World's 85 Richest People Own Nearly Half Of Global Wealth: Oxfam Report By PTI Jan, 21 2014,
Davos: A tiny elite comprising the richest 85 individuals holds wealth equivalent to that owned by the bottom half of the world's population, according to a report by worldwide development organisation Oxfam. The report, titled 'Working for the Few', published ahead of the World Economic Forum meet in Davos, details the impact that widening inequality is having in both developed and developing nations. "Wealthy elites have co-opted political power to rig the rules of the economic game, undermining democracy and creating a world where the 85 richest people own the wealth of half of the world's population," Oxfam claimed. It also said that since the late 1970s, tax rates for the richest have fallen in 29 of the 30 countries for which data are available, meaning that in many places the rich not only get more money but also pay less tax on it. As per the report, in the last 25 years wealth has become even more concentrated in the hands of fewer people so much so that one per cent of the world's families own almost half (46 per cent) of the world's wealth.
Oxfam wants governments to take urgent action to reverse the trend. It is asking those attending the World Economic Forum (WEF) to make six-point personal pledge to tackle the problem. "It is staggering that in the 21st Century, half of the world's population own no more than a tiny elite whose numbers could all sit comfortably in a single train carriage," Oxfam executive director Winnie Byanyima said. The report alleged that the richest individuals and companies in the world hide trillions of dollars away from the tax man in a web of tax havens around the world. "It is estimated that $21 trillion is held unrecorded and off-shore," it said. The report further said that in India, the number of billionaires increased tenfold in the past decade, aided by a highly regressive tax structure and the wealthy exploiting their government connections, while spending on the poorest remains remarkably low. Moreover, seven out of ten people live in countries where economic inequality has increased in the last 30 years. Also, the richest 1 per cent increased their share of income in 24 out of 26 countries for which we have data between 1980 and 2012. The richest one per cent increased their share of income in 24 out of 26 countries for which we have data between 1980 and 2012
Utah Police Obtain Grenade Launchers, Riot Gear From Feds Kit Daniels Infowars.com January 21, 2014 Like FEMA, local police are also preparing for mass panic
Police departments across Utah have been receiving surplus military gear well-suited for riot control, such as grenade launchers and armored vehicles, through a U.S. Department of Defense program that is far more prevalent than what was previously known, according to recently released documents. For the past four years, the Pentagon has equipped dozens of Utah police departments with a wide variety of military equipment commonly used in riot response such as the aforementioned grenade launchers, M14s, M16s and mine-resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicles through the Excess Property 1033 Program, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. In total, over 2,240 pieces of military equipment valued at nearly $3 million has been sent to Utah since 2009, an amount far more staggering than what was revealed before. Several of the sheriffs indicated that the equipment would only be used in worst-case scenarios. “Are they absolutely necessary? Well, you never know,” Wasatch County Sheriff Todd Bonner said. “It’s good to be prepared.” Iron Co. Sheriff Mark Gower also said that his department’s MRAP will only be used in “very, very limited situations where we anticipate the possibility of someone shooting at us.” Another sheriff, Lynn Yeates with Box Elder Co., stated that his department’s grenade launchers will be used to fire non-lethal rounds, which are commonly deployed in riot response. It is no coincidence that the Pentagon is purposely equipping these departments with military gear for civil unrest. Currently, America is in worse shape economically than it was prior to the 2008 financial crisis. For one thing, America’s manufacturing might has disappeared due to the myriad of government regulations. To satisfy consumer demand in spite of this, the U.S. has relied on foreign demand for the dollar as the
world’s reserve currency, which has ensured that countries around the world would accept fiat dollars for their manufactured goods. But eventually, as the Federal Reserve continues to create more dollars, the value of the already weak dollar will decline to the point where foreign countries will no longer accept them for their goods, destroying the American economy as it finally sinks under its heavy trade deficit. The Fed’s only response to this and the still lingering recession is to print even more dollars. “On top of the trillions in dollars already printed thus far, the Fed continues quantitative easing to the tune of about $80 billion per month,” Marc Slavo wrote on the subject. “It’s the only arrow left in the Fed’s quiver, because failing to inject these billions into stock markets and banks will lead to an almost instant collapse of the U.S. financial system.” “Unfortunately, the current strategy is chock full of its own pitfalls, the least of which being the real possibility of a hyper-inflationary environment developing over coming months and years.” In essence, by propping up the U.S. “house of cards” economy with the current round of quantitative easing, the Fed is only advancing the collapse of the dollar and the mass chaos that will ensue. Other federal agencies are also making preparations for this mass rioting and panic. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is currently looking for contractors that can collect and remove bio-medical waste during national emergencies, as reported earlier by Paul Joseph Watson. Previously, FEMA unsuccessfully sought a contractor that could supply 100,000 medical scrubs to be delivered to 1,000 make-shift “tent hospitals” within 48 hours of a declared emergency. Last fall, FEMA’s parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, spent $500,000 on automatic pepper spray launchers complete with 240,000 projectiles. The government knows that a collapse is coming. RELATED: Why The Banking Elite Want Riots in America
INFOWARS.COM BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND