Tuesday, 20 May 2014

Times Rich List, Piketty and Inequality

At a time when there is heightened awareness about inequality it is astounding that serious (?) media commentators suggest that the (Times) Rich List 'should be taught as a set text to inspire the next generation of risk takers'.
Quite how this inspiration should work in detail the author leaves to our imagination. It certainly is not possible to become the next Duke of Westminster, one of the rare true British members of the top ten entrants in this year's list.
And how one should emulate the various oligarchs and tax exiles - some of feature only because they chose the right parents - could also be of great interest to those lucky or unlucky enough to be given the benefit of these lectures.
It would also be interesting during which class these lectures would be held. Religion, Philosophy, Politics or Economics?
The really sad thing with this sort of fawning at the superrich 0.01% is the fact that there is very little reporting about the reasons such extreme wealth can be accumulated and what should be done to prevent it. Not a word about fairer tax laws, more effective inheritance taxes, better regulation, less generous copyright protection or a wider spread of ownership of productive assets.

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