The Guardian reports today that the gap between rich and poor has got wider, and that this disparity in the Uk is bigger than in any other of the wealthiest countries (although whether some of the countries previously considered the richest remains that way given the seismic shifts occurring at the moment remains to be seen).
Whether your politics are on the right or the left, whether you are rich or poor, this kind of gap is not good news on a societal level, and unrest is not far from the surface as was shown by the horrendous riots in London last summer.Reigning in the wealthy is very much on the political agenda now as well.
But on another level is the disparity good for business either ? Certainly in the last several decades our economy has relied heavily on consumer spending and if the majority are becoming comparatively poorer they won’t be able to afford to buy the goods and services which keep many of the richer people in the manner to which they are accustomed.
In case any of you just want a few snippet facts from the interesting guardian piece, see below, or follow the link for the full article at the bottom
- a new report by the OECD suggests that the annual average income in the UK of the top 10% in 2008 was just under £55,000, about 12 times higher than that of the bottom 10%
- In 1985 the ratio was 8 to 1
