Income disparity continues to increase as djt is inaugurated, the same djt that is a big proponent of accumulation of wealth among the elites. When will MAGA realize the cake they were promised is rotten? Billionaires' wealth soared in 2024, anti-poverty group says as the elites prepare for another Davos Billionaires' wealth grew three times faster in 2024 than the year before, a top anti-poverty group reported on Monday as some of the world's political and financial elite prepared for an annual gathering in Davos, Switzerland. Oxfam International, in its latest assessment of global inequality timed to the opening of the World Economic Forum meeting, also predicts at least five trillionaires will crop up over the next decade. A year ago, the group forecast that only one trillionaire would appear during that time. OxFam's research adds weight to a warning by outgoing President Joe Biden last week of a “dangerous concentration of power in the hands of very few ultra-wealthy people.” The group's sharp-edged report, titled “Takers Not Makers,” also says the number of people in poverty has barely budged since 1990. President-elect Donald Trump, who visited Davos twice during his first term and was set to take the oath of office on Monday, is expected to take part in the forum's event by video on Thursday. He has long championed wealth accumulation — including his own — and counts multibillionaire Elon Musk as a top adviser. “What you’re seeing at the moment is a billionaire president taking oaths today, backed by the richest man. So this is pretty much the jewel in the crown of the global oligarchies,” Amitabh Behar, executive director of Oxfam International, said in an interview, referring to Trump and Musk. “It’s not about one specific individual. It’s the economic system that we have created where the billionaires are now pretty much being able to shape economic policies, social policies, which eventually gives them more and more profit,” he added
I remember reading an article once that showed the life expectancy of a regime and/or nation compared to the accumulation of wealth at the top. I've never been able to find the article again but let's just say the success rate is about zero when the wealth gap reaches a certain point.
If the wealthy ruling class was smart they would try to moderate that wealth gap more carefully. But whatever. Cest la vie. We all pay the piper eventually.
There lies in the problem. There are wealthy who are really the new middle class who are going to get AI’d out of the wealthy class. Then there are the ultra-wealthy. The ultra-wealthy have private aircraft and islands to escape the pending collapse of society under its own weight.
The wealthy running away from the rest of us hasn't changed regardless of which party is in office. Part of the problem is that high level politicians like to get rich too. I don't know how to fix it. It may just be the end result of capitalism.
deregulation certainly isn’t the answer. Not that it matters anymore. Foxes are in the hen house. At the point govt seems to exist to support the wealthy and the justice system to protect them from the rest of us.
at this point, taxes need to be adjusted to force a redistribution from uber wealthy families to pay for public improvements to lessen the burden on the working class. ie use wealth taxes to build a bunch of nex gen nuclear power plants and provides up to a certain amount power for free for people making less than X.
how can we keep more for ourselves? How do we get into the taxpayer pocket with no bottom? do you seriously think any of them are in it for altruistic purposes? Have any of these ever done anything of note for charity before? which one of these do you think cares about how the decisions will impact the average person or the country compared to how it will impact their wallet? their entire being has been about increasing the size of their net worth, tigers aren't changing their stripes.. How Many Billionaires Are in Trump’s Administration, and What Is Their Worth? | National News | U.S. News So far Trump’s billionaire nods include Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former professional wrestling mogul Linda McMahon, Wall Street executive Howard Lutnick, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, money manager Scott Bessent, entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, real estate tycoon Steven Witkoff and investment banker Warren Stephens. The total net worth of the billionaires in the Trump administration, as of Dec. 10 equals at least $382.2 billion – which is more than the GDP of 172 different countries. Since Musk, Ramaswamy, Witkoff, Isaacman and Stephens won’t be part of Trump’s Cabinet, excluding them brings the net worth of Trump’s Cabinet to at least $11.8 billion, assuming all nominees are approved in the Senate.
There is a chance that is not zero they will tip the playing field and force a populist revolution. Look out.
New 'oligarchy' under fire as elites descend on Davos The report, titled "Takers Not Makers", found that 204 new billionaires emerged last year -- almost four every week -- to bring the total to 2,769. Total billionaire wealth grew three times faster last year than in 2023, each billionaire seeing their fortune increase by $2 million per day on average. And, according to Oxfam, five trillionaires could emerge in a decade. Trump's election "gave a huge further boost to billionaire fortunes, while his policies are set to fan the flames of inequality further", Oxfam said. In the United States "we are in a situation where you can buy a country, with the risk of weakening democracy", said the head of Oxfam France, Cecile Duflot. ...................................... "I don't want to live in a country with a few rich people and lots of poor people," said Morris Pearl, a former managing director at investment giant BlackRock. He is now a member of Patriotic Millionaires, a group that backs raising taxes on the rich. "I'm afraid that we're going to have civil unrest if we don't change things," Pearl told AFP.
