Global Inequality
Davos annual summit: A social order confronting a growing crisis
By Nick Beams, 21 January 2017
The atmosphere at the World Economic Forum was a mixture of bewilderment over the disintegration of the present global order, coupled with fears as to where it might be leading.
Oxfam issues report on eve of Davos conference
Eight billionaires control as much wealth as the bottom half of the world’s population
By Nick Beams, 17 January 2017
The report, released as the world’s billionaires converge on Davos, Switzerland, reveals that global inequality is even more pronounced than previously recognized.
World’s richest increased their wealth by $237 billion in 2016
By Nick Beams, 29 December 2016
US billionaires alone have increased their wealth by $77 billion due to the rise in the stock market since the election of Trump less than two months ago.
Christmas on Wall Street: The Dow closes in on 20,000
By Barry Grey, 21 December 2016
The American corporate elite anticipates that Trump will remove all constraints on its ability to plunder American society for personal gain.
The United States of Inequality
By Andre Damon, 20 December 2016
A new study by economists Thomas Piketty, Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman gives the most complete picture to date of social inequality in America.
Thomas Piketty in Sydney: Data on social inequality, but no solution
By Nick Beams, 26 October 2016
Despite the wealth of vitally important data, there was a paucity of historical and political analysis on how ever-widening social inequality can be overcome.
Social inequality and the fight against capitalism
By Nick Beams, 25 October 2016
Facts and figures featured in the analysis conducted by French political economist Thomas Piketty underscore that there is no possibility of combating ever-growing social inequality other than by means of socialist revolution.
New Zealand ‘Rich List’ dominated by property speculators
By John Braddock, 4 August 2016
Big investors have seen “huge gains” to their share portfolios, while the property boom has “seeded fortunes for astute and opportune investors.”
US homeownership rate falls to lowest level in 51 years
By Gabriel Black, 3 August 2016
Declining household income and rising rent prices are preventing workers and young people from owning homes.
Nearly two thirds of New Yorkers suffer severe economic hardship
By Philip Guelpa, 28 July 2016
A two-year-long study of New York City residents reveals substantial, widespread poverty and other economic disadvantages.
Social inequality escalates in Denmark amid bonanza for banks and corporations
By Ellis Wynne, 18 July 2016
Denmark has fallen from the world’s most equal society at the beginning of the millennium to number 14 in the list of European countries.
Incomes declining or stagnant for the vast majority in “rich” countries
By Gabriel Black, 16 July 2016
A new report from McKinsey Global Institute finds that for most people in the advanced capitalist countries there has been no recovery from the 2008 Wall Street crash.
Economic inequality soars in US
By Patrick Martin, 2 July 2016
Average incomes of the top 1 percent rose twice as fast as the incomes of the remaining 99 percent of Americans in 2015.
World Wealth Report 2016: The number of German millionaires increases
By Marianne Arens, 27 June 2016
Along with the US, Japan and China, Germany is one of the four countries with the most millionaires in the world.
Reports document social crisis
US wages and jobs decline, inequality rises
By Patrick Martin, 23 June 2016
Two reports issued over the past week shed light on the deepening social crisis in the United States and the deteriorating economic position of the working class.
Report reveals millions living under modern day slavery
By Usman Khan, 18 June 2016
A recent report by the Global Slavery Index documenting that millions are living in conditions of modern slavery stands as an indictment of the capitalist system.
US economy adds fewest jobs in five years
By Evan Blake, 4 June 2016
The US economy added only 38,000 jobs in May, the fewest since 2010, in another indication of the persistent slump gripping the US economy.
Dramatic rise in poverty among German retirees
By Sybille Fuchs, 21 April 2016
By 2030, almost half of all new retirees will face the threat of a pension at the level of Hartz IV social welfare.
Amnesty report: Executions worldwide at highest level in 25 years
By Thomas Gaist, 7 April 2016
Last year saw the highest rate of state killings since 1989, with at least 1,634 prisoners killed, a more than 50 percent increase over 2014’s official number.
More than 1 million in US face food stamps cutoff
By Kate Randall, 2 February 2016
The SNAP cutoffs loom as hunger and food insecurity continue to rise and more than a quarter of the unemployed have been jobless for more than six months.
