The distribution of wealth has always has a large gap, between the rich and the poor. However, the uneven distribution is ever growing, making the poor poorer, and the rich richer. In the past 6 years, the wealth of the richest 62 people has risen 44%, adding up to a grand total of $1.76 trillion. The amount of money the richest 62 people have combined is about as much as the everyone else has, combined (compared to the 388 wealthiest people it took to do so 5 years ago). This growing uneven distribution of wealth makes the world poorer, and the few privileged wealthy richer. Just think: 62 people have approximately 50% of the entire world's wealth. This is incredible, considering they are only .0000000087% of the world's population.
This uneven distribution of wealth has been in existence since the beginning of the monetary system. It wasn't until around the time of the Gilded Age in America that there was even a significant middle class. This could all change though, if this trend continues, the wealthy will continue to grow in power, and the poor will get poorer, just as it was many years ago, when most everyone were bellow the poverty line.
article
This is an excellent article, it synthesizes a topic that is practically timeless. Not only was the analysis done well, but the topic is perfect for what we are covering currently.
ReplyDeleteMichaela Molden - 5th Period