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40,000 children die every day from starvation, malnutrition, and disease. At the same time the World's 200 richest individuals possess more wealth between them than the poorest 2 billion. The World Bank estimates that 1.3 billion people live on less than $1 per day, and the number is increasing. After four decades of progress and the much-ballyhooed benefits of globalization, the 20 wealthiest countries now have 74 times more income than the poorest 20 percent. While the U.S. and developed European economies storm ahead on a wave of enormous and sustained prosperity, many of the world's nations have been left far behind. From 1990 to 1996, an era of great prosperity for the fortunate, only 33 countries achieved growth rates above 3 percent per year. Often perceived as a local problem, the growing similarity around the world of the sources and consequences of economic disparity now creates an opportunity for a shared resolution. Common problems, in many cases, have common solutions. More immediately problematic is an increasing gap between the super-wealthy and the underclass within the same country, and even the same city. This gap creates an unsustainable and dangerous social dynamic, as well as a morally challenging disparity between individuals living in the same communities. According to documented social and medical patterns, denizens of the poorer quarters in Paris now have more in common with the residents of the South Bronx, thousands of miles away, than they do with their elegant compatriots a few kilometers away in the 16th arrondissement. The obvious risk of this disparity is the potential for a social short circuit, causing friction or even a violent explosion. The resulting social and economic damage could be extensive. Such a catastrophe is all too possible. You can explore strategies and solutions for addressing these economic issues in the Plan section.
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