Econ. Inequality Out of Control: 2,153 Billionaires Wealthier Than 4.6 Bill World's Poorest, Oxfam
Blaming 'Flawed & Sexist' Capitalist System, Oxfam Report Finds 2,153 Billionaires Wealthier Than 4.6 Billion of World's Poorest. "Our broken economies are lining the pockets of billionaires & big business at the expense of ordinary men & women. No wonder people are starting to question whether billionaires should even exist." Common Dreams, 1/20/2020.
"Economic inequality is out of control."
That's the opening line of Time to Care: Unpaid and Underpaid Care Work and the Global Inequality Crisis (pdf), a report that Oxfam International published Monday, ahead of the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) summit in Davos, Switzerland.
"The gap between rich and poor can't be resolved without deliberate inequality-busting policies, and too few governments are committed to these." —Amitabh Behar, Oxfam India
"In 2019, the world's billionaires, only 2,153 people, had more wealth than 4.6 billion people," the report says. "This great divide is based on a flawed and sexist economic system." The report details how the world's existing economic system serves the richest among us while undervaluing work such as caregiving—which is disproportionately performed by females—and emphasizes the need for global governments to pursue bold actions to address inequality.
"The gap between rich and poor can't be resolved without deliberate inequality-busting policies, and too few governments are committed to these," Oxfam India CEO Amitabh Behar, who is in Davos this week, said in a statement. "Our broken economies are lining the pockets of billionaires and big business at the expense of ordinary men and women," Behar added. "No wonder people are starting to question whether billionaires should even exist."
- Among the new report's key findings are: SEE graphic- The report explains that "this broken economic model has accumulated vast wealth and power into the hands of a rich few, in part by exploiting the labor of women and girls, and systematically violating their rights."
"Unpaid care work is the 'hidden engine' that keeps the wheels of our economies, businesses, and societies moving." —Behar
As Behar put it: "Women and girls are among those who benefit least from today's economic system. They spend billions of hours cooking, cleaning, and caring for children and the elderly." "Unpaid care work is the 'hidden engine' that keeps the wheels of our economies, businesses, and societies moving," he said. "It is driven by women who often have little time to get an education, earn a decent living, or have a say in how our societies are run, and who are therefore trapped at the bottom of the economy."
Oxfam estimates that those at the bottom of the economy—particularly females living in poverty and from marginalized groups—collectively spend 12.5 billion hours daily on free care work, "and countless more" earning low wages. Their work "adds value to the economy of at least $10.8 trillion," which the report calls "an underestimate."
- According to Oxfam: Without decisive action things will get far worse. Aging populations, cuts in public spending, and climate change threaten to further exacerbate gender and economic inequality and to fuel a spiraling crisis for care and carers. While the rich and powerful elite may be able to buy their way out of facing the worst of these crises, the poor and powerless will not.
Governments must take bold and decisive action to build a new, human economy, that will deliver for everyone rather than a rich few, and that values care and well-being above profit and wealth. Some "possible and crucial first steps" highlighted in the report include investing in national care systems with input from women's rights advocates, providing free public services that aim to close wealth gaps, and implementing "policies to limit the influence of corporations and the super-rich," including progressive taxation.
"Governments created the inequality crisis—they must act now to end it," asserted Behar. "They must ensure corporations and wealthy individuals pay their fair share of tax and increase investment in public services and infrastructure."...
More, https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/20/blaming-flawed-and-sexist-capitalist-system-oxfam-report-finds-2153-billionaires
- Clarice Akinyi washes clothes in Mashimoni village, Nairobi, Kenya. According to a new Oxfam International report which features this photo on its cover, "Clarice is proud to be a domestic worker but was frustrated and angry at the bad treatment by employers."
