Nicole Halseth
News Editor

[: a recent report published by Oxfam,
“the richest 85 individuals in the world
hold wealth equal to that owned by the
poorest half of the planet's population.”

This report, “Working for the Few,”
encourages measures aimed at reducing
the growing global inequality. “Working for
the Few” was published before the World
Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Ina press release, Oxfam’s executive
director Winnie Byanyima said “widening
inequality is creating a vicious circle
where wealth and power are increasingly
concentrated in the hands of a few, leaving
the rest of us to fight over crumbs from
the top table.”

As aresult of its research, Oxfam
has claimed that tax rates for
the richest people around the
world have fallen in around
30 countries since the
1970s. Their research was
hampered by a lack of
data for some countries.

In the report, Oxfam
also noted that
“wealthy elites have
co-opted political
power to rig the

rules of the economic
game, undermining
democracy and
creating a world
where the 85 richest
people own the wealth
of half of the world's
population.”

Oxfam estimates that half
the world’s wealth, or $110
trillion US, remains with only
one percent of the population,
and 85 of the richest individuals
control $1.7 trillion US.

Three such individuals include Mexican

telecommunications giant Carlos Slim Helu,

whose net wealth is around $73 billion,
as well as Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft
, whose wealth is around $67 billion, and
Warren Buffett at $53.5 billion.

This uneven concentration of the world’s
wealth exacerbates inequality, potentially
resulting in increased social unrest due
to the added pressures of this inequality
on the poor and growing middle classes,
Oxfam claimed.

According to the article by the CBC, Oxfam
explained further by saying “this massive

concentration of economic
resources in the hands
of fewer people
presents a

significant threat to inclusive political and
economic systems...people are increasingly
separated by economic and political power,
inevitably heightening social tensions and
increasing the risk of societal breakdown.”

This concern over growing global
inequality has also been expressed by the
World Economic

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Forum, which began discussing these issues
at its meeting on 22 January.

According to the article, Oxfam is
encouraging the Forum to “support
progressive taxation, and to challenge their
governments to use tax revenue to provide
universal health care, education and social
protection for citizens.” Oxfam hopes these
measures will address the issue of growing
global inequality.

As no citizen of this globalizing
world is immune to the
touch of systemic social
inequality, we can
only hope positive
action will be
forthcoming.