Today's presentation is a bit old article from World NHK JAPAN.
Topic is Wealth gap
The wealth gap between (the) rich and (the) poor has been widening in the last 10 years.
An international NGO says the number of billionaires worldwide has doubled in the past decade. It warns of growing inequality due to the concentration of wealth in the hands of the privileged few.
Oxfam International reported ahead of the start of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland this January.
It says the number of billionaires rose to 2,208 last year. That compares with 1,125 in 2008, when the global financial crisis began.
The total assets of the world’s 26 richest individuals equal those of the 3.8 billion poorest people, according to the report.
It says the growing income gap between rich and poor is “undermining the fight against poverty, … and fueling public anger across the globe.”
The report says that after the crisis many governments cut corporate taxes to stimulate their economies. But it notes they also raised sales taxes and social security premiums, which disproportionately hurt the poor.
Living in Japan sometimes it’s hard for us to imagine what poverty worldwide feels like.
But even in Japan, the sales tax is in the process of being raised. This has caused some economic stress, because it could disproportionately affect the poor.
I hope the gap can be resolved soon. but, inequality seems to be becoming a bigger and bigger issue as time goes on.
We cannot but become pessimistic.
