The wealthiest 1% will soon own more than the rest of the world's population, according to a study by anti-poverty charity Oxfam.

The charity's research shows that the share of the world's wealth owned by the richest 1% increased from 44% in 2009 to 48% last year.

On current trends, Oxfam says it expects the wealthiest 1% to own more than 50% of the world's wealth by 2016.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-30875633

I saw this. Income inequality its getting waaaay worse. The poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer. There a thing here in England about how since the government cuts money the money should be going to the banks are disappearing and most people believe it's going into the pockets of the richest 2%

I think that complaining about the rich or talking like they're stealing from you just because they've found success is ignorant and pathetic. Yet I still think the income gap is a serious problem. The republican idea of taxing the rich less and the poor more to generate jobs wasn't a bad idea, but now the gap is huge, and we've seen that the rich are not generating jobs proportional to their ridiculous wealth (for good reason; it's nearly impossible with these numbers).

The rich need to be significantly taxed and the poor should be taxed way less than they are. That should help balance it out and help with all the debt nations are dealing with at the moment :\

>>3
Right, complaining about it is pathetic, but it's still something to be aware of.

>>3 I don't see it that way. When they avoid taxes by pretending that their main companies are in a different country, and avoiding taxes and also decrease funds to government programs. Government programs that all people need in order to have a chance. At one point in time my family was living off of food stamps and this year I was depending on Federal Pell Grants to help me through college, but Congress has been attacking these programs for years, and now I won't be getting Pell grants for college this year, even though my situation is no different from last year. Why? Why is Congress attacking these programs for the poor and putting even more money into the military? Because 1%s also dabble in military grade weaponry; hence why with the decrease in sales lead them to militarize the police.

I also don't like the discrimination that goes on within big corporations; how hard it is to move up the ladder if you're non-white or female, or if your dad's not friends with this guy's dad in the company, who is friends with the CEO, blah, blah, blah...

It's the same one percent that buys off areas of the government so that Wall Street can keep getting more & more, or so that they can keep giving tax breaks, and yet the middle class and the poor are not allowed to complain about their ill-gained "successes"?
If they're clean- not corrupt- not using or accepting bribes, not buying off politicians or news networks, not trying to get rid of retirement funds, not trying to lessen the minimum wage, and if they believe in equal opportunity, then yeah, they probably deserve to be where they're at now.
The problem is, most of them are not like this.

So, I'm confused why you would say that those who complain about the 1% are ignorant and pathetic, yet at the same time say that there's something wrong with the vast disparity between the wealthy and the middle class. You do agree that if they steal from you unlawfully, then it's okay to complain about them, right?

>>5 That is a problem with the system, and it's not the fault of every single person with a significant number of commas in their bank balance. Some of those are done by everyone; it's just that there is a larger impact when the rich do it. It doesn't make them worse people.

"pretending that their main companies are in a different country"
Lower income companies do this too.

"and avoiding taxes"
Lower income people do this too.

"decrease funds to government programs... Congress has been attacking these programs for years"
This is a matter of Congress trying to cut back in the wrong places. Just because it's not hurting rich people doesn't mean it's the rich people's fault.

"I also don't like the discrimination that goes on within big corporations"
This isn't limited to big corporations. It's a social problem, not a rich one.

"Because 1%s also dabble in military grade weaponry; hence why with the decrease in sales lead them to militarize the police."
What's being implied here? I can't see how you're seriously blaming rich people in general for law enforcement choosing to give heavy weapons to the police force.

"the same one percent that buys off areas of the government"
The gov't shouldn't be selling itself.

"that they can keep giving tax breaks"
I don't blame the rich for getting tax breaks - I blame the gov't for giving it to them.

