Comments by "Nigel Johnson" (@nigeljohnson9820) on "Davos 2022: What to expect from the World Economic Forum's most consequential meeting in 50 years" video.

Their most urgent challenge is how the super rich can continue to get ever richer.
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@virginiatyree6705 as wealth is concentrated in the hands of fewer and fewer people. They must address the risk that their wealth will no linger be recognised by the majority. In simple term the wealth of the rich is dependent on it being acknowledged by the rest of the population. We are reaching a point where such a revolted is increasingly likely. For the ultra rich, it would np longer be a matter of how best to preserve their wealth, but more a matter of preserving their lives. There are precedences on history, the French revolution, the fall of the Romanov and the faĺl of the Romanian Ceausescu regime. The ultra rich must know they will be first against the wall come the revolution.
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@virginiatyree6705 unfortunately Putin's buddies have only been inconvenienced by having some of their assets frozen, their actual wealth is still increasing. My comments are more to do with the ultra wealthy, who's wealth accumulates because they now control the laws that make them wealthy. At some point theft, murder and extortion ceases to be illigal, and just becomes good business. Taxes are only paid by poor people. The risk for the ultra rich is that their wealth becomes worthless, this might happen during a natural catastrophe, such as the effects of global warming. It could happen simply because society breaks down and the laws on which the rich depend, no longer apply. On UK paper currency, this is a promise to pay the bearer the face value of the note. This promise can be broken, as happened to Germany at the end of WWI, or during the stock market crash in the US. In a globalised market, such financial losses would also be global. You may only have a billion in the bank if the world population agrees you have. It's as fragile as the art market. What if the canvas with the daub of painted on it, is no longer worth the millions you paid for it, but is just a bit of rubbish. I suspect this is what will occupy the minds at Davos.
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@virginiatyree6705 the Ukrainian war may see an end to the evils of globalisation, as countries see their future in much greater self sufficiency. The ultra rich make their money from the process of globalisation, they exploit the wealth differences that exist across the globe, to manufacture where it cost the least, where environmental protection does not exist, and sell to the rich regions where it is now to expensive to manufacture. They also asset strip the world for raw materials. It is globalisation that has allowed the super rich to divest themselves of any national loyalties. Some have wealth that exceeds the GDP of many small countries, and have the power to define the laws to benefit themselves. That is why their moral crimes are not prosecuted, they have defined them as not being illigal. A case in point is the corruption of the US political system, that has made political bribery legal. The US politicians no longer attempt to hide the corporate bribes they receive. Pay enough, and you can get anything made legal, toxic dumping, tax evasion, worker exploitation, fraud, destruction of the environment, all legal activities if you pay the right politician. It is alleged, but obvious, that the former administration made a business of it. The world is full of kleptocracy and vested self interest groups. The common factor is they have accumulated sufficient wealth to be a law unto themselves. That is why the super/ultra rich continue to accumulate wealth, but it is not a zero sum gain, for them to get richer, the majority of the world must get poorer. High inflation does not affect the super rich, it is a consequence of their actions. They need the wealth differentials across the world to exist, the thing is they don't care which region is rich and which is poor, the profit is made through global trade.
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@virginiatyree6705 in the US, the rich use the fear of socialism as a way to manipulate the population and continue their greedy activities. Of all the US politicians Bernie Sanders impress me the most. US politics is so far to the right, even the left wing would still be regarded as conservative by more balanced countries. For a free market economy to work, it requires a government that actively reigns in the greedy excesses of capitalism. Without such control the profit motive becomes very destructive, destroying the environment and concentrating wealth until it is unproductive.
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@virginiatyree6705 the rich have always fostered a fear of socialism among the masses as a means of justifying their wealth gains. A common statistical trick is to use percentages to hide the absolute value increase in their wealth. 3% of billions is a lot greater than 3% increase in the minimum wage. Then there is the argument that you must pay the going rate for the jobs, usually used to justify obscenely large increases in the CEO manual bonus. There is always the " it could be you" argument used by national lotteries and millionaires who justify their tax avoidance strategy, by saying that you would do the same in their position. I find it interesting that the relatively poor oppose taxation on the super rich, because they are deluded into believing they will one day they will be sufficiently rich to pay the same level of taxes. (Opposing higher taxes for the rich, in the vain hope of future prosperity). There is always the trickle down argument, that the rich must be allowed to keep their money, because they will spend it in ways that male every body richer. This is clearly not true, or the wealth gap would not be growing. The real problem with government taxation is that it fall on the well off and not the super of ultra rich. The poor are too poor to be worth taxing and the super rich have sufficient money to buy the best legal and financial advice, thus avoiding paying any tax. In any case their wealth is sufficiently mobile to move to a safe haven. You certainly don't pay tax if you are richer than many small countries.
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