One Statistic About The World In 2014 That Would Outrage Martin Luther King Jr

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http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/01/20/3184011/statistic-world-2014-outrage-martin-luther-king/



***SNIP

On the day that America celebrates his birth, OxFam has released a report detailing the shocking economic inequality in America and around the world. Most strikingly, the richest 85 people own as much wealth as the poorest 50% of the world’s population — that’s 3.5 billion people.

Among the other findings in the report:

1. Half of the world’s wealth is owned by 1% of the population.

2. Since the late 1970s, tax rates for the richest have fallen in 29 of the 30 counties for which data is available. This means the wealthy are not only making more but paying a smaller percentage in taxes.

3. Wealthy individuals and companies hide $21 trillion in wealth in a web of tax havens around the world. This exceeds the total GDP of the United States.

4. Global corporations rountinely use their clout to avoid paying taxes in Africa, where poverty is most acute.

5. In the U.S. the top 1% captured 95% of the growth after the 2009 financial crisis. The bottom 90% actually became poorer.