"If they're clean- not corrupt... The problem is, most of them are not like this."
1) Most people in general are not like this. We live in a corrupt society. 2) 'Some corrupt people have money, so all people who have money are corrupt,' is not sound logic, yet that's how most people treat it. They see it in black and white. 'The rich are evil and mean, and it's THEIR fault I'm poor and my life sucks!!!' It's an easy scapegoat to not look into your own life. And if you asked these people how far they'd go for a few billion dollars, they'd no doubt be willing to corrupt themselves even worse for it. That's what's so pathetic.

"yet at the same time say that there's something wrong"
Because the fault isn't on the 1%, it's on the gov't that's not taxing them and distributing the wealth appropriately.

"if they steal from you unlawfully, then it's okay to complain about them"
Being successful =/= directly stealing from every single person in the fucking universe. But yes, if Bill Gates bumped into you in the street and stole your wallet, then fine - complain away.

>>6 "Because the fault isn't on the 1%, it's on the gov't that's not taxing them and distributing the wealth appropriately."
...I'm confused... If congress both the Republicans AND the Dems are getting bought by the 1%...how are they going to start giving them harsher taxes? You're saying blame the government. Well, obviously... but shouldn't we blame 1% as well...?
If the government is corrupt and robbing the people of the funds they need in pell grants and welfare...because the 1% of America doesn't care to support these with their tax dollars... Would you prefer it if I said the government & big businesses are robbing the people?

And yes, discrimination and corruption happen within smaller businesses as well... It just depends on how you want to handle the situation. I would like to crack down on big businesses first and then smaller businesses, because that sends a message. Big businesses also have more potential in creating jobs on American soil than small businesses. And like you said, despite the tax breaks, that's not what they're doing.

"'The rich are evil and mean, and it's THEIR fault I'm poor and my life sucks!!!' It's an easy scapegoat to not look into your own life. And if you asked these people how far they'd go for a few billion dollars, they'd no doubt be willing to corrupt themselves even worse for it. That's what's so pathetic."

Agreed.

"Because 1%s also dabble in military grade weaponry; hence why with the decrease in sales lead them to militarize the police."
What's being implied here? I can't see how you're seriously blaming rich people in general for law enforcement choosing to give heavy weapons to the police force.

After observing and researching for a few years, yes, i am implying this.

Remember how the New Hampshire police department used the pumpkin smashing event as a reason for needing military vehicles and weaponry? Who gets the money for that?

>>7 They're the ones letting themselves be bought out. If the congressmen weren't being greedy, big businesses wouldn't have that kind of influence. The gov't needs to learn some self control. So long as they'll accept the bribes, the bribes are going to keep happening. Kind of like how so long as men go to prostitutes, they're gonna keep selling their bodies.

>>8 I haven't researched any of that, so I can't say.

gross

I've read in a couple different places that income inequality here in the US is the worst it's been since the 1920s.

Also, that's the problem - the 1% aren't being taxed enough because they're either buying out Congress or they're in Congress. I have heard of some instances where people were technically in the top 10% but more than half of their income went to taxes so you really wouldn't be able to tell from how they lived, and that's how it should be, but clearly it'll take a long time to reach that point with the top 1%.

This makes me sick

Inb4 1% kid gets on here and tells us to fuck off.

>>14 fuck off

I was just wondering what would happen... More amusing than I thought.

>>3 I won't even go as far as to start a debate like Magnolia, it's not worth my time. The government is not there to babysit you, or have an unalterable scapegoat for you to point at. Economical inequality is the responsibility of all people part of a system. The shit the 1% do with their money is in most cases non-functional for the rest 99%, and even for them it has no practical use. And there isn't even enough time for them to spend such a gigantic sum fast enough to have any kind of necessity for it. Investing and buying resources that govern the destiny of many many other people for pure personal satisfaction, and you know that it's true, you can't wash that off of them, since how else do you get so much money? I mean not with a life of honest work, you can calculate. Try it, how much you could save up working as a mediocre company employee until you die a miserable death? You couldn't even make enough capital to invest. There is no real competition no fairness and no equality, that's only a pathetic excuse to accept this kind of system, where some have the luxury to take more in return for others' misery. Don't mind if I smell bullshit in the air....

