India's cash-rich 1%, 4 Times wealthier than Poorest 70%

Releasing the study ‘Time to Care‘, ahead of the 50th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), rights group Oxfam says that India’s richest 1 per cent hold more than four-times the wealth held by 953 million people who make up for the bottom 70 per cent of the country’s population. The total wealth of all Indian billionaires is more than the full-year budget.

Crux of the Matter

1. Oxfam said its calculations are based on the latest data sources available, including from the Credit Suisse Research Institute’s Global Wealth Databook 2019 and Forbes’ 2019 Billionaires List.

2. The findings also revealed that the world’s 2,153 billionaires have more wealth than the 4.6 billion people who make up 60 % of the planet’s population.

3. Oxfam India CEO Amitabh Behar has said that “The gap between rich and poor can’t be resolved without deliberate inequality-busting policies, and too few governments are committed to these.”

4. Reportedly, it would take a female domestic worker 22,277 years to earn what a top CEO of a technology company makes in one year.

5. Getting the richest one per cent to pay 0.5 % extra tax on their wealth over the next 10 years would equal the investment needed to create 117 million jobs in sectors such as elderly and childcare, education and health.

6. Governments must now prioritise care as being as important as all other sectors in order to build more human economies that work for everyone, not just a fortunate few.

Curiopedia

Time to Care report talks about Unpaid and underpaid care work and the global inequality crisis. This great divide is based on a flawed and sexist economic system that values the wealth of the privileged few, mostly men, more than the billions of hours of the most essential work – the unpaid and underpaid care work done primarily by women and girls around the world. Tending to others, cooking, cleaning, fetching water and firewood are essential daily tasks for the wellbeing of societies, communities and the functioning of the economy. The heavy and unequal responsibility of care work perpetuates gender and economic inequalities, which has to change. Governments around the world should invest in national care systems to address the disproportionate responsibility for care work done by women and girls. Thereby progressive taxation, including taxing wealth and legislating in favour of carers, must be introduced. More Info

Curated Coverage

1. Live Mint – Wealth of India’s richest 1% more than 4-times of total for 70% poorest: Oxfam

2. The Week – Wealth of India’s richest 1% more than 4-times of total for 70% poorest: Oxfam

3. The Logical Indian – India’s Richest 1% Are 4-Times Wealthier Than Poorest 70%: Oxfam Study

#India #Oxfamreport #Wealth