MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Oxfam claims the richest 1% has as much wealth as the rest of the world combined
The richest 1% now has as much wealth as the rest of the world combined, according to Oxfam. It uses data from Credit Suisse from October for the report, which urges leaders meeting in Davos this week to take action on inequality. Oxfam also calculated that the richest 62 people in the world had as much wealth as the poorest half of the global population. Read full article
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Disclaimer & comment rulesOxfam are a bit slow on the uptake. I hope they didn't spend too much time and money on this report.
Jan 18th, 2016 - 11:02 am - Link - Report abuse 0Inequality means José has 200 grams of cocaine and Frans has only 10.
Jan 18th, 2016 - 11:36 am - Link - Report abuse 0Who cares?
Jan 18th, 2016 - 01:00 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Poor people aren't poor because rich people are rich.
All these flipping collectivists always want to do it redistribute someone else's property.
If it bothers them so much they should look to solve the problem from the other way and get rid of the poor people so the numbers are more palatable to them.
It is no surprise that CFK's attempts to redistribute wealth in Argentina resulted in a net increase of argentos in poverty.
Jan 18th, 2016 - 02:39 pm - Link - Report abuse 0http://www.perfil.com/elobservador/La-pobreza-crecio-en-toda-la-Argentina-la-mida-quien-la-mida-20140614-0015.html
http://www.perfil.com/elobservador/La-pobreza-crecio-en-toda-la-Argentina-la-mida-quien-la-mida-20140614-0015.html
http://www.perfil.com/elobservador/La-pobreza-crecio-en-toda-la-Argentina-la-mida-quien-la-mida-20140614-0015.html
The unbelievable greed of the rich and the powerful is still a curse that prevents reducing inequality and keeping most people in the planet in inescapable cycles of poverty, illiteracy and lack of health.
Jan 18th, 2016 - 02:51 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Of course, everybody would win if the poorest in developed and underdeveloped countries were able to have jobs and raise their children in peace. However, the wealth accumulation that is at the base of the capitalist ideology is unable to comprehend this simple recipe.
5. How do rich people prevent poor people from getting rich?
Jan 18th, 2016 - 03:02 pm - Link - Report abuse 0and since you're broadening a ridiculous concept to the qworld...
How do Rich countries prevent Poor countries from getting rich?
Reekie, you're a dumb collectivist. Just look to Venezuela to see where your stupid wealth redistribution ideals destroy the people you claim to care about.
@5 Yes, Comrade, equality programme works so well. Have only to visit North Korea, Comrade. Glorious people's republic has escaped from inescapable cycles of poverty, illiteracy and lack of health. Peronist Argentina beating down doors to emulate Pyongyang, Comrade. Outgoing tide lowers all boats, Comrade.
Jan 18th, 2016 - 03:30 pm - Link - Report abuse 0So? Has Oxfam suddenly become communist? Who contributes? Oxfam trying to screw more money out of people?
Jan 18th, 2016 - 04:55 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Their will always be rich and powerful people,
Jan 18th, 2016 - 08:28 pm - Link - Report abuse 0And their will always be poor people,
thousands of years, millions of ideas ,
and nothing has worked,
will we ever have true equality.
not in our lifetime..
There are people in this world with a shit ton of money compared to others.
Jan 19th, 2016 - 03:51 am - Link - Report abuse 0Somehow, it goes without explaining why, that this is B-A-D, bad.
Could somebody explain to me why this is bad instead of just presenting it as a fact that, a lot of money is just equal to bad, no explanation needed.
There is another quote in this article I would like to ask about.
So there are people in this world with a lot of money. This somehow automatically leads to the conclusion, “we have an economy that works for the richest and we have an economy that doesn't work for the prosperity of all.”
People with a lot of money means the global economy is bad. Umm, how?
You can't just say that without providing the reasoning behind that conclusion. How did they arrive at that?
It just sounds like a bunch of Lefties saying, “Hey, they have money!! You don't!! That ain't right!!”. Why isn't it right?
When I was a teenager there was this other rich kid from school whose father bought him a Transam Firebird. I had to work just for some spending money.
I never said, “I don't have a Transam Firebird so it just isn't right that he gets one unless I get one too.”
Read Massot's post at #5. Those people have a lot of money, therefore, not only do they exhibit greed, but further, “unbelievable greed”.
