Pressing issues: No question, income inequality was a major issue at Malaysia’s GE14 – made worse with widespread corruption, rising living costs and falling purchasing power of the ringgit. — Bloomberg
THE global rise of populism in recent years is understandable. It’s a worldwide phenomenon. Ordinary citizens are feeling ignored – and fed-up. Widespread corruption and more-of-the-same in politics and government have resulted in a global “groundswell of discontent,” in the face of growing inequalities in income, wealth and opportunities.
Both liberals and conservatives agree that income inequality has increased globally since the 1970s. Just look at the rich Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): the rise in inequality in the decades running up to the 2008 financial crisis has persisted. While in the ‘80s the top 10% of earners had incomes that were seven times as large as those of the bottom 10%, that ratio had risen to 9.6 times across the OECD’s 34 members by 2013.
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