By Dr. Sawraj Singh
According to Forbes magazine, the net worth of the richest Americans grew by 13% in the past year to $1.7 trillion. In this list are familiar names such as Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Larry Ellison, and the Koch brothers. The average net worth of the wealthiest Americans rose to $4.2 billion. This is more than a 10% increase from a year ago.
One can clearly see that not only is the gap between the rich and the poor widening, but the gap between the rich and the super-rich is also widening. Globalization is leading to polarization of wealth.
While the wealth of the super-rich grew by 13%, the American economy, as a whole, only grew by 1.7% last year. Many Americans have lost their jobs, their homes, and many others have seen reduction in their social benefits. Even during one of the worst economic recessions in history, the wealth of the super-rich keeps growing.
This widening gap between rich and poor, and accumulation of wealth for the super-rich are not only seen in America, but are seen in other countries, such as India, which are following the American model of development.
The number of billionaires in India keeps on growing, while extreme poverty and depravation are rising at an even faster rate. If we take the example of a city such as Delhi, then one trend becomes obvious: many people joined the ranks of the billionaires because of their real estate. If we compare the rise in daily wages to the rise in price of land, then the fact becomes obvious that there is a gross difference in relative appreciation between the two. In the last 50 years, while daily wages have risen about 100 times, the price of land in some of the posh colonies has risen about 100,000 times. The disparity in these two figures clearly shows that assets of the richest people have grown at a speed about 1,000 times faster than people at the bottom. A stark and undeniable reality of the socio-economic polarization is the fact that more than 650 million people (over half of India’s population) have no access to toilets and are forced to use public spaces for urination and defecation.
If we compare these figures with the increase in cost of living, then another painful reality becomes obvious: in America as well as India, the real worth of wages has not only stagnated, but has actually declined in many cases. Similarly, social benefits given to the poor have actually decreased in real terms.
Another similarity between the US and India is uncontrolled growth of population. Population in both countries is rising because the rich in both countries consider population to be a resource which can be exploited for increasing their profits and wealth. In both countries, the elite class does not look at the welfare of the population as their social and moral responsibility. They apply the market law of supply and demand to the population. More supply means lower price (wages), which in turn will increase their profit margins.
When we compare countries such as America and India, where the population has increased uncontrollably, to countries such as China and some western European countries, where the population has been relatively controlled; the difference becomes obvious. The countries with uncontrolled population growth have seen more widening of the gap between rich and poor and more accumulation of wealth by the super-rich.
Dr. Sawraj Singh, MD F.I.C.S. is the Chairman of the Washington State Network for Human Rights and Chairman of the Central Washington Coalition for Social Justice. He can be reached at [email protected].