Also, Massot claims wealth accumulation automatically leads to high levels of unemployment.
Enrique have you been letting go of the cash in your wallet lately to those around you that have less, so that everyone nearby you can be more economically equal to you?
CFK is sickeningly wealthy too. Can you give me one example of her opening up her wallet to make those around her more economically equal with her?
Enrique exhibits unbelievable greed on his FB page - surely he has more than enough - more than many 'back home' in Argentina.
Jan 19th, 2016 - 06:59 am - Link - Report abuse 0Why should Enrique live that way when others have less? Unbelievably shameful.
Perhaps he should share his home with the unemployed that have no home?
Apart from Income Tax, how much should 'the wealthy' pay to the public?
What is the acceptable limit of wealth?
Who should decide?
What happens when nobody works, because their wealth will be disallowed or confiscated?
If they work, should they not get paid?
Only paid for part of the work?
What happens when someone works hard or smart or fast, and produces more, but the next guy gets paid just as much?
@ 11 Troy Tempest
Jan 19th, 2016 - 01:54 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“What happens when someone works hard or smart or fast, and produces more, but the next guy gets paid just as much?”
Well in my case I left the company I was working at and started my own and never looked back.
You do however need confidence in yourself and a business plan for your new company that does in fact work.
That is why several western posters on here will never get anywhere, they have none of the above only talk.
It is only when you are responsible for ensuring your employees and their families are financially cared because of their employment in YOUR company that you realise what responsibility is.
There is a reason why a small minority has amassed a great deal of wealth, and it isn't something that requires correction, or government intervention. With the exception of the few who inherited wealth, or achieved it through pure luck (and won't be wealthy for long without the skills to keep it and make more with it), most of the very wealthy became that way by having skills, intelligence (at least in their particular field) and drive far beyond the average person.
Jan 19th, 2016 - 02:59 pm - Link - Report abuse 0If all the wealth was confiscated from these people, they, or others like them, would have it all back in a decade, or two (provided that economies remain free enough to provide the opportunity to make money), because they have the skill to make, manage and keep large fortunes, and profitably run huge business enterprises. The average person will always remain poor regardless of how much money he makes, or is given, because he will spend it for immediate personal gratification instead of investing it to make more.
What does need to be corrected is the preference given by governments to favored businesses and industries, giving them unfair advantage and guaranteeing their profitability at the public's expense.
To simplify matters, if you took the added fortune of that 1%, and redistributed it amongst the 99% 'poor', what would happen after the 'poor' had spent all their 'share' ? Those that were rich, would become rich again, and those that were poor would carry on being poor. Humans are not all the same, not everyone is born to be a leader.
Jan 19th, 2016 - 08:45 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@14 A good illustration of this was seen in the expropriation and redistribution of land and livestock in southern Chile in the 1960s and 1970s. The non-producers who received their ill-gotten gains promptly killed the animals and sold the proceeds for cash which was of course spent at the bottle shops and brothels and in no time at all..... were quite poor again.
Jan 19th, 2016 - 09:24 pm - Link - Report abuse 0All you have to do it look at Venezuela now or go back a bit further to the Soviet Union.
Jan 19th, 2016 - 11:13 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Collectivism doesn't work no matter what you call it.
Just to point out a very simple fact.
Jan 20th, 2016 - 02:37 am - Link - Report abuse 0Rich people need Poor people in order to feel rich.
Your riches mean nothing without contrast. Equally, in our, generally capitalist-societies, the poor have nothing to aspire to, without the Rich.
I'm not saying this is good/bad, just passing comment.
Maybe we all should have a long, hard think about this...
What is curious is that there is an Argentine commenting on inequality. Particularly when one considers the universal self-perception of the argentos as being inherently so much superior to anyone else.
Jan 20th, 2016 - 03:31 am - Link - Report abuse 0@15 Marti Llazo
Jan 20th, 2016 - 02:11 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Another interesting illustration of this happened in Brazil at the beginning of the agrarian reform, which the 'poor' had clamoured for so strongly, for years : Thousands of pseudo-farmers who received plots of land from the Federal Government , ravaged the land, devasting it until they could get no more out of it , and then 'sold' it - illegally - to those that were willing to do something productive.....so the land, once again, ended up in the hands of those willing to work it efficiently. At this point, many of the pseudo-farmers, instigated by the PT, start demanding more land....and specifically, the land that was now productive..... when denied to them, they destroyed many farms, even a very important research centre of the EMBRAPA. And as usual, the socialists and liberal twats in government, keep on giving in to these free-loading assholes.
