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Oxfam says the Richest 1% Control More Than Half The World's Wealth
American Thinker ^ | 01/19/2015 | Pedro Gonzales

Posted on 01/19/2015 6:27:32 AM PST by SeekAndFind

The NYT published a press release from Oxfam claiming that the richest 1% control more than half the world's wealth. I don't know if that's true, but if it is... who cares?

Even if it is true, where exactly is this money being held?

Investors with interests in finance, insurance and health saw the biggest windfalls, Oxfam said. Using data from Forbes magazine’s list of billionaires, it said those listed as having interests in the pharmaceutical and health care industries saw their net worth jump by 47 percent.

Oh, they're being held in businesses. Businesses, that, you know, employ thousands of people. Businesses, such as insurance, that enable other businesses to function. Businesses that produce products and services that millions of people want or need.

Did these richest of the rich forcibly take money from others? Were people forced to hand over their money? I don't think so. I think people handed over their money voluntarily and were even eager to do so, to get goods and services.

Where it becomes involuntary is when governments do it, through taxation and deficit spending.  People can chose to buy or not to buy products from a company, but can't choose whether or not to pay taxes. A rich person spending money can't impoverish people, but government spending can and does impoverish people.

Look at Greece. The government spent much more money than it had and the economy has basically collapsed. And the rest of Europe isn't far behind. Too much government spending has created record joblessness and poverty.

Spending by rich people and large companies, on the other hand, can increase both the concentration of wealth as well the amount of it in everyone's hands.

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: clintonfoundation; globalinequality; globalwealth; haiti; onepercenters; oxfam; poverty; wealth
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1 posted on 01/19/2015 6:27:32 AM PST by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

un hunh. and they’re all white and live on Park Ave, right?


2 posted on 01/19/2015 6:31:13 AM PST by 9thLife ("Life is a military endeavor..." -- Pope Francis)
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To: 9thLife
REALLY?


3 posted on 01/19/2015 6:32:16 AM PST by SeekAndFind (If at first you don't succeed, put it out for beta test.)
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To: 9thLife
MORE 1%


4 posted on 01/19/2015 6:33:08 AM PST by SeekAndFind (If at first you don't succeed, put it out for beta test.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Marxism can fix that and give it to the right 1%.

Pray America is waking


5 posted on 01/19/2015 6:33:08 AM PST by bray (Sharpton is a murderer)
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To: 9thLife

MORE BLACK 1%


6 posted on 01/19/2015 6:33:56 AM PST by SeekAndFind (If at first you don't succeed, put it out for beta test.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Spread those derivatives around...


7 posted on 01/19/2015 6:36:56 AM PST by Paladin2
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To: 9thLife

If you redistributed all their wealth, in about a decade they would have it all back.

Because they create that much value.

People GIVE them money because they want to.


8 posted on 01/19/2015 6:39:03 AM PST by Uncle Miltie (Bush / Clinton 2016! Clinton / Bush 2020! Uniparty Rules!)
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To: SeekAndFind
50% of wealth is controlled by people who have proven that they can manage money. Only government can fix that.
9 posted on 01/19/2015 6:39:06 AM PST by CrazyIvan (I lost my phased plasma rifle in a tragic hovercraft accident.)
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To: SeekAndFind

I think it’s a BFD! Life has always been this way. There are a bunch of risktakers with cash and they venture out to take risks....most of them end up sweeping the streets, some of them own Wall Street. That is what makes the world go around. Think Edison. Think George M. Cohan. Think Carnegie. Think of any of those famous inventors who cashed in - are they at any fault? Not in my book.


10 posted on 01/19/2015 6:39:16 AM PST by Rembrandt (Part of the 51% who pay Federal taxes)
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To: 9thLife

“un hunh. and they’re all white and live on Park Ave, right?”

The owner of Ebony, a billionaire, may live on Park Ave., I don’t really know nor care. Do you?


