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Richest 2% Own Half the World's Wealth
kop writes "The richest 2% of adults in the world own more than half of all household wealth, according to a new study by a United Nations research institute. Most previous studies of economic disparity have looked at income, whereas this one looks at wealth — assets minus debts. The survey is based on data for the year 2000. Many figures, especially for developing countries, have had to be estimated. Nonetheless, the authors say it is the most comprehensive study of personal wealth ever undertaken." The study itself is available from the World Institute for Development Economics Research.
The only thing that surprises me here is the "2%". I generally went by the 20/80 rule, but it seems there are only a few people who understand how to make money, and a majority of people who are either not interested in being superwealthy (forgiveable) or who never bother to dig their way out of their financial woes (unforgiveable).
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
You mean superior, like the Jews?
Pardon us for successfully putting together a country that works. I guess that's a good reason to hate us.
Slashdot - where whining about luck is the new way to make the world you want.
What is your point? Really? Or are you just karma whoring?
Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
Seems like the free marketeers are dropping lot of talking points and propaganda, ignoring the reality anyone who isn't sunk in masturbatory ideology can see. A bunch of bobble heads parroting "a rising tide lifts all boats," or getting high thinking about the truth of how much good it's doing that the rich have their money in banks instead of a shoebox, or how much better off poor people are now that they have cellphones. News flashes: debt for working people is higher than ever. Health care is unaffordable. Wages aren't keeping pace with inflation. Pensions are evaporating. And our "high employment" is only true if you're down with a part time job in retail. The poor and middle class are getting poorer. Hence the recent increases in the minimum wage. All this and the rich are richer than ever. Why? Sqeeze the poor and make more profits. It isn't hard to see that that's what's happening if you take off the ideological binders. How about some warrants! A couple easy to read ones, broadly applicable. From http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/articl e?res=F50912F8385A0C758EDDA80994DE404482
"It turned out that Mr. Buffett, with immense income from dividends and capital gains, paid far, far less as a fraction of his income than the secretaries or the clerks or anyone else in his office. Further, in conversation it came up that Mr. Buffett doesn't use any tax planning at all. He just pays as the Internal Revenue Code requires. ''How can this be fair?'' he asked of how little he pays relative to his employees. ''How can this be right?''
Even though I agreed with him, I warned that whenever someone tried to raise the issue, he or she was accused of fomenting class warfare.
''There's class warfare, all right,'' Mr. Buffett said, ''but it's my class, the rich class, that's making war, and we're winning.''"
That's an interview with Ben Stein, by the way, not Krugman.
This one pulled the rug out from under my support of globalization. I think it speaks for itself. From the Financial Times, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/886583be-7a00-11db-8d70-00 00779e2340.html
"The real income of the poorest 10 per cent of China's 1.3bn people fell by 2.4 per cent in the two years to 2003, the analysis showed, a period when the economy was growing by almost 10 per cent a year."
So can we get back to reality? The poor are getting poorer, the rich are getting richer, and that is, contrary to popular belief, a BAD thing.
Also in the newsflash department: a progressive tax structure is NOT the same as Stalinism.
If raising taxes on the rich bombs the economy, we can lower them again. Last time I checked, the economy rose and fell to a more mysterious tidal pull than that. The people at the bottom don't care whether their healthcare is delivered in the most "efficient" way possible. They just need it, period. When we're talking about basic necessities, we need to start putting all this juicy and crackheaded free market theory in the context of life and death, and then see how it stacks up. C'mon, guys, your bosses aren't here, you don't need to suck up with your impression of the WSJ editorial page.
So why don't you quit crying your crocodile tears for them and go over and fix their corrupt governments that are the general root cause of such poverty. Oh I see it is much easier to sit back and cry like a baby for them and do nothing except throw stones at other rich people and try and make yourself feel good. Meh whatever. By the way we Americans hate self important, self righteous, pious, cock suckers such as you so go die in a fire.