by Cristina PastiaOXFAM gave to publicity, exactly the day the “virtual” forum at Davos began, the situation of social inequities in the context of the COVID 19 pandemic. The data regarding the social inequities in 2020 are as frightening as the direct effects of the pandemic. Thus, the richest 1000 people in the world will recover their losses generated by the pandemic in just 9 months. The ones situated at the other end of the spectrum, ordinary people, need 10 years.
Besides, 2,7 billion inhabitants of the planet have not benefited from any type of social aid to be able to pass through the pandemic crisis decently. 28 rich states spent, on the average, 700 dollars for the social protection of each citizen affected and poor countries spent between 28 and 4 dollars for each citizen. To make a comparison, the combined wealth of the first 10 richest people in the world increased by 540 billion dollars during the last year.
Richest people in the world (top 10)
- Jeff bezos
- Elon Musk
- Bernard Arnault and his family
- Bill Gates
- Mark Zuckerberg
- Larry Ellison
- Warren Buffett
- Zhong Shanshan
- Larry Page
- Mukesh Ambani
According to the experts consulted by OXFAM, the situation generated by the Sars-CoV2 virus caused hundreds of millions of people to become unemployed (or to get precarious jobs), in the worst crisis on the world labour market in the last 90 years.
A temporary tax on the excess profit made by the 32 global corporations which earned the most during the pandemic could have gathered 104 billion dollars in 2020. This would have been enough to offer unemployment benefits for all workers and financial support for all children and elderly people who suffered during the last year.
NOTE: OXFAM is a growing global coalition consisting of organizations and activists of the civil society which organize the Global Protest against Inequity on the 23rd-30th of January in approximately 30 countries.
(an article by Edward Pastia)