Did you hear that the total wealth of the world’s top one per cent richest people is around R9-trillion?
Apparently, those who fall within this category own about 82 per cent of the world’s wealth.
This is according to a study conducted by Oxfam. According to them, a billionaire was created every two days in 2017 which means that a mere 42 individuals own as much wealth as the world’s poorest 3.7 billion people do.
Even more shocking is that not a shred of the 82 per cent of the world’s wealth went to the poor.
The study has also found that billionaire wealth has risen by 13 per cent since 2010, which is an increase six times faster than ordinary workers’ wages.
Here is another shocker. The top earners make a factory worker’s lifetime earnings in four days.
Let’s put the R9-trillion into perspective. This amount is enough to end worldwide poverty seven times over.
There is, of course, now a cry for this alarming gap between the rich and the poor to be addressed, but the reality is that this disparity remains an ongoing trend.
This world is run by corporates, and the richest of the rich pull all the strings. After all, if you have money, you make more money very quickly. It is that simple.
Oxfam also estimates that a global tax of 1.5 percent on billionaires’ wealth could pay for every child to go to school.
It could also certainly pay for free higher education in South Africa for those who comply with the criteria – if there are any criteria at this stage…
It could certainly help to pay for the ailing infrastructure in Boksburg that is falling apart at an alarming rate. Yes, I know, our taxpayer’s money is supposed to pay for such vital upgrades, but we know our money is being spent on numerous other luxuries that have nothing to do with improving our state of living.
Such wealth could certainly pay to fix the broken windows at the Creative Art Centre’s ‘Penguin Room’.
Did you hear about that story? The Penguin Room, which got its name after art supplies were donated by Penguin Stationers, is located upstairs at the art centre and was, up until three years ago, used for all sorts of wonderful activities.
For three years, the room’s fate has been sealed by broken window panes or, more specifically, pigeons which have been flying in through the broken windows.
It may seem unreal that nobody has repaired the window panes and that nobody has offered the feathery squatters alternative accommodation. It might be a question of expertise when it comes to fixing windows that are situated so high up, but it is nothing that a bit of money cannot fix.
A bit of the wealth splashed out across the globe here and there could quickly help remediate the Boksburg Lake, and could even come up with lasting solutions to address the ongoing drought in Cape Town.
We can only imagine how many houses or much-needed schools we could build with a mere fraction of the trillions when we consider how many children were not placed in Gauteng on January 17.
The point is, a lot of social projects in the world and right here at home are being hampered by a lack of funds. We need funds to help improve lives, to enhance culture, the arts and to create social opportunities.
A lack of funds is the plight of the poor and is also the daily struggle that the middle-class face daily. It is a sad reality that, more than ever, all the wealth lies with a few, while the rest of the world continues to struggle with financial challenges and frustrations.
It is simply not fair, but hey, at least the Rand is strengthening against the dollar, and we have made it through January.
