Oxfam, an emergency relief and development organisation, called for greater taxation of corporations and very high wealth in the face of growing inequality. “It is unacceptable that corporations and the billionaires behind them are raking in record profits while millions of people have to skip meals, turn off the heat, fall behind on their bills, and wonder what they can do next to survive,” Oxfam explained in its press statement.
According to Oxfam, the Corona pandemic and rising energy and food prices in particular have fuelled poverty and social inequality recently. The number of billionaires has grown by more than 90 percent. Together, they have a fortune of 12.7 trillion dollars. During the pandemic alone, it already grew by 42 percent and now corresponds to 13.9 percent of global economic output.
According to the analysis, rising global food costs alone would force 65 million additional people into extreme poverty in 2023. This is in addition to the 198 million severe poor forecast by the World Bank earlier this year, bringing the total estimate to 263 million. The number of people at risk of falling into such poverty is similar to the combined populations of the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Spain.
Inequality between countries is also on the rise again. More than every second low-income country will soon be unable to repay its debts. Rising prices and debt problems are currently fueled by the Russian war in Ukraine as well.
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