The rationales for accepting vast inequalities of income and wealth simply do not hold up.
By Tom Malleson, Inequality.org
In many parts of the world, inequality is spiraling out of control. The basic facts have become depressingly familiar.
In the United States, the top 0.1 percent now control about the same amount of wealth as the bottom 90 percent of the entire population. Globally, the richest eight individuals possess as much wealth as half the entire planet.
The United States could completely eradicate homelessness by taxing away just 2 percent of the wealth of a mere two billionaires, Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates. If we redistributed 2 percent of the wealth of all the world’s billionaires, leaving completely untouched the wealth of well over 99.9 percent of the world’s population, we could eliminate extreme poverty entirely. Billionaires, meanwhile, would likely not even lose any money in the process since they typically earn more than 2 percent annually off their wealth.
Despite stats like these, the same old objections resurface again and again, like ideological zombies, whenever anyone dares suggest a redistribution of grand fortunes.
Recent Posts
Nigerian Village Bombed by Trump Has ‘No Known History’ of Anti-Christian Terrorism, Locals Say
Take Action Now “Portraying Nigeria’s security challenges as a targeted campaign against a single religious group is a gross misrepresentation of…
How Effective Are Protests? Historians Say: Very.
Take Action Now Protests change the protesters, their communities and the nation. From emancipation to women’s suffrage, civil rights and BLM, mass…
The United States’ Hidden History Of Regime Change—Revisited
Take Action Now The truculent trio—Trump, Hegseth, and Rubio—do Venezuela.By Barbara Koeppel, The Nation Since the early 20th century, the United…
The “President Of Peace” Prepares For War
Take Action Now The Donroe Doctrine Hits HomeBy William D. Hartung, Tom Dispatch Earlier this month, the Trump administration released its new…