Wealth inequality - we've been fooled

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I've read loads of threads recently about benefits: cuts, caps etc.It's all over the newspapers too. There's a massive sentiment that austerity is necessary, we can't afford a generous welfare system, benefits should only provide the most basic of needs. Without going into why we seem to accept all this without question, why is there so much focus on how much the poorest people have, and no focus at all on how much the richest have? The product of all the austerity propaganda seems to be that we've forgotten the massive increase in inequality in this country, that only the very richest benefit from.

inequalitybriefing.org/

So people in the middle bitch about the people at the bottom, but no-one seems to notice the people at the top creaming off all the profit. This affects everyone. Living standards of the very poorest and also those in the middle. We should be really angry about this. 20 years ago a professional, like a doctor or teacher, could afford a good family house in London and private education for their children. But wages have stagnated and living costs have rocketed, we're all worse off except for the very wealthiest.

I feel like there's a huge amount of focus on benefits scroungers, immigrants and none on what we can do to stop the gap between rich and middle/poor getting bigger and bigger and bigger. AIBU?

I believe the election was rigged. I cannot believe that the majority of people are that stupid to vote for a party who refused to say where the £12 billion of welfare cuts were going to fall, nor can I believe majority of people voted tories despite people starving or committing suicide due to sanctions.

It's no surprise Murdoch owns 70% of the production team who make the lovely not biased benefit programs. It is in his interests to keep the people rile up about the poor and not the rich.

I also believe Hopkins was part of Cameron's campaign stirring it up She refuses to answer why she called Katie price out for claiming dla and being rich and calling her a scrounger but surprise surprise silence regarding her best mate Cameron who also claimed dla

Another problem I have is tax evaders like Gary Barlow etc are still adored and not shamed at all despite stealing but a person on benefits claiming a paltry amount are left with nothing,sent to jail and all over the media.

And then tax dodgers have the cheek to do comic relief or some other appeal asking poor people to donate knowing full well they have money stashed away

A banker, a teacher and a poor person are all sat at a table. In the middle of the table is a plate of 10 biscuits. The banker takes 9 of the biscuits and then leaning over to the teacher he whispers in her ear..."oy watch him, he's going to steal your biscuit".

A lot of the current rich in the UK have moved here, not made thier money here. They used to go elsewhere and could easily do so.

On wealth inequality, the poorest person in the UK is significantly richer than most of the rest of the world. Owning an average London house puts you in the 1% richest in the world by assets.

if you earn $34,000 USD, c. £22,000 you are the 1%.

The new benefit cap is above the 1%.

"A lot of the current rich in the UK have moved here, not made their money here"

But they are here to take advantage of our legal systems, judiciary, infrastructure etc. They benefit from being here they need to pay to do so.

YANBU

A lot of the current rich in the UK have moved here, not made thier money here. They used to go elsewhere and could easily do so

And your point is?

This is a world-wide system or had you not noticed?

Yeap, between struggling to survive, benefit-bashing, hating immigrants and muslims, people are quite distracted from the real problems that are affecting them.

What can be done about the problem?

YANBU

YANBU. Excellent thread

YANBU.

Yanbu

I'm so glad to see this. I think some people are exceedingly naive about just how immensely wealthy the top 1% really are. We're not talking just a few million, we're talking thousands of millions, or billions even.if just a few of the supremely wealthy gave up their wealth, it is actually enough to make everyone below a certain level better off. There are enough people who could each give 60 million away, and every person in the UK would receive a hundred pounds. Now, I know some people will say it just causes inflation, but everyone spending a bit more money and causing a small rise is good for the economy.

YANBU and I'm so pleased to see this being discussed

Threads like this make me realise how out of touch with reality people in the UK are. As Caroldecker says, people in the UK on benefits are in the top 1% of earners globally. You already have a Socialist Utopia.

Plural, you are right. I was just putting it into a UK context. I personally am very aware of just how privileged my life is. However, that does make the wealth of the hugely wealthy even more obscene. Imagine if a struggling country were given 100 million pounds from donations!

Imagine.... That money would go straight into the pockets of the local elite to buy even more Ferraris, Rolexs and Hermes bags. Where I live, people aspire to acquire and own, so they work longer and harder to get there, to educate their children and go forward in a positive way. They don't sit at home whinging about why they haven't got a million pound house and how unfair it is.

You already have a Socialist Utopia

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha etc ad nauseam.

And Iain and Duncan Smith has a full head of hair and isn't bitter about anything.

We have a system which is socialist for the rich and the financial institutions and capitalist for the rest of us. If I'm poor it's my fault, I'm lazy, but, wait, my well paid skilled job has been 'outsourced' to another country. Why? So the bosses can charge the same for their product whilst making it for less, therefore ripping us off and blaming us for it.

We have a chancellor whose only job before politics was as a fucking towel folder saying he's 'paying down the debt', but in reality he's doubled it, from £747Bn to almost £1.5Trn. And he has fuck all to show for it and it's only going to get worse. Renationalise everything these money grabbing cunts have stolen from us, jail those bankers who crashed the economy and stop demonising the poor and disabled and we can easily re-balance the economy. East Coast Trains is a case in point. GIYF here...

Our current economy is based upon personal debt, look how many are running up credit card debt just to survive every month, it's obscene. As Steve Keen says (again, GIYF), personal debt is the coming storm and the banks won't survive that one. Richard Wolff is worth a read too about getting capitalism to work for the majority: hint: it doesn't unless the workers hire the bosses, not the other way round.

We have a chancellor whose only job before politics was as a fucking towel folder and what were Gordon Brown's real life qualifications and work experience? Oh and Karl Marx's for that matter? You and your Marxist mates should come to Communist China for a visit and see how it's working out for the 'man on the street' here. Only they won't be able to talk to you about how they are really living.

Seriously, the UK is a wonderful place to be. Why do you think people from places like Communist Vietnam pay thousands and risk their lives daily to get to there? I don't think real poverty is funny, have you ever seen and smelt it close up? Or are your opinions about how hard done by you are in the UK based on what you have read in some economics text books?

Caroldecker

The poorest people in the uk don't own houses in London

The issue is relative poverty - 22k buys you a heck of alot less here than in most parts of the world

The whole point of this thread is inequality and the way most if us are being shafted, shackled then told it is our own fault (or the fault of those below us) if we don't have a decent lifestyle. You don't have to be Karl Marx to see what is happening - you just need to be able to turn off x factor, look around and think.

You are being unreasonable for posting something that you knew quite well would get you a big pat on the back here. I find these endless threads a bit needy.

Tinkly - I think it is particularly so in the arts.

Absolutely alrayyan

The op was right to start this thread because it is important and true.

For many it goes down like a fart in a lift because it makes people feel uncomfortable and powerless.