Wealth inequality is a global crisis

MaizieD

I think you're missing the point of this thread, Oreo.

Or do you think it's fine that relatively few people worldwide can become, or remain, exceedingly rich and powerful when billions live in, or close, to poverty, when so much could be relieved by a fairer distribution of resources?

That shouldn't make virtue signalling the answer though Maisie. It would mean that countries need get together to make taxation work.

I sincerely doubt that Oreo does think it's fine that relatively few people worldwide can become, or remain, exceedingly rich and powerful when billions live in, or close, to poverty, when so much could be relieved by a fairer distribution of resources?

MakzieD I am one of the squeezed middle and I am not a lone voice when speaking with others in similar circumstances that it is getting to the point of thinking why do we bother

GrannyGravy13

If/when the tax laws are changed I guarantee the billionaires will not be worried in the slightest.

Those who will be worried, and rightly so will be the SME owners and so called squeezed middle who are PAYE and in some cases have to pay tax upfront (and if you over pay, good luck with trying to get the overpayment refunded 🤦‍♀️)

I cannot see how any government can limit wealth acquisition?

In this world, would business owners/investors have a monetary limit and when it’s reached the government (Big Brother) comes along with their money bags open to requisition the £/€/$ which have exceeded the allotted amount?

There is, alongside the call for a wealth tax, a call that is truly on the ultra wealthy and does not affect those on middle incomes; those who drive the economy through their enterprise and work.

Why do you ignore that this is what is being said by those outside any government? It's come up many times on here. The parties that tend to damage this group and the poor are the extremists, particularly those on the right.

If you are in the top 1% of the top 10% you might have sleepless nights otherwise ensure that is what the party you support is talking about.

14 million people in the UK (that's about 20% of the population) live in poverty, GG13.

Do you think that is acceptable?

Taxation in the UK is not progressive, the lower percentiles have no way to avoid paying the taxes required of them but as wealth increases, the opportunities for avoiding taxation increase too. The top 1% pay far less as a percentage of their incomes than do at least the lowest 50%.

I have every sympathy for SMEs, which are the backbone of our economy. I suspect corporate taxation should be progressive, too, but as wealth holdings are being increased yearly by more than national growth (Piketty's figures) it seems perfectly reasonable to suggest that it would be helpful to slow the rate of wealth acquisition by taxing it properly.

And to stop so much of it being passed down to the next generation. Why should the accident of birth entitle them to wealth they haven't worked for?

DaisyAnne could probably tell you more about the 'squeezed middle' and who is doing the squeezing. That's Gary Stevenson's pet topic...

MaizieD

I think you're missing the point of this thread, Oreo.

Or do you think it's fine that relatively few people worldwide can become, or remain, exceedingly rich and powerful when billions live in, or close, to poverty, when so much could be relieved by a fairer distribution of resources?

Some of the most extreme poverty is in worn torn countries and those with governments who lets say turn a blind eye to corruption.

One of our AC lived in an African country, we visited and took two cases full of children’s clothes, toys, colouring pencils, paper etc., The local pastor advised us not to give to the children’s home/hospital as the nurses would take our gifts and sell them on the roadside, anecdotal I know, but common place in that country.

Unless someone can come up with a viable plan to rid the world of corrupt governments and wars, poverty will remain.

I think you're missing the point of this thread, Oreo.

Or do you think it's fine that relatively few people worldwide can become, or remain, exceedingly rich and powerful when billions live in, or close, to poverty, when so much could be relieved by a fairer distribution of resources?

If/when the tax laws are changed I guarantee the billionaires will not be worried in the slightest.

Those who will be worried, and rightly so will be the SME owners and so called squeezed middle who are PAYE and in some cases have to pay tax upfront (and if you over pay, good luck with trying to get the overpayment refunded 🤦‍♀️)

I cannot see how any government can limit wealth acquisition?

In this world, would business owners/investors have a monetary limit and when it’s reached the government (Big Brother) comes along with their money bags open to requisition the £/€/$ which have exceeded the allotted amount?

keepingquiet
Nobody forces you to work for Amazon and if they earn enough to pay tax then they do.
Tax laws maybe need changing but little we can do about that.
You can write to your MP about it but if Bezos manages to pay little tax on his business then it’s legal isn’t it?

No like you I want the wealthy to pay more tax as you do but how do you achieve that, when states set their own tax rules and people can move to take advantage.
Bezos brags that he pays virtually no tax anywhere, he does it legally how do you stop him.

None of us have that sort of knowledge David but we can continue to flag articles, videos, etc. We can discuss and "disagree agreeably". We can reach out own conclusions - including that we don't yet know enough.

All this, in groups such as GN, let's the government know how important we think the problem of wealth inequality is to us and that, for the sake of us all, they must find a way to put this into reverse.

Oreo

It may be impossible to tax Amazon but it employs people in many countries including the delivery drivers.Those people pay tax.

Oh the irony!

Those people who work in terrible conditions for very little pay are paying the taxes for the man who keeps them in little more than wage slavery??

And you think that's ok?

I was recently watching a video where workers said (sarcastically) that they loved working to help the billionnaires- it isn't the poor, the homeless, the starving that need our help but the ultra rich billionnaires!

We live in one crazy world where people accept their low wages and terrible living and work conditions because it helps people like Jeff Bezos to have a wonderful life-style!

What kind of crazy thinking is this?

Business owners can spend profits on anything they want tho can’t they? Vast houses and classic cars or golf courses.
It’s providing a good service to customers who can either use it or not.
I know what’s available in my local area and do support small businesses where I can but Amazon fills a big gap for me.

Oreo

It may be impossible to tax Amazon but it employs people in many countries including the delivery drivers.Those people pay tax.

