Two excellent articles. The first discusses a report by the reputable international relief organization Oxfam, a confederation dedicated to the injustices of poverty. According to the report, the income of the richest 100 billionaires could smooth out inequality enough to end world poverty. The second piece is an informed, rational look at the growing inequality here in the United States, by economist Joseph Stiglitz.
The two read together offer a deeply disturbing but prompting meditation on a situation that was deliberately brought about - not the regrettable by-product of "market forces" - and therefore is capable of being remedied. Popular pressure has a role to play and could help turn it around.
However, it looks like the population might receive help. Oxfam and Stiglitz both cite the same special report that appeared in the Economist in October last year. Even the staid business press is growing concerned that things aren't quite right. Some "conservatives" will likely accuse criticism of these trends as an anti-capitalist proposition. I would argue that these trends are precisely anti-capitalist, and that actual competitive, free-market enterprise would be a step in the right direction.
Al Jazeera
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2013/01/201312061337695543.html
Stiglitz
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/19/inequality-is-holding-back-the-recovery
