Inequality: Why the struggle matters
By Ricardo Tejada
The economic crisis has been rich in history-defining images, from bank collapses and house foreclosures to street protests and growing lines of the unemployed. In 2011 one image stands out: that of protestors “occupying” major financial districts around the world. These protesters are demonstrating against a system that they accuse of having enriched the few at the expense of those at the bottom of the economic ladder.
While the story may seem simplistic, it is anchored in truth. Looking at CEO salaries, which can soar to 71 times the average salary in the Netherlands, 85 times in Canada, and a dizzying 183 times in the US–or over US$10 million a year–it is not difficult to see why people are enraged. For a quarter of a century, the gap between rich and poor has been widening in over three-quarters of OECD countries.
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