World’s richest 2,000 people hold more than poorest 4.6 billion combined: Oxfam
NAIROBI (Reuters) – The world’s richest 2,153 people controlled more money than the poorest 4.6 billion combined in 2019, while unpaid or underpaid work by women and girls adds three times more to the global economy each year than the technology industry, Oxfam said on Monday.
The Nairobi-headquartered charity said in a report released ahead of the annual World Economic Forum of political and business leaders in Davos, Switzerland, that women around the world work 12.5 billion hours combined each day without pay or recognition.
In its “Time to Care” report, Oxfam said it estimated that unpaid care work by women added at least $10.8 trillion a year in value to the world economy – three times more than the tech industry.
Rich getting richer, while poor getting poorer, report says
It’s true, all the money is flowing to the rich. The middle class are slowly becoming extinct.
Income Inequality In America Continues Its Inexorable Rise
Income inequality is an increasing problem in the United States and has been for several decades now. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), back in the mid-1970s, income inequality reached its lowest point after incomes grew rapidly over the years from the late 1940s to the 1970s. Also, incomes increased at about the same rate for different households all along the income ladder. Then, beginning in the 1970s, economic growth slowed, as dramatically demonstrated by the 16-month recession from 1973-1975, the longest recession at the time since the Great Depression. Ever since then, income inequality has been on an inexorable rise.
One-quarter of American workers make less than $10 per hour. That creates an income below the federal poverty level. These are the people who wait on you every day. They include cashiers, fast food workers, and nurse’s aides. Or maybe they are you.
The rich got richer through the recovery from the 2008 financial crisis.1 In 2012, the top 10% of earners took home 50% of all income. That’s the highest percentage in the last 100 years. The top 1% took home 20% of the income, according to a study by economists Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty.2
By 2015, America’s top 10% already averaged more than nine times as much income as the bottom 90%. And Americans in the top 1% averaged over 40 times more income than the bottom 90%. The chart below shows a breakdown of average household incomes ranging from the bottom 90% to the top .1%.