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Michael Roberts: OECD Advises Countries to Curb Extreme Inequality

Death to Capitalism

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Dandelion Salad

TheRealNews on Apr 14, 2018

Economist Michael Roberts says the change of tone within the OECD is interesting, but there are no takers ready to implement estate taxes to reduce inequality.

“MICHAEL ROBERTS: Yes, it’s a very surprising development. As you say, the OECD has a reputation for being neoliberal, as some of us say on the left, which means that they’re interested in preserving the interests of capital and not the interests of labor and generally trying to raise profitability for most economies around the world, for the sections that own the means of production. And this is a bit of a surprising report. And they’re saying that wealth inequality is much more important and much worse than income inequality, and something’s got to be done about it, which is a very big surprise.

[…]

MICHAEL ROBERTS: Well, there are several things, I think, Sharmini. First of all, is it the best way to tax people who are receiving benefits from when their parents or relatives die? Is that the most important issue, the personal wealth tax, which is the view of Thomas Piketty and others, the economists you talked about. Or is it more important to have real control over the concentration of capital which exists in the big corporations, the big companies, which control our means of production and lead to the generation of this huge income growth and wealth growth to the top 1 percent. Seems to me we should be looking in that area.

via Transcript

See also:

Inequality and exploitation by Michael Roberts

Inequality after 150 years of Capital by Michael Roberts

from the archives:

Mystery: How Wealth Creates Poverty in the World by Michael Parenti

Chris Hedges and Richard Wolff: Capitalism Does Not Work for the Majority of the People

The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger

Michael Roberts: The IMF Is Worried That With The Huge Increase In Inequality There Is Serious Danger Of Social And Political Unrest

What If Workers Ran Society? by Elizabeth Schulte

A Different Vision by Eric Schechter

Wealth Belongs To All Of Us – Not Just To The Rich by Dariel Garner