Just an opinion:
I think the quickest way to cease or at least slow down their gains is by switching over entirely to green products.

But that takes a lot if time and research, and if course it's not as convenient since the amount of funding in green projects to make quality, sustainable, and long lasting products do not even amount to half as much money of non-Eco friendly companies.

I'd rather go with limiting banks, so they can't give you a loan without collateral. A lot of rich people make money out of nothing: A bank has let's say 1000 gold pieces (just so I don't use real money). In most countries they have the legal right to loan 9x of that sum. So they give out loans worth of 9000 gold pieces, which you pay back as let's say roughly 12000 gold pieces calculating with a 30% interest. But they don't just make the 30% interest off of you. They can actually spend the 11000 gold pieces value, YOU were made to produce through hard work. And every time they spend in this cycle, the value of your gold pieces drop, making you poorer owning the same amount you would normally have simply by pumping unexisting monetary value in the economy.

*correction* this is roughly counting of course, I mean the 30% should be 33.3% interest to make this example true. A lot of these variables may vary but the principle is the same.

Everybody knows that a revolution is what we need, there is nothing else that may reverse this process.

>>22 There is one alternative: sporadically spreading knowledge and awareness about alternatives to the money system, like TVP and resource based economy for example. But it's a very long term process, we wouldn't probably even live to see it succeed. But it's a more gradual shift to an alternative and requires less bloodshed than a revolution.

I think the majority of people here are deviating from the original topic. It seems although the opinions of the majority here focus solely on the rich and the poor of their own respective countries, rather than how the 1% OF THE WORLD owns more/will own more than 50% OF THE REST OF THE WORLD.

I don't think the blame of this particular problem lies solely with rich people. Part of the blame also lies with with how everyday people conform themselves with social norms which exemplifies and increases the inequality between the developed world, and the non-developed world. (-->eg. people not buying fair trade products, people supporting companies that are publicly known to dwell in the exploitation of 3rd world workers, people who turn a blind eye/are ignorant to the suffering/well-being of people in developing/non-developed countries)

An article released in 2013 states that roughly 3 billion people live under US$2.50 a day, and at least 80% of the population lives under US$10 a day. We can also assume that at least In Ireland, unemployment benefit amounts to at least €84.50 (US$94.90) a week. In the US, you're eligible to receive a minimum of around $50 if you've made a certain number of previous tax contributions, and in the UK, its a minimum of £57.35 (without contributions). The problems that we face in the 1st world, cannot even be compared to the problems that people face in 2nd and 3rd world countries (yeah i know there's a big different in purchasing power parity as well, they still starve more and have less than us)

but we should also focus on the fact that companies, both big and small, are exploiting the workforce, and hindering the economic development, of the countries that constitutes the 50% of the world (predominantly developing and non-developed countries). --> (Apple example: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/apr/30/apple-chinese-factory-workers-suicides-humiliation) I'm sure you can find countless more like these on the internet

Just a few links to further emphasis the the poverty gap between the top 1% and the bottom 50%. As a rule of thumb, just compare your life situation to these people.

http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats

http://www.prb.org/Publications/Datasheets/2012/world-population-data-sheet/fact-sheet-world-population.aspx

PS. >>15, fuck you 1% guy.

>>24 Dave you have a great view on this problem I, I really like your perspective, I have to give it to you. But as much as I like soaking myself in the sad facts of economic gaps between the rich and the poor reading fact after fact providing further evidence about the truth of this matter, how do you picture discussing this topic without "deviating from the original topic"?

What is the original topic? o.O
Reading and posting more facts and nodding our heads in agreement to how poor we, the 99% are? If you've understood the previous replies above yours, you should see that people are already in the process of discussing alternatives and solutions to this problem.

>>25 Could kiss you.

>>26 Much obliged, miss ;)

^ above the shitpost (literally) you go

^^^^

^ above the shitpost (literally) you go