THE GROWING DIVIDE
(Abdullah Tariq, Karachi)
a rich man is heavier than thousands poor combined
The headlines of August 2020 revolved around two things, the blast in the Lebanese capital Beirut and the personal fortune of Mark Zuckerberg the co-founder of social media app Facebook crossing a record 100 billion US dollars.
Mark Zuckerberg joins the elite group of 3 people which includes himself, amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Microsoft founder Bill Gates. The group is called CentiBillionaires a term unheard of until now. As Coronavirus batters the economy of all countries and people are forced to confine to their homes there has been a massive surge in online buying and usage of apps such as Instagram Facebook and others causing a massive surge in stock prices and thus the increase in personal fortunes of those who own them.
On the other side of the coronavirus effect, millions have lost their livelihood in terms of jobs as the economy slows down and businesses are forced to shut down cutting down on millions of jobs worldwide with retail and the aviation industry taking a major hit. Small businesses have not been different many forced to liquidate.
The governments of different countries have stepped up to slow down the damage caused by the coronavirus lockdown and its economic impacts many trying to persuade corporations into keeping the employees giving them tax breaks and financial help, which is still far from repairing the lost livelihoods of millions.
The Covid-19 outbreak leaves us with a new world and many questions to ponder upon. It seems like the gap between the rich and poor is growing even wider every day. The footmarks of Capitalism can still be seen on the ravaged economy. New financial ideas need to dominate the capitalist market with strong checks on the growing divide. A new system to reward skills and hard work more than the fluctuations on Wall Street and the treasuries of Goldman sacs |