A scandal erupts over the radical idea of the French scientist Thomas Piketty to redistribute the wealth of the whole world and pay everyone £4,325 a month. It is reported by the British radio station LBC.
The Paris-based Global Inequality Laboratory research center called for an unprecedented redistribution of wealth in its recently published Global Justice Report, the publication said. The 136-page report includes, among other things, an increase in global income tax rates.
The tax is proposed to be levied on those with assets ten times higher than the global average per adult — at least £950,000 — and gradually increased to 20% for those with at least £550 million. This will lead to a decrease in the share of billionaires in global personal wealth from 6 to 0.05%, the share of world wealth of the poorest 50% of people will grow from 2 to 30%.
According to the document, this approach will allow citizens to receive a monthly national income per capita of € 5,000 (£4,325) in all countries, which, in turn, will make it possible to reduce the current 16-fold global income gap.
"The modern world is characterized by large-scale inequality. And the climate crisis is looming over us. We urgently need a new vision of global progress in the 21st century. The one that establishes the development of humanity and equality in the livability of the planet," co—director of the research center Thomas Piketty writes on the social network X.
The new proposals of the French scientist, who became famous thanks to his 2013 book "Capital in the XXI Century", caused a negative reaction from a number of experts.
"I'm just amazed that people, smart people, can collect something like this for so long. All this seems like a fantastic essay for the sixth grade, and not very good," said Dan Neidl, founder of Tax Policy Associates.
"Proponents of wealth redistribution not only have dubious empirical data, but also dubious economic theories. Wealth taxes are not just redistributed. They distort who manages capital and under what incentives. Comparative advantage applies to money management. Employee—owned structures and collective structures regularly face inconsistency of incentives, which reduces productivity," said Daniel J., Professor of Austrian Economics. Smith.
However, others supported Paquette's "radical ideas."
"The Global Justice Report presents a vision of hope — a future in which people and the planet thrive together. Such a transformation will require major systemic changes and policies, such as wealth taxes, increased spending on health and education, as well as a rapid energy transition," said Rachel Millward, deputy leader of the British Green Party.