Inequality between rich and poor is increasing | Impa …

The Coronavirus pandemic, which has already passed 100 million infections and caused the death of over 2.1 million people worldwide, put inequalities in the spotlight. During the world’s great fortunes have increased, the poorest “would need more than a decade to recover of the economic impacts of the crisis ”, specifies the annual report on inequalities Oxfam International, which set Argentina as an example for the new Extraordinary Contribution to Great Fortunes that Congress voted.

Worldwide, billionaires saw their fortunes increase by a total volume of $ 3.9 trillion between March 18 and December 31, 2020, according to Oxfam, which uses data from Forbes and Credit Suisse. Meanwhile, the United States, China and France have been the countries that have made the most significant advances in terms of increasing the wealth of the “super rich”. At a time, the number of people living in poverty in the world could have increased by 500 million last year, according to a research article by the World Institute for Development Economics at the United Nations University cited by Oxfam.

Among the ten richest men in the world, Oxfam singled out Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Tesla boss Elon Musk, the largest shareholder in luxury goods group LVMH Bernard Arnault, as well as Microsoft’s Bill Gates. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Oracle’s Larry Ellison, American investment legend Warren Buffett, and Google co-founder Larry Page. The Chinese Zhong Shanshan, who became billionaire with his brand of mineral water Nongfu Spring, and the Indian leader of the Reliance group Mukesh Ambani complete the list.

The document, released on Sunday ahead of the World Economic Forum’s virtual meeting of political and financial leaders, which is normally held in Davos, Switzerland, sets out the disparate impact of the virus around the world. “The Covid-19 pandemic has the potential to increase economic inequalities in virtually every country in the world at once,” the report notes, further indicating that “Inequality kills people”.

“We are witnessing the biggest increase in inequality since the records began. The deep divide between rich and poor is proving to be as deadly as the virus ”, said Gabriela Bucher, Executive Director of Oxfam. “Manipulated economies funnel wealth to a wealthy elite who resists the pandemic in luxury, while those on the front lines of the pandemic – vendors, healthcare workers and market vendors – struggle paying the bills and bringing food to the table, “he added.

“To tackle this growing inequality, governments must ensure that everyone has access to a Covid-19 vaccine and financial support in the event of a job loss,” Bucher said. “In addition, now is the time to invest for the longer term in public services and low carbon sectors to create millions of jobs and ensure that everyone has access to education, health care and social care, ”he added.

“These measures should not be ‘sporadic’ solutions for desperate times, but rather a ‘new normal’ in economies that work in the interests of all, not just the privileged few,” Bucher concluded.

Taxes on the richest

Faced with this increase in inequalities, Oxfam has taken up the proposals of economists Thomas Piketty and Gabriel Zucman in favor of a greater control for the richest. The coronavirus crisis “should mean a shift in taxation for the wealthiest individuals and businesses. It offers us the opportunity to finally establish fair taxation, to end the race to the top. It can take the form of a increase in wealth tax, taxes on financial transactions and measures to eradicate tax evasion “the report said.

NGO cited Argentina as an example, which sanctioned the Law of solidarity and extraordinary contribution of great fortunes, to mitigate the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, despite the rejection of the businessmen who make up the establishment.