80 people have more money than the poorest 50% of the world.
ReplyDeletePrior to reading this article I knew about these Davos billionaire meeting that were held every year, but I did not the specifics. The article talks about how a charity was invented this year to speak about the disparity between the wealthy and the poor. I would like to know more about the qualifications that each person needs to have to be able to participant because it is obvious that only the 1% can attend. Also I would like to know about what they actually talk about at these annual meetings. Also since they are considered important meetings are they allowed to be recorded so that the none 1% can be informed.
ReplyDeleteWhile it's likely that the attendees are wealthy, I believe its more about political and private affiliation then just being in the top 1%. Granted, I do agree with Danny’s point above that even though they may have the influence, it isn’t in their best interest to do anything about it.
Delete-David Teitelbaum
Most of this article I don't find that surprising. Worldwide, inequality between the upper and lower class is generally widening and there isn't a lot being done to solve this. The one fact that stood out to me was that "the richest 1% would own more than 50% of the world's wealth by 2016." Its hard to believe that the wealth gap is so large and still increasing and nothing is still being done. How can people live so blindly of the poverty around them without willing to help? How may things be different if that 1% distributed their wealth in a way that benefited those that live in poverty?
ReplyDeleteI knew that the top 1% earned a great portion of the world's wealth, but to see the numbers on paper is such a smack in the face. I can't believe that by 2016, the top 1% will earn 50% of the world's wealth. 99% of the world's population will be sharing the remaining 50% of the wealth. Like the article claims, there is no natural law dictating that this must be the case, so what are we doing wrong? What can we do to shift this inequality without dropping everything and adopting a socialist agenda?
ReplyDeletea. This article allowed me to see that there is a widening inequality gap in the world. It was unbelievable to see that the amount of wealth the top 1% held in 2009 increased from 44% to 48% in 2014. If this trend increases then that means the majority of the worlds wealth will be held by the top 1%. If the inequality gap continues to become larger, then the rest 99% will become more voiceless and they will be unable to express their concerns. I knew there was a income gap, but reading in the article that the richest 85 people have the same amount of wealth as the poorest 50% of the population really surprised me.
ReplyDeleteThis article brings up an important issue about wealth inequality and makes it clear with some startling numbers. 85 people are as wealthy as the poorest 50% (3.5 billion people). While it is clear that changes would be beneficial for poor people and humanity, the problem is with how to make the rich stop hoarding money. I don’t agree with redistributive policies as the main tactic because it feels like attacking the rich and they will find ways to fight back and avoid regulation, causing even more problems to deal with. They should instead be encouraged to invest their money back into the economy, but that’s easier said than done.
ReplyDeletesara-ruth gabriel
ReplyDeleteMy question is now that this is a known fact, what are we doing to help decrease the inequality with the rich and poor? And what can average citizens do to decrease the inequality, if there is anything we can do.
This article sheds light on a problem that most know exist, that being income inequality. It is astonishing that 1 percent of the entire world controls half of the wealth. However, I do not see this "issue" changing anytime soon. It is unfortunate that there is such a large gap between the rich and poor, yet that is how a free trade market works, and that is essentially what the globe is a free trade market with restrictions imposed by each countries government. Depending on the country, policies may be different, which make room for more income equality, but in the end greed will always prevail. It is human nature.
ReplyDelete-Jeremy Levin
The fourth sentence of this article made my heart drop, I am currently feeling chest pains as I am reading this. I want to believe that change is possible, that combined minds that see that this level of inequality is harmful to the economy will truly work at narrowing the gap. I mean in reality one could say "why should the rich give back, why should they care?" the answer to that is once you have sucked up all the resources (money) what is there left. Rich people need the rest of us to have money, in order for them to remain rich, and have something to do with their lives. It is a cycle. Honestly there needs to be a way to get this information out to the world, show the people, the other 99%, that we have to get involved in making things right. So often I hear people complain but not enough solutions and rarely any action. -Yasmeen Brown
ReplyDelete"Do we really want to live in a world where the 1% own more than the rest of us combined?"
