While 50 million Americans in these seven months they have lost their jobs due to the coronavirus crisis, the super rich in the US have become even richer. THE 643 billionaires who live in the United States have increased their fortunes by 29% since March 18, as lockdowns occurred around the world and millions of companies shut down their activities.
According to a report by the Institute for Policy Studies, a progressive think tank, the total assets of these 643 people grew by 845 billion dollars, from 2,950 billion to 3,800: that is almost 5 billion dollars more per day.
The richest man on the planet took another leap forward: Jeff Bezos, founder and head of Amazon – the platform that has become almost the only possibility for millions of people to shop during closure – went from owning 73 billion to having 186.
Elon Musk has practically quadrupled his fortune, reaching $ 92 billion, e Mark Zuckerberg almost doubled it, reaching 100 billion.
The news (predictably) caused a stir and outrage, and brought back a proposal by Democrats Bernie Sanders and Ilhan Omar – both from the party’s most radical wing – who calls for a one-off tax for the tech ultra-rich: the «Make Billionaires Pay Act»Would tax their earnings at 60%. If it passes, Bezos and Musk would pay around $ 70 billion in taxes in two (to cover Americans’ healthcare costs). Some states are already trying: New Jersey, as announced yesterday by dem governor Philip D. Murphy, became one of the first to raise taxes on income above a million dollars, raising the tax rate by almost 2 percentage points (now the tax rate is 10.75%).
With this “compensatory” measure, the State aims to give aid of $ 500 to families in difficulty for the pandemic. But Republicans warn that the measure could lead to the flight of thousands of wealthier citizens. “We have no grudge against those who are successful in life – said Governor Murphy – but in these unprecedented times the time has come for sacrifice even for the wealthiest of us”.
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18 September 2020 (change September 18, 2020 | 17:51)
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