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| The Socialist Golden Rule |
"Behind
every great fortune lies a great crime."-
Honoré
de Balzac
In
early 2016 Oxfam reported that just 62
individuals had
the same wealth as the bottom half of humanity.
About
a year later Oxfam reported that just 8
men had
the same wealth as the world's bottom half.
Based
on the same methodology and
data sources used by Oxfam, that number is now down to 6.
The
wealth of these six men increased by $69 billion in just one year.
As
of 17th
of February, the world's six richest individuals had $412 billion.
The
poorest five deciles of the world population own just .16% of the
$256 trillion in global wealth, or $410 billion.
The
world's richest 10% (mostly the richest 1%) gained nearly $4 trillion
while every
other segment of the global population lost wealth.
According
to the Forbes Billionaire List, the world's richest 500 individuals
have $4.73 trillion in wealth. The poorest seven deciles of the world
population own just 1.86% of the $256 trillion in global wealth, or
$4.76 trillion. That's over two-thirds
of all the people on earth.
That means 5,000,000,000 people
-- FIVE BILLION people -- have, on average, and after debt is figured
in, about a
thousand dollars each in home and property and savings.
In
the U.S., the Forbes 400 Own as Much as 3/5 of the American
People
The bottom 60% of Americans own 3 percent of the nation's $85 trillion in total wealth, or $2.55 trillion. The Forbes 400 owned $2.4 trillion in October 2016, and that's been steadily increasing. And yes, many Americans have negative wealth because of debt. A human being doesn't have to live in a third-world slum to be impoverished.
The bottom 60% of Americans own 3 percent of the nation's $85 trillion in total wealth, or $2.55 trillion. The Forbes 400 owned $2.4 trillion in October 2016, and that's been steadily increasing. And yes, many Americans have negative wealth because of debt. A human being doesn't have to live in a third-world slum to be impoverished.
Cato's Michael
Tanner suggests
that "even if inequality were growing as fast as critics claim,
it would not necessarily be a problem." The
Boston Globe's Jeff
Jacoby calls
the Oxfam analysis "irrelevant." Reuters contributor Felix
Salmon calls
it a "silly stat."
Capitalism's apologists
say the Oxfam methodology is flawed, but whether it's 6 individuals
or 62 or 1,000 doesn't really matter. The data from the Credit
Suisse Global
Wealth Databook (GWD)
and the Forbes
Billionaire List provide
the best available tools to make it clear that inequality is extreme
and getting worse every
year.
The
poorest half (and more) of the world has continued to lose wealth;
and the VERY richest individuals -- especially the top thousand or so
-- continue to add billions of dollars to their massive fortunes.
The
power that comes with the money has served to corrupt our government,
our communities, our democracy, our education, our health-care, and
it destroys our personal lives.
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