RISING  WEALTH  INEQUALITY 


There has been rising inequality in wealth as well as iincome (the gap betweenn top 10% and lowest 20 

% of the populaton),  in US, over last several years. Such inequality is even greater in India. One of the 

striking aspects of wealth inequality has been soaring levels of executive pay. Wealthy also have a 

disproportionate influence on public policy thru campaign contributions and heavy lobbying. In India,

the nontransparent  electoral bond scheme has facilitated large cororate donations to the ruling party.

There has also been a tendency on the part of  large corporations, to exploit the corporate loopholes

and use of tax havens, to avoid taxes.


Globalizaion, automation and the decline in labor unions have made the life of ordinary workers more

precarious. In developing countries, the social safety net is even patchier than in the US. 


UBI (Universal Basic Income) could be a great relief for the stark uncertainties faced 

by the vast numbers of self-employed and marginalised casual and migrant workers, in India. Modest

UBI couuld be paid for with some additional taxes on the wealthy. At least a start can be made by  

UBI supplement for women only. Such UBI payments can be facilitated by digital transfers to 

individual bank accounts, using the newly installed biometric id system for more than a billion people 

of India,


                                    [ Based on "The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism" by Martin Wolf and

                                      "A World of Insecurity" by Pranav Bandhan]

                                      


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