Unending economic crisis sharpens class divisions
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- Created: Tuesday, 10 February 2015 13:08
- Written by David Yaffe
The international agents of the dominant imperialist powers are eager to declare an end to the Great Recession precipitated by the financial crisis of 2008. They desperately want to announce the success of the austerity programmes imposed on millions of working class people throughout the world. Reality will not conform. Their policies have not only failed, but are being challenged ideologically and politically as mounting opposition starts to confront the centres of capitalist power. David Yaffe reports.
‘Less than 100,000 people, 0.001% of the world’s population, now control over 30% of the world’s financial wealth.’ This astonishing and ridiculous figure is presented in the Tax Justice Network’s The Price of Offshore Revisited. Having revised earlier calculations they now estimate that ‘at least $21 to $32 trillion as of 2010 – has been invested virtually tax-free through the world’s still-expanding black hole of more than 80 “offshore” secrecy jurisdictions.’ They offer a caution, ‘Remember: this is just financial wealth. A big share of the real estate, yachts, racehorses, gold bricks – and many other things that count as non-financial wealth – are also owned via offshore structures where it is impossible to identify the owners.’ 
