Urgent need to "Even it Up"

Urgent need to "Even it Up"

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@Oxfam is calling on world leaders gathered @Davos for the 2015 #WEF to address the factors that have led to today’s inequality explosion

Read @Oxfam’s paper on inequality as it urges leaders of the world @Davos to take stock of the rising gap between the wealthy and poor #WEF

@Oxfam’s paper provides recommendations to reduce inequality. Read the full paper as world leaders gather in @Davos for #WEF

Click here to read the inequality paper

In 2014, the richest 1% of people in the world owned 48% of global wealth, leaving just 52% to be shared between the other 99% of adults on the planet.

The very richest of the top 1%, the billionaires on the Forbes list, two have seen their wealth accumulate even faster over this period. In 2010, the richest 80 people in the world had a net wealth of $1.3tn.

By 2014, the 80 people who top the Forbes rich list had a collective wealth of $1.9tn; an increase of $600bn in just 4 years, or 50% in nominal terms.

In 2014 there were 1,645 people listed by Forbes as being billionaires. This group of people is far from being globally representative.

Almost 30% of them (492 people) are citizens of the USA. Over one-third of billionaires started from a position of wealth, with 34% of them having inherited some or all of their riches.

In October 2014 Oxfam launched its Even It Up campaign, calling for governments, institutions and corporations to tackle extreme inequality.

Here are the recommendations from the report.

• Make governments work for citizens and tackle extreme inequality.
• Promote women's economic equality and women's rights.
• Pay workers a living wage and close the gap with skyrocketing executive reward.
• Share the tax burden fairly to level the playing field.
• Close international tax loopholes and fill holes in tax governance.
• Achieve universal free public services by 2020.
• Change the global system for research and development (R&D) and pricing of medicines so that everyone has access to appropriate and affordable medicines.
• Implement a universal social protection floor.
• Target development finance at reducing inequality and poverty, and strengthening the compact between citizens and their government.

To read Oxfam’s recommendations to governments, institutions and corporations in detail,
please read the report Even It Up: Time to end extreme inequality published in October 2014.

For more information:

Please contact:

Himanshi,
News and Media Manager,
Oxfam India

Email: himanshi@oxfamindia.org

Tweet her @j_gunjan