Notes on the housing crisis
Number of empty luxury apartments in New York City continues to rise
By Robert Fowler, 1 February 2016
As the number of homeless reaches new heights in New York City, more and more apartments owned by absentee, super-wealthy owners stay empty for most of the year.
The lottery and social despair in America
By Andre Damon, 9 January 2016
For millions of people, the dream of winning the lottery has replaced the “American Dream” of living a decent life.
America’s richest 400 households paid a 16.7 percent tax rate in 2012
By Tom Eley, 4 January 2016
America’s super-rich and giant corporations hide trillions of dollars in order to avoid paying taxes on their earnings.
Mass layoffs worldwide as corporate mergers near new record
By Andre Damon, 15 August 2015
Under conditions of slowing economic growth and record amounts of cash on corporate balance sheets, mergers and acquisitions are being used to intensify the assault on the working class.
Surge in homelessness among young people across the UK
By Dennis Moore, 6 August 2015
According to a new study, an estimated 1.3 million young people aged 16 to 24 have slept rough during the past year.
Pennsylvania budget impasse threatens schools, social programs
By Douglas Lyons, 16 July 2015
Most social programs and the state’s 500 school districts have been operating on reduced funding for over 7 years and have used up any reserve they may have had.
More attacks on public education in Louisiana
By Aaron Asa, 14 July 2015
A recently passed law in Louisiana will facilitate the use of textbooks with religious-based attacks on evolution and climate change.
Pew report: 84 percent of world population subsists on under $20 per day
By Andre Damon, 11 July 2015
The much-vaunted rise of the “global middle class” is “more promise than reality,” according to a report published this week by the Pew Research Center.
Brooklyn real estate developer assails building workers and tenants
By Steve Light and Allen Whyte, 7 July 2015
Nine building maintenance workers in the Bedford-Stuyvesant community of Brooklyn were fired from their jobs for refusing cuts in wages and benefits.
Top bankers’ pay rose 17 percent in 2014
By Andre Damon, 4 July 2015
The vast sums of money pocketed by bank executives are bound up with activities that range from borderline legal to flagrantly illegal.
UK child poverty rising as government seeks cuts to tax credits
By Margot Miller, 4 July 2015
A staggering two thirds of children growing up in poor households have at least one family member in work.
Colombo’s “fastest growing tourism” status obtained at the poor’s expense
By Vilani Peiris, 4 July 2015
The transformation of Colombo into a destination for wealthy tourists is the product of ruthless attacks on the inner-city poor, including mass evictions.
Inequality in Australia rising at one of world’s fastest rates
By Cheryl McDermid, 3 July 2015
Australia’s mining boom benefited a tiny elite at the top of the income table.
US income inequality continued to soar in 2014
By Andre Damon, 2 July 2015
A new report by economist Emmanuel Saez found that the share of income going to the top one percent of US earners increased by one percentage point last year.
The “American Dream” denied
US home ownership rate hits lowest level in two decades
By Andre Damon, 25 June 2015
Amid falling wages, rising housing costs and tight-fisted lending by banks, the “American dream” of homeownership has moved out of reach for most young households.
Millionaires projected to own 46 percent of global private wealth by 2019
By Gabriel Black, 18 June 2015
According to a new report, the vast majority of new wealth for the rich has come from the increase in the value of pre-existing assets.
A further comment on Paulson’s gift to Harvard: Public education and American democracy
By Barry Grey, 15 June 2015
The privatization of education is profoundly antidemocratic and alien to the basic principles and conceptions that animated the American Revolution and founding of the republic.
Social inequality and American politics
By Andre Damon, 8 June 2015
Despite polls showing overwhelming popular opposition to social inequality, these sentiments find no genuine expression in official US politics.
OECD report: Global social inequality hits new record
By Gabriel Black, 23 May 2015
The growth of inequality has been accompanied by the expansion of part-time and contingent labor, particularly for younger workers.
