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January 20, 2015

Oxfam: World's Richest 80 People Own as Much as the Bottom Half 
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A new study from Oxfam finds the world's 80 richest people own as much
as the bottom half of the world combined. The group warns the richest 1
percent now own 48 percent of the world's wealth and are poised to own
more than one-half by 2016. The report's release comes as global elites
gather in Davos, Switzerland, at the World Economic Forum. Speaking in
Davos, Oxfam's Max Lawson urged world governments to take action.

Max Lawson: "The clear message that governments should take away from
Davos is that they should tax the rich. They should tax rich people and
rich corporations, progressively and fairly. Rich individuals, and
particularly the richest individuals, should pay a reasonable level of
tax, the kinds of levels of tax they were paying as recently as the
1990s."

President Obama is expected to propose new taxes on wealthy Americans
during his State of the Union address tonight.

 

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