“Four out of every five dollars of wealth generated in 2017 ended up in the pockets of the richest 1%, while the poorest half of humanity got nothing” a report just published by Oxfam found. In the report published to coincide with the gathering of some of the world’s richest people at the 2018 World Economic Forum in Davos, Oxfam said billionaires had been created at a record rate of one every two days over the past 12 months, at a time when the bottom 50% of the world’s population had seen no increase in wealth. It added that 82% of the global wealth generated in 2017 went to the most wealthy 1%.
Nations world over including some of the most advanced nations have economic difficulties. One of the greatest challenges for most nations is addressing poverty. While all permutations and combinations of economic plans and schemes have been formulated to resolve them, there has been no effective effort to address poverty against wealth accumulation.
No nation had ever tried to resolve poverty by curbing wealth accumulation by the wealthy. If this is seen as infringing upon the fundamental rights of an individual, then there is an urgent to redefine these rights in line with today’s need to facilitate the fundamental welfare of the billions.
Although nations could have earning ceiling on what some sections can earn from a particular job or activity, there is no such ceiling for what an individual can accumulate in his lifetime. The wealthy are ironically a pampered lot, whom the governments wanted to please. The power of investment that is invested with the wealthy is perceived as being an asset for any nation. Governments believe these investments can generate income and employment which in the long run.
While income taxes increased with earnings, this in no way could discourage or stop the wealthy from accumulating more and more. The wealth of the wealthy multiplied with time, despite all high taxes. Against the face of absurd poverty as we see today, the question now become obvious as to why governments didn’t consider fixing an upper ceiling for the earnings of individuals. Why didn’t regimes make it illegal for individuals to earn beyond a certain limit?.
Why did the law facilitate individuals to make so much money that the individual would never use it in his lifetime? His continued obsession of making money had made the fight difficult for individuals seeking their fundamentals. Individuals should be prevented from making money beyond a certain limit, together with a state guarantee that he shall not financially suffer. The modalities and the limits could be debated.
Instead of voluntarily establishing an earnings ceiling by themselves or obliging the state by their willing to stop earning,, the wealthy show out their concern in the guise of charity. A society can benefit only when the elite give up their effort to make more money, than to make that money and distribute it as charity. We need to introduce a limit to the money making ability of the super rich. Money has become stronger than most men today. Just like the robot who could make more robots by itself, money can make more money by itself much more than most people.
It is high time for governments around the world to introduce ceiling limits on income earnings by individuals, and make it easier for the non-rich to barely survive. International community should seriously contemplate this and act towards this. No more charity and philanthropy gimmicks.