Only one in four workers worldwide has a stable job
By Andre Damon, 20 May 2015
Jobs created in the aftermath of the 2008 crisis have been disproportionately contingent and part-time, according to a new report published by the International Labor Organization.
Christie’s $1 billion week: Art market heads for the stratosphere
By J. Cooper, 18 May 2015
Artwork, particularly 20th century and contemporary art, now functions as another commodity for the financial aristocracy to invest and speculate in.
State funding for higher education in US slashed by 20 percent since 2008
By Evan Blake, 14 May 2015
Throughout the US, states are on average spending $1,805 less per student than before the financial collapse.
Britain’s super-rich have doubled their wealth since 2009
By Robert Stevens, 30 April 2015
Britain is more attractive to the super-rich than anywhere except America.
One and a half billion people live on less than $1.25 per day
By Zaida Green, 17 April 2015
A new report by the Overseas Development Institute claims that official statistics may undercount the number of people in extreme poverty worldwide by as many as 350 million.
Poverty in Germany reaches a record high
By Denis Krassnin, 10 March 2015
The mounting gap between rich and poor in Germany is causing the country to fragment into disparate socio-economic regions.
Wealth of world’s billionaires surges past $7 trillion
By Joseph Kishore, 4 March 2015
The inexorable rise in the wealth of the ultra-rich, amidst economic stagnation, is an expression of the parasitic character of world capitalism.
One fifth of world suicides linked to unemployment
By Barry Mason, 24 February 2015
In 2008, the beginning of the economic crisis, suicides associated with job loss were nine times greater than previously thought.
Study shows inequality much higher in Germany than previously estimated
By Denis Krassnin, 19 February 2015
The richest .1 percent of the German population controls as much as 16 percent of the country's wealth.
Financial markets celebrate European Central Bank launch of €1 trillion quantitative easing program
By Nick Beams, 23 January 2015
The measure will have little or no impact on the real economy. Rather, it is aimed at making available further supplies of ultra-cheap cash for financial speculation.
Capitalism and the global plutocracy
By Andre Damon, 21 January 2015
A group of people who can fit into a double-decker bus control more wealth than 3.5 billion people, equivalent to the combined populations of China, India, the United States and the European Union.
Oxfam: Richest one percent set to control more wealth than the bottom 99 percent
By Andre Damon, 20 January 2015
As the global financial oligarchy descended on Davos, Switzerland this week, the Oxfam charity released new figures on the colossal growth of social inequality.
New York City’s housing and homelessness crisis intensifies under de Blasio
By Philip Guelpa, 16 January 2015
Amid rising homelessness and a dearth of affordable housing, de Blasio’s programs favor real estate interests and the wealthy elite.
Figure hits $4.1 trillion
Wealth of world’s 400 richest billionaires rose $92 billion in 2014
By Andre Damon, 3 January 2015
The wealth of the global financial elite soared last year amid surging stock markets fueled by cash infusions from central banks.
Global financial markets facing instability in 2015
By Nick Beams, 31 December 2014
Divergent central bank policies are a potential source of financial turmoil in 2015.
Social inequality in New Zealand over Christmas
By John Braddock, 29 December 2014
Hundreds queued for nine hours for emergency Christmas food parcels.
The Dow at 18,000: Contradictions mount in world economy
By Nick Beams, 27 December 2014
The ever-widening gap between financial markets and the real economy is creating the conditions for economic turmoil and the eruption of social and political struggles.
The state of world capitalism: Labor productivity up, real wages down
By Patrick Martin, 6 December 2014
The latest Global Wage Report by the International Labor Organization documents the international working class’s declining share of world income.
Bloomberg report names Atlanta and New Orleans as the most unequal cities in the US
By E.P. Bannon, 6 November 2014
A recent report released by Bloomberg listed the 50 most unequal cities in the United States.
A “great leap backwards”
UNICEF report: 2.6 million more children in poverty in developed countries since 2008
By Andre Damon, 29 October 2014
There are 76.5 million children in poverty in 41 developed countries, according to a report published Tuesday by the United Nations Children’s Fund.
A quarter of South Africans regularly go hungry
By Thabo Seseane Jr., 27 October 2014
Malnutrition is especially severe among women and children in South Africa, with Oxfam researchers reporting that childhood stunting has increased to 26.5 percent.
