A lopsided world: propelled by reckless crony capitalism

The world we live is increasingly becoming ‘the survival of the fittest’. In a world of cut-throat competition filled with greed and accumulation, means and ends hardly matters. Barring a few, many do not care about ‘means’, but are concerned the ‘ends’ that should multiply. Every year the world adds more millionaires and billionaires. In such a bizarre world every year as it dawns those so-called wealth creators, those in the governments regulating finance and others assemble under the banner of “World Economic Forum” to discuss about the global economic order and the problems that confronts the world at large.
The world is creating wealth and food more than is need for all to consume three times a day, and live better, but in reality, there are many who live in abject poverty and thus exist amidst hunger. Inequality within and between nations is growing at alarming levels. At the same time every year we see disproportionate growth of the millionaires and billionaires. Mukesh Ambani is on the list of top five billionaires in the world. Along with his name we see Adani who is rising on the top of the list of billionaires. At the same time, an estimated 24.8 crore Indians may have moved out of multi-dimensional poverty in the past nine years, With UP and Bihar recording the biggest improvement, according to the recent Niti Aayog official report.
Multidimensional poverty is calculated on the basis of 12 parameters including health, education, housing, material health and bank accounts. Based on these parameters, it seemed to have reduced to 11.3% in 2022-23 from 2019-21 and 29.2% in 2013-14 based on the discussion paper by Niti Aayog member Ramesh Chand and senior advisor Yogesh Suri. So, it is hoped that by 2030 multidimensional poverty be reduced to half. However, more than half of the global population liv under squalid conditions, unemployment, hunger, poverty, housing, education, quality life, and basic amenities are the reality on the ground across the world.
The assemblage of crony capitalists, those representing some of the nation-states, CEOs, and business entrepreneurs who have defrauded the nations and shareholders have attained ‘celebrity’ status with a series of shows using all kinds of dubious ways meet at the World Economic Forum in Devos. Davos has become an annual feature of these crooks to meet and show to the world they are the drivers of economic engine in the world. Their duplicity we have seen how they pushed their vaccines during coronavirus and how much profits these big oligopolies made during COVID-19 period. For instance, the ways with which Bill Gates and Pfizer CEO got exposed in their interviews. There are many vaccine manufacturers who accrued huge profits by ways of dubious efficacies and narratives pushing their products.
The governments of the countries these vaccine and pharmaceutical companies originate and the regulatory bodies are hand-in-glove and so the global pharmaceutical corporations and the governments colluded together pushed these vaccines in huge quantities—to the tune of billions of vaccine doses. The global monopolies involved in the manufacturing of vaccines used COVID-19 Those who control agri-business, pharmaceuticals, technologies such as Google, Apple, Microsoft, and other involved in AI figures in top 100 companies that have in billions. For example, Elon Musk’s current wealth of about $230 billion could soon like tiny.
This is due to the fact that he could become first trillionaire in a decade, says UK-based non-profit Oxfam. At the same time Oxfam observes that ending poverty – the target for which is 2030 under the UN Sustainable Development Goals – may not be possible for another 229 years. Former Cuban president Fidel Castro said that while presenting its blue print at the UN at the turn of this century said: “Unless global poverty is erased, the future will be apocalyptic.” It is prophetic if we observe those crony capitalists the ways in which they are generated wealth. Oxfam notes that “Runaway inflation across the world has destabilized governments and pushed people to desperations, but if there’s one thing that’s grown faster than prices of bare necessities it is the wealth of the ultra-rich.”
Oxfam says that the “supercharged surge” enjoyed by the wealthy in the last three years has meant that billionaires are $3.3 trillion richer than in 2020, their wealth growing three times faster than the rate of inflation.” Meanwhile, global poverty remains mired at pre-pandemic levels. Adding further, Oxfam said: “Runaway corporate and monopoly power is an inequality-generating machine: through squeezing workers, dodging tax, privatizing the state, and spurring climate breakdown, corporations are funneling endless wealth to their ultra-rich owners. But they’re also funneling power, undermining our democracies and our rights.”
The global rich only a fifth of global population residing in the Global North own 69% o the global wealth. Concentration of wealth is aided by monopolies created by the wealthiest people and the largest corporation—Google to Amazon and Benard Arnault-owned luxury goods giant LVMH to Africa’s richest person Aliko Dangote. All these become evident that monopolies are everywhere. Oxfam’s International Interim executive direction Amitabh Behar said that “Monopolies harm innovation and crush workers and smaller businesses”. He added that “Governments must intervene to break up monopolies,” pointing to actions like the US anti-monopoly suit against Amazon and the European Commission’s probe against Google’s online advertising business.” Oxfam says people worldwide are “working harder and longer hours … The wages of nearly 800 million workers have failed to keep up with inflation and they have lost $1.5 trillion over the last two years.” It would take 1,200 years for a woman in the health and social sector to earn what an average CEO of a top-100 Fortune company earns in a year.” It also points out that “the quality of work and quantum of wages have declined for workers at the lower rungs.” Continuing further, it suggests that the effective corporate tax rate has fallen by “roughly a third in recent decades” even as privatization is fast becoming the order of the day. A wealth tax on the world’s millionaires and billionaires could generate $1.8 trillion a year; it estimates. ED and other regulatory authorities are selective in their pick. Longer the scams, the higher the activity, and so, one can assume the backing of high-level political involvement.
The scams in India are as deep as an ocean. The deeper one dives the darker it gets—a bigger fish. A glimpse at the layers of tax-paying would reveal how the tax-brackets furthers those who are already rich. Suhana Khan, bought three houses for Rs. 12.91 crores to save taxes as an agriculturalist owned by Sharu Khan’s sister-in-law and mother-i-law. Alia Bhatt bought an apartment for 37.8 crores under the name of name of her production house for a tax relief of 25 percent due to her company and one percent which she availed as a female buyer under the scheme of Maharashtra. KL Rahul and Athya Shetty received gifts worth 55 crores as wedding gifts but paid zero tax since marriage gifts not taxable. BCCI made Rs. 24,195 from selling IPL rights, but paid xero exes as it is a charitable organization.
Today 670 million poorest Indians pay 64% of the total tax which is about Rs. Rs. 14.83 lakh crore in 2022.
The middle class contributes 33% of the tax; the lower middle class pays six times more indirect taxes than the richest; the top 10% own 77% of the nation’s wealth worth $660 billion but pays only 3% tax. This is India which is no different than others countries sleazing and squeezing the sweat and labor of the poor and the lower-middle class. The world we live is for the rich and super-rich and they decide the lives of the weak, poor, and vulnerable.
Dr. John Mohan Razu