Workers Solidarity Movement

Figures published in September by the Revenue Commissioners in the 26 Counties show that the top 50 earners in the state each paid less than 5% tax.Britain may be a richer country than 10 years ago but the gap between the rich and poor has reached levels not seen since more than 40 years ago. Government figures show that the richest 10% of the population control more than 53% of wealth, with the 1% mega-rich controlling no less than 21%.

Back in the 1970s the average American chief executive typically took home 40 times the wage of his average employee, he now pockets 170 times that of his typical minion.

Less than half the pledges made by the government during the 2002 election were ever fully acted on, just 48%. That’s the finding of Trinity College political scientists Robert Thompson and Rory Costello.

Mexican telecom tycoon Carlos Slim, who is estimated to be worth an estimated $67.8 billion has overtaken Bill Gates as the world's richest person. In Mexico a small elite holds most of the country's wealth while about half the population lives on less than $5 a day.

This article is from Workers Solidarity 100 Nov/Dec 2007

PDF of Workers Solidarity 100