All articles tagged with #inequality
A MoveOn-led counter-State of the Union rally on the National Mall drew Democratic lawmakers and progressive advocates to challenge Trump’s address, highlighting inequality and policies’ harms, with organizers claiming millions watched online and speakers urging a progressive alternative.
CNN argues that the U.S. economy looks solid on paper—2.2% growth in 2025, a strong job market, wage gains, and inflation easing with a stock market near record highs—yet consumer confidence remains near historic lows, affordability problems in housing and child care persist, and rising delinquencies plus a widening wealth gap paint a more mixed, politically charged picture ahead of the State of the Union.
Live Science’s interview with bioethicist Daphne Martschenko and sociologist Sam Trejo highlights that consumer genetic tests and polygenic embryo screening are advancing, but their predictive power is limited and often ancestry-biased. The pair debunks the 'destiny' myth, notes transparency and data-quality gaps, and cautions that embryo selection for non-medical traits could widen social inequities. They advocate for regulation and clearer communication of limitations to help the public make informed choices.”,
In What We Inherit, researchers Martschenko and Trejo argue that polygenic scores and commercial genetic testing could widen social inequality and erode genetic diversity, even as some benefits remain uncertain; they call for stronger regulation, better science education, and a careful, equitable approach to deploying this technology.
Global inequality has persisted since the 1980s, with the top 1% in the US rising from 9% to 16% of pre-tax income and Europe’s top 1% from 8% to 12%. Despite this, tax systems are becoming more progressive, a shift that could limit elite gains and influence politics, even as concerns about populism remain.
Inequality has risen across the rich world since the 1980s, with the top 1% accounting for a larger share of income (US from 9% to 16%; Europe from 8% to 12%), but tax systems remain more progressive than often assumed, indicating ongoing redistribution even as middle-class incomes stagnate and populism grows.
UN secretary-general António Guterres calls for transforming the global economy to value environmental health and human wellbeing over GDP, arguing current accounting incentivizes pollution and inequality; a UN panel is developing a dashboard that complements GDP with metrics on sustainability and equity as post‑growth, degrowth and related ideas gain policy traction.
A World Inequality Report led by Thomas Piketty shows extreme global disparities: the top 0.001% hold three times the wealth of the bottom half; the richest 10% own about 75% of wealth while the poorest half has ~2%. Income is similarly skewed, with the top 10% earning more than the rest of humanity combined and the poorest half capturing under 10% of global income. The gender pay gap persists (women ~25% of global labor income), and poorer countries are squeezed by a financial system biased toward rich states, reflecting enduring institutional and historical factors.
IMF director Kristalina Georgieva warned at Davos that AI could transform up to 60% of jobs in advanced economies (40% globally), risking entry-level roles for young people while some tasks are enhanced for others; the middle class could face pay pressure without productivity gains. She called for safer, more inclusive regulation as AI grows rapidly. Other Davos speakers highlighted productivity benefits, the need for global cooperation, and concerns about widening inequality as AI expands.
A Moody's Analytics analysis of Fed, BEA and Census data shows 59% of U.S. consumer spending comes from the top 20% of earners, while the bottom 80% accounts for 41%—a near-record K-shaped divergence. With inflation and a weak job market weighing on most, high-end households and stock-market gains are sustaining spending and wealth, which is now at its highest since World War II. If the rich slow down or markets falter, lower-income workers would bear the brunt.
Oxfam reports that the world's richest 1% have already used up their fair share of carbon emissions for 2026, with the top 0.1% exhausting their budget in just three days, highlighting the disproportionate impact of the wealthy on climate change and urging tax reforms to address this imbalance.
The article explores the paradox of AI as both a powerful tool for content creation and a potential threat to traditional publishing and employment, emphasizing the enduring human desire for community, uniqueness, and beauty, and discussing long-term economic and societal implications of AI-driven inequality and technological abundance.
The U.S. economy in 2025 was characterized by contradictions such as healthy growth amid slowing hiring, elevated inflation, and rising unemployment, with uncertainties about future trends due to data disruptions and technological impacts like AI potentially leading to a 'jobless expansion.' Economists are cautiously optimistic about 2026, expecting improved hiring and growth, but underlying inequalities and data collection issues remain concerns.
Global cancer cases and deaths have surged over the past three decades, driven mainly by population growth and aging, with low- and middle-income countries facing the fastest increases. Despite advances in treatment, disparities persist, and behavioral risk factors like tobacco use significantly contribute to cancer mortality. The study emphasizes the urgent need for equitable cancer prevention and control efforts worldwide to reduce future burdens, especially in resource-limited settings.
In 2025, the world's top 500 billionaires added a record $2.2 trillion to their wealth, driven by market booms and political events, with a small group of billionaires capturing a significant share of the gains, highlighting ongoing global wealth inequality.