Interesting...somebody shows the obscene--and growing--concentration of wealth in a few hands, and an army of good souls rises as one to rationalize it with a bunch of old cliches i.e. “Those people have more money because they deserve it...they are smarter...they work harder...” etc.
Jan 22nd, 2016 - 05:39 am - Link - Report abuse 0All those brave souls miss the whole point, which is, concentrating wealth in a few hands and supporting a culture of rampant speculation as opposed to production is not good, even under a capitalist model.
Bernie Sanders is saying it very clearly, and his position against the immorality of the current system is gaining momentum as days go by.
Electors in the U.S. should seize this rare opportunity to bring Sanders to power.
Ricky again fails to understand the fundamentals here, that “a rising tide lifts all ships” -- that the effect of the work of those who have accumulated more, has been to better the lives of all who are willing to participate in the workforce.
Jan 22nd, 2016 - 12:57 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Of course, in Argentina we see the model supported by Ricky, where the obscene growth in the now-enormous personal wealth of the former presidenta through corruption and theft is just oddly associated with her government's much heralded efforts to.... redistribute wealth.
@10
Jan 22nd, 2016 - 02:55 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Why is it bad. Allow me to explain in terms you and Yankeeboy may understand.
You have 10 people. You get a 5000 gram cake to eat. Some people have better “knives” than others. So a couple of people get 1250 grams each. Then next 3 people get 500 grams each. The other 5 people get 200 grams each.
Then the kitchen does well for a while, you get a 6000 gram cake. Some people get better knives. One guy gets 2000 grams, another gets 1000 grams. The next 3 get 600 grams. The other 5 people 240 grams.
Then you have a crisis in the kitchen. You get only 5500 grams of cake. The one guy's knife got better, he gets 2500 grams. Second guy gets 1200 grams. One of the 3 third-tier guys “drops” down. The other two still get 600 grams. The six remaining get 200 each.
You tell me where is the progress in that picture?
The pie is not growing. Has not grown for 30 years since the 1980s. The only thing that has changed is how the pie is distributed. The problem is not how much money some people have, it's that there is no REAL growth in the world and more people are now in misery than every before. Capitalism at work.
Collectivists often use the term “production” against the term “specutlation” like one is better or different that the other.
Jan 22nd, 2016 - 03:00 pm - Link - Report abuse 0It is astounding how stupid Progs are...
They have very little understanding how a “market” or economy works.
It is why Socialism/Collectivism always fails miserably.
I hope Sanders gets the nomination and Hillary goes to jail.
Sanders is certifiably insane.
He represents the Commies in the Dem party. A very very small percentage of the USA which over the last 8 years is more conservative than it has been since Reagan.
@22 Allow me to explain in terms trollism may understand.
Jan 22nd, 2016 - 03:09 pm - Link - Report abuse 0You have 10 people in Rosario. You get 5000 grams of cocaine, thanks to El Morsa. Some Kirchneristas have better “knives” than others. So a couple of rosarinos get 1250 grams of cocaine each. Then the next 3 get 500 grams each. The other 5 chorros get 200 grams each.
And that, my friends, is the true nature of inequality.
@24
Jan 22nd, 2016 - 03:12 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Capitalism is a failure. I am not saying communism works, it does not. But look at the state of the world today. There has never been so much inequality and it's not because of the Invisible Hand. It's because those at the top have twisted the system to keep them in control.
Have you ever wondered why there has been no new banks in the last thirty years?
22. Could you please let me know, because I really don't understand, which “cake” or “pie” or $ come from that Facebook, Google, MicroSoft, Apple take from?
Jan 22nd, 2016 - 03:14 pm - Link - Report abuse 0You've had some really dumb posts in the past but this one certainly takes the prize.
You too dumb to post here
and that's really saying something
@26
Jan 22nd, 2016 - 03:28 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Why has there been no change in operating tech in 20 years now an counting?
Why, while in the period 2002 to 2008 there was RAPID change and advance in social networking experimentation, there has been nothing NEW in the last 8+ years? The Arab spring all the way back in 2010 used the same tech as now... Twitter and Facebook. And 6 years is supposed to be an eternity in this field.