ReplyDeleteThis was the most striking quote from the reading to me. But the thing I like most about the article is Oxfam's seven point plan. Everyone knows the rich are rich, and there are an infinite number of ways to show how rich the 1% is. But it's encouraging to see that there are people with an actual plan to fix this distribution, albeit, a rather optimistic one (they may have very well added an eighth point to introduce world peace). But it's also interesting to note that the audience for this conference was indeed the wealthy elite. This shows that there is at the very least an interest in making changes on a global-scale.
- Greg Battista
The article provides a lot of sad but compelling information about the huge gap between the richest of the rich and everyone else, I knew that the 1% held a huge sum of the worlds wealth but i didn't know that they held half, and it's upsetting to think that it's only going to get worse as time goes on if something isn't done now. It's a hard thing to try to fix, but increasing taxes on the rich may be a good step in putting some of the money back into the 99%'s hand because there would be more money to provide through care plans, etc.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting how the end of the article reminded us that inequality is not something that exists without choice. We have chosen to enact policies that encourage inequality, and whether we think inequality is a positive or negative effect on society is what determines our political opinions. I never truly thought about politics in this sense until taking this course, and this article reminded me of how true it is.
ReplyDeleteI think by now most people know that wealth is concentrated. I am more concerned about methods on how to decrease the gap, and see a plan put into action-hence the 7 at the end of this article. After research is conducted, then possible solution should be created, and those solution should be implemented….then repeat if needed.
ReplyDeleteNote: summits are important, but what is next? For once, I would like to read an article about the results of the applied solutions.
Lastly, it is sad and shameful that minimal wage does not cover living wage. People are working hard (some with multiple jobs) and they still cannot afford the basics!
I am a strong believer in the systems we have to help the poorest people in America, on paper I think we have done a lot of positive things to help decrease the gap. It is both the enforcers and a portion of the people receiving assistance who create this gap. Politicians who are consumed with greed, and people who are beat down by the system and forced to take undesirable paths (one example: having unwanted children due to stigmatization of abortion/difficulty paying for birth control).
ReplyDeleteBefore reading this article i didn't know organization such as oxfam were around. Its refreshing to see an organization tackling issues such as inequality.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read this article, everything that I already knew became even more apparent. I knew about the gap, but now that I am in college and on my way to become an adult with a job, bills, and a family it is hitting me more now than ever. Money equals power. It is heartbreaking to think that I'm working so hard to make something of myself and my voice will barely be heard. The top 1% gets to control everything because they have money and the rest of the 99% can only rely on hope. I have hope that this gap will decrease because this world will go down if decisions are only made to keep those with the most money happy. We outnumber them in terms of population, but without outnumbering them in terms of money, there is not a lot we can do to make change. There are ways that we can speak out on things, I just hope that one day that are voices are not only heard but are taken seriously so that the world can be a great place for everyone to live, bot just those who have the most money.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that a mere 85 people have as much wealth as the poorest 50% of all people should say something about how severe our inequality problem is. Also shocking is how quickly the wealthy seem to be gaining more wealth; in a mere five years, from 2009 to 2014, the amount of wealth the top 1% held rose frm 44% of all wealth to 48%. The more we allow this continue, the more wealthy the wealthy will become, until there is very little left in the lower classes. This needs to stop, or else we may reach a point where it may not be possible to stop them.
ReplyDelete- Brian Kang
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad that 1 percent of the world's population can hold 50 percent of global wealth. This alone is enough to show how the inequality gap between classes is very prevalent and an urgent problem in our world today. Although this gap is so obvious and prevalent, there is not much being done to solve these inequalities. This unequal distribution of wealth keeps the rich getting richer, while the lower classes suffer. The question is, "How are we going to solve this?" As mentioned by engl444mk, it is difficult to solve this problem with adopting a "socialist agenda." Hopefully, more research and solutions can be found to help guide us away from this widening wealth gap.
ReplyDeleteTo me its an oxymoron that the people apart of the 1% are the ones discussing on how to combat inequality. Unless there is a complete redistribution of wealth I believe that income inequality will continue to be an issue and the 1% will continually get smaller.
ReplyDelete-Gregory Brown
This article continues to show the trend about how the top 1% continue to control the world. I thought it was shocking 80 of the richest people on the Earth made more money than the poorest %50 percent. It just goes to show the rich continue to get richer, while the poor get poorer, and the graph is the perfect example of this.
ReplyDelete