As Covid Ravaged The World, Billionaires Got Richer By $3.9 Billion: Oxfam

The coronavirus pandemic has strengthened scary earnings inequalities – and their consequent affect on entry to training, healthcare and all hope of a greater life – between the world’s super-rich and the a whole lot of hundreds of thousands of people that stay and die in abject poverty, non-profit group Oxfam mentioned Monday in a report back to be tabled on the Davos summit in Switzerland.

The report – titled The Inequality Virus – is sharply crucial of “flawed and exploitative financial methods… entrenched inequality and oppression, specifically patriarchy and structural racism, ingrained in white supremacy” and identifies these as “the foundation causes of injustice and poverty”.

“Worldwide, billionaires’ wealth elevated by a staggering $3.9 trillion between March 18 and December 31, 2020… The world’s 10 richest billionaires have seen their wealth enhance by $540 billion over this era,” the report mentioned.

“On the identical time, the pandemic noticed a whole lot of hundreds of thousands of individuals lose their jobs and face destitution and starvation… It’s estimated that the entire variety of individuals residing in poverty might have elevated by between 200 million and 500 million,” it added.

“The pandemic has uncovered the truth that most individuals on Earth – who stay on between $2 and $10 per day – are only one pay test away from penury,” Oxfam mentioned, whereas these with billions of their pockets bought personal jets when business journey was banned.

In accordance with the report, the rise within the wealth – simply for the reason that disaster started – of the world’s 10 richest billionaires is “greater than sufficient to forestall anybody on Earth from falling into poverty due to the virus, and to pay for a COVID-19 vaccine for everybody”.

“The coronavirus disaster has proven us that for many of humanity there has by no means been a everlasting exit from poverty and insecurity… makes no widespread, ethical or financial sense to permit billionaires to revenue from the disaster within the face of such struggling,” the report harassed.

“Their rising wealth needs to be used as a substitute to save lots of hundreds of thousands of lives and billions of livelihoods.”

The report additionally harassed that girls, individuals of color and people from marginalised communities have been among the many worst affected.

Among the many measures the report known as for to combat again in opposition to the spectre of poverty and inequality that threatens to outline our post-Covid world, is a change in taxation insurance policies.

“Argentina confirmed the best way by adopting a short lived solidarity wealth tax on the extraordinarily rich that would generate over $3 billion to pay for coronavirus measures, together with medical provides and reduction for individuals residing in poverty and small companies,” the report mentioned.