A new report from Oxfam says that by 2016, 1 percent of the world's population will own more than the other 99 percent. We have noted the importance of income inequality several times in class and this article shows how bad it has become. Income inequality is bad for growth, crime, and governance and it has grown exponentially over the past 20+ years. It is important that world leaders take steps to lessen this inequality or there will be consequences. Oxfam has several suggestions for how to carry this out, including a heavier investment in health and education and higher taxes on corporations and the rich.
6 comments:
I believe the best way to eliminate this income inequality is to invest heavily education as suggested above. Education provides opportunities that regular wealth redistribution would not. Eduction also benefits the overall economy. The human capital theory states that people with higher levels of education tend to be more productive. I believe investing in education would not only reduce income inequality throughout the united states but also increase the productivity of the entire country.
As mentioned in class, social programs help reduce the inequality. Also increasing taxes on the wealthy, corporations and reducing taxes on the lower and middle income group should reduce the inequality.
I concur with this idea and would like to add that in education reform, it is important that girls get the same amount of education as the boys. They will help raise the next generation and opportunities for them will mean more information being passed along to their family at a younger age. It would also keep them out of traps which perpetuate sexual crimes such as human trafficking, which take advantage of the desperation of women looking for a better life.
All of the aforementioned solutions will help alleviate this problem, but aside from the 1%/99% numbers being a milestone, this doesn't seem to be anything new. The top few percent has almost always controlled a much larger amount of global wealth than the bottom few. I agree the most with education reform, both as useful towards the fix and as I personally think that it's great for individuals AND society.
While the answer to income inequality may mean investing in education for more developed nations, I believe investing in providing basic necessities is the answer for third world countries.
In order to close the gap on income inequality we need to implement social programs. Education is also very important to the United States and the world in general because it increases work production. If we invest in education we offer more opportunities to everyone in the United States. We need to offer equal opportunities for males and females in order to close this income gap. Education in my eyes is a big step when it comes to closing the income inequality gap, but not only will it close this gap it will also benefit everyone worldwide.
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