Public good or private wealth?

This paper by Oxfam International discusses global economic inequality, and says that the super-rich and large corporations are paying lower taxes than they have in decades. It contains statistical data about the continued accumulation of wealth by the world’s richest. The authors say that the rich are not taxed adequately and instead working people are taxed disproportionately. The report notes, as an example, that 1 per cent of the fortune of Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and the world’s richest man, is equal to the entire health budget of Ethiopia, which has a population of 105 million. Additionally, 26 of the world’s richest people in 2018 owned as much as 3.8 billion or “the poorest half of humanity.” In the authors’ view, this disparity in wealth is “pulling us apart” and political leaders “are failing to reduce this dangerous divide.” In order to tackle poverty and fight gender injustice, the paper recommends that billionaires be taxed more fairly so that governments can raise enough money to deliver free universal healthcare, education and other public services.