Right now 10% of the world’s population controls 80% of the world’s resources. (Credit Suisse Bank World Wealth Report 2019)

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From 2009 to 2012 the richest 1% Americans captured 95% of all income gains in the country. (Business Insider, Aug 3, 2020)

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From 2009 to 2020 the wealth of the billionaire class in the United States increased by 80%. (Business Insider, Aug 3, 2020)

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From March to August 2020, during the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, 40 million Americans filed for unemployment while the American billionaires increased their wealth by $637 billion. (Business Insider, Aug 3, 2020)

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This is because our financial and economic system is designed to almost always generate some profit for the 1%. Every single thing you buy on Amazon, Walmart, or the convenience store generates profit for the 1%. Every time you pay any kind of interest on loans or credit cards, they mostly go to the 1%. There is no free market if the 1% or the 10% control most of the things that are being produced, distributed, and sold. They have the money needed to start any business, they control the natural resources needed for any type of production, and they control the market places where the products are sold. 

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For example:
When you go to a store you might have 50 different types of chips you can choose from, but must of them are brands owned by two or three corporations. Almost all the products you have available right now are produced by the same corporations. You might have the illusion of freedom when you choose among their products, but they decide what options will be available for you, and every time you pay for something a portion of your money goes the 1%.

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This is not just some issue of some people having more than others. If everyone had enough, and everyone had freedom and self-determination, it wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing if some people had more extra cash than others. If a couple of people could buy more shoes, clothes, or cars, or if they could go to more luxurious restaurants or destinations on their vacations. However the fact is that many people are struggling with poverty or near poverty conditions, while a few others control 80% of the world's resources. And the problem is not just that some don’t have enough and others have in excess, but that the amount of economic inequality that exists transforms itself to power inequality. By controlling 80% of the world’s resources these people control the production of almost everything in the planet; they control or influence how the natural resources are extracted from the planet, the job opportunities for most of the people, and the conditions they are going to be working on; they control most of the market places, they own most of the brands you can choose to buy from; they control the media and the advertisements you are exposed to; they influence politics and laws by lobbying, by promising investment or threatening with capital flight, by controlling the narrative in the mass media, by having access to politicians, and through corruption. These people, even if they don’t know it, make decisions that affect all our lives, and the lives of every living creature on the planet. If you want to know more about this, click here.