11 posted on 01/19/2015 6:40:54 AM PST by Rembrandt (Part of the 51% who pay Federal taxes)
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To: SeekAndFind

“Investors in finance, insurance and health” are making the most because they are Obama’s cronies, financed by government programs. So if their wealth is so objectionable, quit writing the laws to favor these groups that have lobbyists in every corridor of the Capitol, promising to give big to the Big Government politicians who vote for their business interests.


12 posted on 01/19/2015 6:41:11 AM PST by txrefugee
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To: SeekAndFind

Why do liberals think the richest got that way by stealing it from people? Do they actually think if someone like say Bill Gates - when he created Microsoft and then sold the stock, that people on street stole money from people making them poor and gave it to him? Do they have ANY idea how many jobs were created by the computer industry? But that’s their thinking isn’t it, all these poor people exist because rich people stole it from them. Do they actually think if Gates never existed that people would have more money? If anything it is LIBERALS who steal money from people in the form of massive taxes, federal tax, local tax, city tax, the social security ponzi scam, and now the Obamacare scam. Not to mention the Gorebull warming scam of which Obama last week announced he is going to steal even more money from people by putting more regulations in place to “curb methane output from oil and gas companies” even though the percentage of Methane in the atmosphere is 0.00017% And what will be the result of that? Gas prices with go up and with it everything else.


13 posted on 01/19/2015 6:43:40 AM PST by GrandJediMasterYoda (Obama: 7 acts of blatant treason and counting.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Food for thought:

Princeton Study: U.S. No Longer An Actual Democracy

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/princeton-experts-say-us-no-longer-democracy

By BRENDAN JAMES
Published APRIL 18, 2014

A new study from Princeton spells bad news for American democracy—namely, that it no longer exists.

Asking “[w]ho really rules?” researchers Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page argue that over the past few decades America’s political system has slowly transformed from a democracy into an oligarchy, where wealthy elites wield most power.


14 posted on 01/19/2015 6:46:24 AM PST by DJ Taylor (Once again our country is at war, and once again the Democrats have sided with our enemy.)
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To: SeekAndFind

What does an Oxfarm have to do with who has the money on the planet?


15 posted on 01/19/2015 6:46:51 AM PST by FlingWingFlyer (When the hell do I get MY white privilege? I'm tired of busting my @$$ for a living.)
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To: Rembrandt

Right, I think throughout history, most of wealth has been controled by less than 1% of ony population...it always was and always will be.

In the US, if they took the entire value of the stock markets, say as much as $12 trillion and spread it around to 300 million people, that would give everyone something like 12K, hardly a princely sum. On the other hand, taking our 18 trillion debt and distributing it across the entire population would equal about 50K per person so by that measure, everyone in the US would be insolvent!


16 posted on 01/19/2015 6:49:09 AM PST by Mouton (The insurrection laws perpetuate what we have for a government now.)
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To: DJ Taylor

Psst, Princeton. The United States never was a democracy.


17 posted on 01/19/2015 6:50:23 AM PST by mykroar ("Never believe anything until it has been officially denied." - Otto von Bismarck)
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To: SeekAndFind

It does make it sound like there is an unlimited supply of $$$ that we can tax (take) from the rich so solve all societies ills:
free preschool, free college, free school meals (all meals), free housing, internet, cell phones, tutors..

I mean why does anyone have $$$ based needs with so much wealth.

Also, its cites “world’s wealth” but libs always claim we are a wealthy country.

Who lowered interest rates?


18 posted on 01/19/2015 6:57:51 AM PST by sickoflibs (King Obama : 'The debate is over. The time for talk is over. Just follow my commands you serfs""')
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To: SeekAndFind

So what? If you want more wealth, create it.


19 posted on 01/19/2015 7:00:04 AM PST by muir_redwoods ("He is a very shallow critic who cannot see an eternal rebel in the heart of a conservative." G.K .C)
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To: SeekAndFind
Money and wealth are not the same thing. Few understand this.

Even so, I very much doubt this ridiculous claim.

20 posted on 01/19/2015 7:05:33 AM PST by Teacher317 (We have now sunk to a depth at which restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men)
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