Richest 1% on target to own two-thirds of all wealth by 2030

["Dave Farber" <dave () farber net>]

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
Date: Sat, Apr 7, 2018 at 3:42 PM
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Richest 1% on target to own two-thirds of all wealth
by 2030
To: Multiple recipients of Dewayne-Net <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>


[Note:  This item comes from friend Robert Berger.  DLH]

Richest 1% on target to own two-thirds of all wealth by 2030
World leaders urged to act as anger over inequality reaches a ‘tipping
point’
By Michael Savage
Apr 7 2018
<
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/apr/07/global-inequality-tipping-point-2030
>

The world’s richest 1% are on course to control as much as two-thirds of
the world’s wealth by 2030, according to a shocking analysis that has lead
to a cross-party call for action.

World leaders are being warned that the continued accumulation of wealth at
the top will fuel growing distrust and anger over the coming decade unless
action is taken to restore the balance.

An alarming projection produced by the House of Commons library suggests
that if trends seen since the 2008 financial crash were to continue, then
the top 1% will hold 64% of the world’s wealth by 2030. Even taking the
financial crash into account, and measuring their assets over a longer
period, they would still hold more than half of all wealth.

Since 2008, the wealth of the richest 1% has been growing at an average of
6% a year – much faster than the 3% growth in wealth of the remaining 99%
of the world’s population. Should that continue, the top 1% would hold
wealth equating to $305tn (£216.5tn) – up from $140tn today.

Analysts suggest wealth has become concentrated at the top because of
recent income inequality, higher rates of saving among the wealthy, and the
accumulation of assets. The wealthy also invested a large amount of equity
in businesses, stocks and other financial assets, which have handed them
disproportionate benefits.

New polling by Opinium suggests that voters perceive a major problem with
the influence exerted by the very wealthy. Asked to select a group that
would have the most power in 2030, most (34%) said the super-rich, while
28% opted for national governments. In a sign of falling levels of trust,
those surveyed said they feared the consequences of wealth inequality would
be rising levels of corruption (41%) or the “super-rich enjoying unfair
influence on government policy” (43%).

The research was commissioned by Liam Byrne, the former Labour cabinet
minister, as part of a gathering of MPs, academics, business leaders, trade
unions and civil society leaders focused on addressing the problem.

The actor Michael Sheen, who has opted to scale back his Hollywood career
to campaign against high-interest credit providers, was among those
supporting the calls.

The hope is to create pressure for global action when leaders of the G20
group of nations gather for a summit in Buenos Aires in November. Byrne,
who organised the first OECD global parliamentary conference on inclusive
growth, said he believed global inequality was “now at a tipping point”.

“If we don’t take steps to rewrite the rules of how our economies work,
then we condemn ourselves to a future that remains unequal for good,” he
said. “That’s morally bad, and economically disastrous, risking a new
explosion in instability, corruption and poverty.”

In a sign of the concern about the accumulation of wealth in the hands of
so few, the move has gained support from across the political divide.

George Freeman, the Tory MP and former head of the prime minister’s policy
board, said: “While mankind has never seen such income inequality, it is
also true that mankind has never experienced such rapid increases in living
standards. Around the world billions of people are being lifted out of
poverty at a pace never seen before. But the extraordinary concentration of
global wealth today – fuelled by the pace of technological innovation and
globalisation – poses serious challenges.

“If the system of capitalist liberal democracy which has triumphed in the
west is to pass the big test of globalisation – and the assault from
radical Islam as well as its own internal pressures from post-crash
austerity – we need some new thinking on ways to widen opportunity, share
ownership and philanthropy. Fast.”

Demands for action from the group include improving productivity to ensure
wages rise and reform of capital markets to promote greater equality.

[snip]

Dewayne-Net RSS Feed: http://dewaynenet.wordpress.com/feed/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wa8dzp



-------------------------------------------
Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now
Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=18849915&id_secret=18849915-aa268125
Unsubscribe Now: 
https://www.listbox.com/unsubscribe/?member_id=18849915&id_secret=18849915-32545cb4&post_id=20180407154534:3AD334B6-3A9C-11E8-921F-CAB76DF31823
Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com