“Raise my taxes.” Warren Buffet, one of the 5 richest men in the U.S., on learning he was taxed at a lower rate than his secretary.
No one needs more money than they can spend in their lifetime.
World Inequality Lab researchers note that since 1980, “the share of national income going to the richest 1 percent has increased rapidly in North America (defined here as the United States and Canada), China, India and Russia and more moderately in Europe.“ They also report that “this period coincides with the rollback in these countries and regions of various post-World War II policies aimed at narrowing economic divides.” Here in this country raised taxes after World War II provided recovery options for millions of Americans.
It is no secret that global inequality is widely considered to be the most serious problem in the world. Consequently the leaders of 193 governments promised in 2015 to reduce that frightening reality. In response to that vote, Development Finance International (DFI) and Oxfam produced an index to measure the commitments of those 193 governments.
The second edition of that Commitment Index was released in 2018. Its findings show that “countries such as South Korea, Namibia and Uruguay are taking strong steps to reduce inequality. Sadly, countries such as India and Nigeria do very badly overall, as does the USA among rich countries.”
Why is the U.S. doing so poorly among rich nations? Perhaps the most important reason is that the U.S. is reducing spending on many critical social programs like health care and those that provide food security for millions of low-income individuals. Unfortunately, our current legislative priorities provide the means for “The rich to get richer while the poor get poorer”.
The 2020 elections are coming soon. Make no mistake about it folks – your vote, my vote, all of our votes count, and it is our responsibility to vote everyone out of office whose actions favor the rich at the expense of the poor. Working together we can defeat those individuals at the ballot box. Collectively we can turn this country around.
What steps are you going to take today, tomorrow, and every day to change the course of history on Election Day?
Blessings on all your efforts to reduce inequality,
Judy Osgood