Eighty People Control Half of the World's Wealth and All of the Elected Officials
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Today, the bulk of the wealth is in the hands of just 80 people.
Interestingly, many of these policies have been promoted – and rejected – here in America.
Thirty-five of the 80 individuals controlling wealth hold American passports. Many of the names are familiar, such as Bill Gates, the Waltons of Wal-Mart fame, George Soros, Warren Buffett, both Koch brothers and Sheldon Adelson. It is also no surprise that many of these names are often seen on the same donor lists of politicians across the nation, Congress and our recent presidents. The Oxfam report notes than nearly 12 percent of political contributions come from the list of 80 billionaires.
In the first few weeks of the 114th Congress, legislation was introduced to roll back regulations on Wall Street, as well as consumer protection laws that have been in place. While voters have repeatedly said they want improved education, universal healthcare and a real chance at the American dream, our elected officials seem to not hear the public’s demands. These same elected officials are dependent on the money from the wealthiest, but are also responsible for creating policies that would reverse the flow of that wealth towards a more equitable distribution.
What we have here is not a failure to communicate but a clear and dangerous conflict of interest.
The inability to invest in assets, such as houses, savings, or highly expensive art has left the majority of the world with little to show for their hard work. Global poverty has continued to rise and it’s only going to get worse. Oxfam has predicted that if we do nothing, the wealthiest one percent of the world will control the same amount of wealth as the other 99 percent do combined.
The estimated time of arrival for this global wealth distribution is next year.
http://truth-out.org/news/item/28722-eighty-people-control-half-of-the-world-s-wealth-and-all-of-the-elected-officials?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
http://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressreleases/2015-01-19/richest-1-will-own-more-all-rest-2016
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Companies from these sectors spend millions of dollars every year on lobbying to create a policy environment that protects and enhances their interests further. The most prolific lobbying activities in the US are on budget and tax issues; public resources that should be directed to benefit the whole population, rather than reflect the interests of powerful lobbyists.
http://www.oxfam.org/en/research/wealth-having-it-all-and-wanting-more
http://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/file_attachments/ib-wealth-having-all-wanting-more-190115-en.pdf
= new reply since forum marked as read
luck, you too can become one of these top 80.
Yay, capitalism!