The American oligarchy
By Andre Damon, 18 October 2014
Whatever the pretense of “one person, one vote,” the fact is that the top 0.1 percent dictates policy and essentially selects the personnel tasked with carrying it out.
Richest one percent controls nearly half of global wealth
By Andre Damon, 17 October 2014
Hypothetically, if the growth of inequality were to proceed at last year’s rate, the richest one percent would control all the wealth on the planet within 23 years.
Wealth of world’s billionaires: $7.3 trillion
By Joseph Kishore, 19 September 2014
There are now 2,325 billionaires in the world, and their combined wealth has increased 12 percent from last year, according to a new report from Wealth-X and UBS bank.
Income inequality rises sharply in Britain
By Robert Stevens, 28 August 2014
The country is sharply polarised between a tiny minority who control much of the country’s wealth and monopolise political life, and the vast majority who have little control over either.
“Poor Door” for lower-income tenants underscores class divide in New York
By Steve Light, 22 August 2014
A 33-story luxury building under construction will have a separate back entrance for those who live in its “affordable” apartments.
One-third of the US population has no retirement savings
By Jake Dean, 22 August 2014
New reports continue to expose worsening economic conditions for millions.
The Financial Times’ attack on Thomas Piketty
By Joseph Kishore, 27 May 2014
In a series of articles over the past several days, and in a major editorial published on Monday, the Financial Times has launched a scurrilous attack on Thomas Piketty and his book, Capital in the Twenty-First Century.
While wages, jobs stagnate
Median CEO pay in US tops $10 million
By Patrick Martin, 5 April 2014
The median worker would have to work 257 years to earn as much as the typical top 500 CEO made in 2013 alone.
Forbes list of world’s richest people highlights growth of social inequality
By Ed Hightower, 5 March 2014
The number of billionaires worldwide increased by 268, the largest such increase ever, with a combined net worth of $6.4 trillion.
Rolls Royce sales reflect mounting global social inequality
By Dietmar Henning, 1 February 2014
Record luxury cars sales reflect the super-rich’s stranglehold on the global population.
At Davos, Japanese prime minister inflames tensions with China
By Peter Symonds, 24 January 2014
Abe likened the current friction between Japan and China to the rivalry between Britain and Germany on the eve of World War I.
The global plutocracy
By Andre Damon and Barry Grey, 21 January 2014
On the eve of the annual spectacle of parasitic wealth and power that is the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Oxfam charity has issued a report warning of the unprecedented growth of social inequality throughout the world.
Global unemployment rises above 200 million
By Mike Head, 21 January 2014
The ILO noted the glaring disparity between the recovery on global financial markets and the worsening situation facing workers.
Persecution of Roma stepped up after “blond angel” child trafficking allegations
By Julie Hyland, 9 November 2013
The discovery of “Maria” was the occasion for a hysterical campaign over alleged Roma child-trafficking.
Staggering growth of billionaires in China
By John Watanabe, 3 October 2013
The staggering growth in the worth of these ultra-wealthy individuals testifies to the widening social gulf between rich and poor.
Up to 150 million in Europe threatened with poverty
By Stefan Steinberg, 17 September 2013
A report released last week warns that nearly a third of the European population faces the threat of poverty.
Judge claims US and Israel pressed for release of Yugoslav war criminals
By Paul Mitchell, 8 July 2013
An International Criminal Tribunal judge alleges that the US and Israel have moved for the release Croatian and Serbian officers accused of war crimes.
Number of UK million-pound earners almost doubled in past two years
By Robert Stevens, 6 June 2013
A total of 18,000 people in the UK now earn £1 million. Two year ago, 10,000 individuals earned more than £1 million, and in 1999-2000, only 4,000 people did so.
165 million children malnourished worldwide
By Jake Dean, 1 June 2013
A new report by Save the Children, Food for Thought, highlights the extraordinary impact that malnutrition has upon a child’s cognitive development.