Apple... Anything new since the Ipod? At the time, Apple really had to fight with others.
Basically, there has not been anything new in tech this decade. What you are using today is pretty much unchanged from 2010. Now compare 2010 to 2003 and the diffrence is staggering.
They have cooked the market but you are just too dumb to see it. By now there should be virtual access news editing, farmer to market customer based grocery shopping, affordable intelligent homes.
By now there should be no need for gasoline... Petrol is the best example of what happens when Capitalism wins. 120 years and the technology has not changed ONE bit.
OMG you live in the 3rd world, you've not seen anything new that's why you don't think it exists.
Jan 22nd, 2016 - 03:44 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Plus in the other post you said the 80s.
We are working on self-driving electric cars, 3D printing, just these 2 things are changing the world!
There's huge advancement in technology, in every industry think UBER/LYFT, AirBNB . Just because you don't see or understand it doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
And that's not the point of this conversation, its about the stupid only one “pie” that can be distributed to everyone. The “pie” is never ending and always expanding.
More people live better now than ever in the history of the world. Most people that are considered middle class live better than the Royalty did 150 years ago. They have heat in their house, they can eat food from all over the world, the have electricity in their homes, running HOT water, they can afford to travel great distance and on and on.
You are really dumb to believe the crap you post.
@27 “By now there should be no need for gasoline... Petrol is the best example of what happens when Capitalism wins. 120 years and the technology has not changed ONE bit.”
Jan 22nd, 2016 - 03:50 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Only an argento could make such an absurd statement. And not just for the ignorance of the relationship between capital investment and technology advancement.
29. No kidding! 3rd world gets the technology after we throw it away. It 10yrs behind the times there.
Jan 22nd, 2016 - 04:01 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Plus I told him in a decade the avg Rg won't be able to communicate with the civilized world. I stand by that statement.
A curious coincidence in this inequality rubbish -- in an article today in the same Mercopress (and hardly a novel comment):
Jan 22nd, 2016 - 04:17 pm - Link - Report abuse 0---------------
London's The Guardian in an article credited to Oliver Balch argues that Punta del Este, Uruguay's main international summer resort has become a 'golden ghetto' for the rich where the poor can't afford staples or lodging. However Mayor Andrés Jafif openly disagrees with the reporting and argues that ”we might be poor (by European standards) but we are happy, we can live in Punta del Este, we have a good time, we surf, work and bask in beaches”.
------- en cristiano -----
El diario inglés describió Punta del Este como un “gueto de oro” para los ricos donde los pobres no pueden pagar estadía o alojamiento. Andrés Jafif, alcalde de la ciudad, no está de acuerdo: “Somos un grupo de pobres contentos, que podemos vivir acá, la pasamos bien, surfeamos, trabajamos y vamos a la playa”.
http://www.espectador.com/sociedad/330022/punta-del-este-alcalde-responde-al-reportaje-de-the-guardian
You know what's funny, is in the civilized world technology becomes so ingrained and a part of our life so quickly its hard to imagine that it didn't exist just a few years ago.
Jan 22nd, 2016 - 05:22 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Toby, I give you Drones.
It will change the world.
There's so many to list over the last decade I'd be here all day.
You're such a silly stupid 3rd worlder.
@20 Reekie // @22 and CapiTrolley
Jan 22nd, 2016 - 06:15 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Neither of you understand how the world works, independent of the economic regime....you can lambaste or defend capitalism, communism, socialism, populism or whatever you want, but the moment you ignore the fact that not all humans are born with the same natural abilities or, don't take into account human nature, your analysis is just mental masturbation. Even if a new society were to be created, based on the Utopia that you two knuckleheads obviously believe in, it wouldn't take long for the differences to appear....as well as the 'inequality' ....but since you condemn capitalism, why don't you give us a viable alternative ?
Reekie, your support of Bernie, and the CapiTrolley with his knives, and cakes of 5000 gm - why not 5 kgs ? have you gone nuts, or don't you know how to represent a fraction of a kg ? - just shows you guys are totally disconnected from reality.
33. Collectivism works until someone realizes you can just knock someone on their head and take whatever you want.
Jan 22nd, 2016 - 06:39 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Anyone who believes in that collectivist nonsense has a mental problem.
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