And takes all the profit away to spend on his pet project Blue Origin - space travel for millionaires

It may be impossible to tax Amazon but it employs people in many countries including the delivery drivers.Those people pay tax.

Jeff Bezos had a great idea, that was Amazon.A global market place where you can shop for just about anything and have it delivered if wanted by the next day.I buy from many small businesses on it.Being very busy and still working it’s a real boon for me and for many.

DaisyAnneReturns

David49

The distribution of wealth in developing countries is much worse than the UK because our taxation system provides a basic level of support for the poorest. You may say that is not enough but it is a balance any government has to make, a good living for the population -v- an attractive income for investors.

China, India and many others have far wider gaps between the richest and poorest in society, that is their governments policy, they need to attract investment, providing cheap labour is the incentive. Which in turn satisfies our demand for cheap goods.

Unless the is a unified global taxation system each country will have widely different policies, even within Europe there are massive differences resulting in the wealthiest moving to the lowest tax regime, nothing is going to change.

Unless of course someone else has another solution

So do you want to take our country back to the distribution of wealth that "developing countries" have David49? Because that's the direction of travel the right would take us in. In the USA it's already happening.

No like you I want the wealthy to pay more tax as you do but how do you achieve that, when states set their own tax rules and people can move to take advantage.
Bezos brags that he pays virtually no tax anywhere, he does it legally how do you stop him

David49

The distribution of wealth in developing countries is much worse than the UK because our taxation system provides a basic level of support for the poorest. You may say that is not enough but it is a balance any government has to make, a good living for the population -v- an attractive income for investors.

China, India and many others have far wider gaps between the richest and poorest in society, that is their governments policy, they need to attract investment, providing cheap labour is the incentive. Which in turn satisfies our demand for cheap goods.

Unless the is a unified global taxation system each country will have widely different policies, even within Europe there are massive differences resulting in the wealthiest moving to the lowest tax regime, nothing is going to change.

Unless of course someone else has another solution

So do you want to take our country back to the distribution of wealth that "developing countries" have David49? Because that's the direction of travel the right would take us in. In the USA it's already happening.

The distribution of wealth in developing countries is much worse than the UK because our taxation system provides a basic level of support for the poorest. You may say that is not enough but it is a balance any government has to make, a good living for the population -v- an attractive income for investors.

China, India and many others have far wider gaps between the richest and poorest in society, that is their governments policy, they need to attract investment, providing cheap labour is the incentive. Which in turn satisfies our demand for cheap goods.

Unless the is a unified global taxation system each country will have widely different policies, even within Europe there are massive differences resulting in the wealthiest moving to the lowest tax regime, nothing is going to change.

Unless of course someone else has another solution

David49

“But remember that the small businesses who supply the goods through Amazon need the profits too.
My life would certainly be harder without Amazon deliveries.”

Seriously my deliveries come through just fine without Amazon

So do mine, David

I'm wondering what awful deprivations we suffered before Amazon came along...

Sorry, that's meant to be 'an unassuming sentence'

mum2three

There is nothing wrong with wealth. It is how money is distributed that matters. If companies pay good wages and provide good living conditions, who can complain about that? If people are not valued for their skills and paid a wage which reflects that, of course there will be resentment.
Lifestyle comes into it too. We have become used to a certain standard of living and, for some reason, many think that people in other countries should live as we do. However, we should not try to force the Western lifestyle on others.

There is everything wrong with wealth. You cannot have watched the video. Wealth is the reason that money isn't being distributed well enough to ensure everyone's wellbeing, when in fact, there is enough wealth held by a few to solve many of the world's problems. All that is happening is that wealth is being concentrated more and more in the hands of the wealthy.

Wealth is the reason that many countries are very poor, because the global wealthy have exploited their resources, taken the profits out of the country and have frequently left them with a debt burden that leaves them unable to cater for the needs of their own populations because what money they have goes on paying interest on their foreign debts.

That's just one thing that is wrong.

Economists who have studied 'wealth' and its acquisition predict that the inequality gap will inexorably widen, leaving most of the world's population in poverty, or near poverty while wealth thrives.

As to the argument that the wealthy benefit the rest of us by providing employment and 'growth' I'll quote again from Piketty's massive research on the history of wealth acquisition and the methods used to acquire it. his conclusion is that:

Historical experience shows that .... immense inequalities of wealth have little to do with the entrepreneurial spirit and are of no use in promoting growth

An assuming little sentence, but one which should be taken notice of.

“But remember that the small businesses who supply the goods through Amazon need the profits too.
My life would certainly be harder without Amazon deliveries.”

Seriously my deliveries come through just fine without Amazon

David49

DaisyAnneReturns

Oh you entitled people. What about the home-bound, those with little disposable income? There seem to be competing "churches" on GN one will tell you the sins of the asylum seekers (and those who want to help them), another will tell you that anyone not agreeing with the principles of their childhood is a "sinner" and, it appears, it is now a sin to shop, perfectly legally, on Amazon.

Hell is obviously waiting. We're all doomed!

So you disagree that Bezos and Musk have enough and would encourage us all to give them even more.
That’s fine I prefer to use smaller local suppliers when I can.

But remember that the small businesses who supply the goods through Amazon need the profits too.
My life would certainly be harder without Amazon deliveries.

There is nothing wrong with wealth. It is how money is distributed that matters. If companies pay good wages and provide good living conditions, who can complain about that? If people are not valued for their skills and paid a wage which reflects that, of course there will be resentment.
Lifestyle comes into it too. We have become used to a certain standard of living and, for some reason, many think that people in other countries should live as we do. However, we should not try to force the Western lifestyle on others.

DaisyAnneReturns

Nope. I dislike holier than thought comments David49.

So you have no principles you would deal with the devil.

Should have been thou.