As we enter into the year 2024, we enter into the fourth year of the uphill battle of simply trying to survive after the COVID-19 pandemic first hit. We don't just mean the struggle to keep ourselves and loved ones healthy -- we also mean the struggle to afford just basic necessities for us and our families. Groceries. Housing. Gas. Prices have continued to skyrocket and inflation has pushed many into desperate situations.
But not everybody.While most of us can afford less than ever, a new report from Oxfam shows that the
five richest men in the world -- including Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos -- have doubled their wealth since 2020.This is ridiculous. It is finally time we tax the ultrawealthy in appropriate, proportionate ways.
Sign the petition to demand world leaders finally tax the rich!It is a total failure of our system that so many people (many of whom work for companies owned by the super-rich) live below the poverty line while a few choice CEOs, founders, and inheritors continue to hoard wealth.
Amazon, for example, pays so little in some instances that their employees need government provided food stamps to buy groceries! Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos has climbed to a net worth of $172.9 billion.According to the World Bank, nearly 700 million people live in extreme poverty around the world.
Extreme poverty is defined by living on $2.15 dollars or less per day. If the uberwealthy were taxed at an appropriate rate and stopped receiving ridiculous, backwards tax breaks, world governments would have the funds necessary to finally support and invest in systems that would raise many out of extreme poverty!
The widening trench between the rich and the poor is getting so concerning that even many world billionaires and millionaires are demanding change.
A coalition called "Proud to Pay More" made up of extremely rich individuals is pleading with world leaders to tax extreme wealth, citing the threats to democracy and humanitarian concerns. A letter containing demands and sentiments was directed at decision makers attending this year's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The five increasingly rich men named in Oxfam's report were, notably, not in attendance at Davos.
This new report from Oxfam reminds us of what we've known for years -- if we continue to let the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, through things like tax breaks, wage theft, and the like, the very fabric of our society threatens to rip.
Sign the petition to tax the rich!