Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Is this a problem?

Oxfam has just reported on a phenomina that has been worrying me for a few years now.

Inequality gap widens as ‘world’s richest 1% get 82% of the wealth,’ Oxfam says

Many wealthy people already do give money to charity, but there's clearly room for improvement in that sort of thing!

The disparity is alarming but it has been so for many years.

All the time there is no Global Political will to narrow the gap I believe it will remain the status quo.

As individuals there is only so much you can do and I suspect quite a few on here do just that.

Yes it is a problem for the under privileged.

Is it a problem? Yes it is - the rich have the money but the poor have the votes. And the numbers.

There will come a point when the imbalance becomes unacceptable. Who knows when that will be but it will happen. The risk is that then we end up with some sort of socialism

The "Marie Antoinettes" are what brough the French revolution.

Richard. The point of this report is that the gap is widening exponentially.
"the wealth of billionaires had increased by 13 percent a year on average in the decade from 2006 to 2015. Last year, billionaires would have seen an uptick of $762 billion — enough to end extreme poverty seven times over."

This same sort of growth applies to the salaries at upper executive levels of major companies and governments. During this same period there has been little or no growth in the income of pensioners and blue collar and white collar workers. In other words the bulk of consumers.

It would not surprise me to see that the vast bulk of tax is paid by the majority whilst the billioners pay a minor percent of their income in taxes.

Trump's tax payments, or better lack of tax payments, would be a good example of how the very wealthy manipulate the tax rules to their advantage and pay little tax whilst at the same time increasing their wealth.

Whilst the intent and sentiment of the Oxfam report is right (the message is clear) the changes on last years report are notable and a distraction from the key message. These things are hard to quantify etc. but a more real measure is needed....

I agree. The rich will be the authors of their own downfall, which is especially sad when you think of the consequences, and how it could so easily be averted. All the rich have to do is to stop exploiting off-shore tax-avoidance measures, and to spend their money in their home economies.

There are a fair few rich folks living in my part of Gloucestershire. Of the two who live closest to me, one flies in and out of his property by helicopter, keeps his money in his wallet, and interacts hardly at all with the local economy.

The other whizzes up and down to London by train (First Class, natch) and employs a seemingly endless chain of local businesses doing all sorts of work - he employed a mate of mine to spend 3 months moving a stone wall 2 metres over to makes his driveway wider.

No prizes for guessing which of these is seen as a popular and integral part of the community.

"'Tis the duty of the wealthy man / to give employment to the artisan"

It's really important to have plenty of rich people in an economy. They can use their money to do things that would never get approval under a socialist state - sponsoring the arts is a perfect example, but they have to realise their duty and place, otherwise, as Howard points out, they run the risk of having it taken away.

There will, again, be revolution.
Not sure where, yet, or when, but it is a certainty.
Probably not in the UK, where the richest are not, relatively, that rich.
USA, China or Russia, I suspect.

There are different forms of revoltuion Peter. They dont have to involve barricades and burning tyres. I doubt they ever would in the UK, but we get ever nearer to the main part of the population beolieveing the current system is unfair and maybe voting in a Corbyn or someone even further towards the authoritarian left.

That nasty man Adoph was voted in on the back of mass unhappyness. trouble was they couldnt ever vote him out again. Thats much more likely to be the pattern in the UK

Yes it bothers me, but the solutions will never get the approval of the 1% who hold onto these riches and keep the power to manipulate.

Re-distribution of wealth to the poorest would harm some as well as helping others. The weakest may not yet realise they live from hand to mouth. Conversely the wealthy may have little idea of life beyond their great estate.

What irritates me most is the tax avoidance systems which permits great wealth to flow seamlessly from one generation to the next. Trust funds and off shore tax havens in particular.

What to spend all the extra revenue gained ? £100,000,000 per week on the N.H.S. says Boris.