Paul B. Farrell
Opinion: The inequality bubble is accelerating, worse than ‘29, even 1789
Published: April 20, 2015 at 11:19 a.m. ET By Paul B. Farrell
14 reasons an economic crash could trigger a deadly revolution
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A couple years ago a Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report gave us a snapshot of just where this explosive inequality bubble is headed, reminding us of something far worse than the 1929 Crash, but of the 1790s when inequality triggered the French Revolution, and 17,000 lost their heads under the guillotine.
The Credit Suisse data reveals that just 1% own 46% of the world, while two-thirds of the world’s people have less than $10,000. Forbes also reports that just 67 billionaires already own half of Planet Earth’s assets. Credit Suisse predicts a world with 11 trillionaires in a couple generations, as the rich get richer and the gap widens.
Global inequality gap is a ticking time bomb on an economic guillotine
Can this trend continue? Or will it trigger a revolutionary economic guillotine? Nobel economist Joseph Stiglitz, author of “The Price of Inequality,” is not as optimistic as Credit Suisse: “America likes to think of itself as a land of opportunity.” But today the “numbers show that the American Dream is a myth … the gap’s widening ... the clear trend is one of concentration of income and wealth at the top, the hollowing out of the middle, and increasing poverty at the bottom.”
History is warning us: Inequality is a recipe for disaster, rebellions, revolutions and wars. Not in two generations. Much, much sooner, a reminder of the Pentagon’s famous 2003 prediction: “As the planet’s carrying capacity shrinks, an ancient pattern of desperate, all-out wars over food, water, and energy supplies will emerge ... warfare will define human life on the planet by 2020.” Yes, much sooner than two generations...
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