Trillions hidden in tax havens by super-rich, corporations
By Julien Kiemle, 30 May 2013
The ultra-wealthy, banks and corporations have some $32 trillion of wealth hidden in off-shore tax havens, according to a leaked cache of information.
Apple’s tax dodge: The case for public ownership
By Andre Damon, 24 May 2013
As social services are slashed allegedly because there is “no money,” Apple, the most profitable company in history, has avoided paying taxes on over $70 billion in income.
Over four billion people worldwide lack adequate sanitation
By Bryan Dyne, 26 February 2013
Lack of sewerage treatment contributes to contamination problems for the majority of the world’s population.
Study exposes global recession’s heavy toll on girls and women
By Kristina Betinis, 1 February 2013
The global financial crisis has taken a heavier toll on the basic conditions of girls and women when compared to the world’s population as a whole.
Corporate criminals, billionaires gather for World Economic Forum in Davos
By Andre Damon, 23 January 2013
The 44th annual World Economic Forum began Wednesday, bringing over 2,000 corporate executives, major investors, government leaders, central bankers and celebrities to the Swiss Alpine resort.
Billionaires gain as living standards fall
By Patrick Martin, 11 January 2013
The world’s 100 richest people increased their wealth by $241 billion in 2012.
Deepening social inequality and poverty in New Zealand
By John Braddock, 25 October 2012
Two recent reports detail the falling incomes of working people and rising levels of poverty, especially among children.
New Zealand “Rich List” reveals deepening social divide
By John Braddock, 7 August 2012
The wealthiest New Zealanders have not suffered from the austerity drive being imposed on the working class.
Global elite descend on East London for Olympics
By Paul Stuart, 27 July 2012
The Royal Dock complex, adjacent to London’s financial district at Canary Wharf, is hosting up to one hundred super yachts, including twenty of the world’s most opulent, as the Olympic Games begin.
World social inequality more pronounced than ever
By Ernst Wolff, 26 July 2012
The super-rich are currently hiding away between $21 trillion and $32 trillion in tax havens such as Switzerland or the Cayman Islands.
The new aristocracy
By Andre Damon, 28 June 2012
As governments throughout the world close schools, lay off workers and slash support to the poor, old and sick, the financial oligarchy that rules the world increases its wealth and power.
Today’s social divide and the Charles Dickens bicentenary
By John Clayton and Paul Bond, 23 February 2012
A comment on the celebrations marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of English novelist Charles Dickens.
Half a billion children at risk for malnutrition
By Kate Randall, 17 February 2012
Save the Children warns that half a billion children around the world could grow up physically and mentally stunted over the next 15 years due to chronic malnutrition.
Apple’s sweatshop supply chain
By Ben McGrath, 7 February 2012
Apple’s Supplier Responsibility Progress Report is a cynical public relations exercise designed to whitewash the company’s image.
Mounting social struggles cast shadow over Davos economic summit
By Nick Beams, 28 January 2012
A new factor has entered the scene—the re-emergence of the international working class as exemplified in the Egyptian revolution and the ongoing social struggles around the world.
China’s list of billionaires expands again
By John Chan, 17 September 2011
The burgeoning list of billionaires has put China ever closer to the United States as the largest home of the super-rich, even as China’s average per-capita income ranks just 94th in the world.
Rising longevity masks growing life expectancy inequalities in Britain
By Simon Walker, 21 July 2011
The rich are living sometimes eleven years longer than workers in the poorest areas of Britain.
UN report hits German social policies
By Elizabeth Zimmermann, 13 July 2011
The government in Berlin comes in for sharp criticism in a United Nations report on the social situation in Germany.
Capitalism and the climate change crisis
By Patrick O’Connor, 11 June 2011
Record levels of greenhouse gas emission constitute a damning indictment of the capitalist system.
International food crisis due to agribusinesses and speculation
By Barry Mason, 10 June 2011
The international development charity Oxfam issued a report this month highlighting the growing global food crisis.
Chasm widens between UK workers and financial elite
By Simon Walker, 7 June 2011
It was only weeks ago that the Sunday Times Rich List revealed how the international super-rich who reside in the UK have over the past two years fully restored their levels of wealth to pre-2008 levels.
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