US Economy: might look good based on Wall Street figures, but certainly not good for "Joe Bloke" and the "Have Not"s

US economy might look good, but reports show collectively, Americans have more than $1 trillion in credit-card debt, according to the Federal Reserve.

They have another $1.5 trillion in student loans, up from $1.1 trillion in 2013. Motor vehicle loans are now topping $1.1 trillion, up from $878.5 billion in 2013. And they have another nearly $15 trillion in mortgage debt outstanding.

EU-Digest

Economic Disparity: The 1% grabbed 82% of all wealth created in 2017

For every $10 worth of wealth created last year, the world's richest 1 percent grabbed $8, according to a new report from Oxfam International.

"The billionaire boom is not a sign of a thriving economy but a symptom of a failing economic system," said Winnie Byanyima, executive director of Oxfam International.

The report also estimated the bottom 50 percent of the world's population saw no increase in wealth.

Note Almere-Digest: This disparity problem could easily be given some relief through the reduction of military budgets around the world, and funneling these funds to less fortunate countries. Looking at the Military Industry world-wide - the US spends $ 611.2 billion  per year on their military complex. This is double the amount of what China and Russia are spending together. Another remarkable fact is that the autocratic Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's military budget of $ 89.9 billion is more than that of Russia, which is $65.6 billion. And really, if we think about it,what has all that global military hardware brought us? Even more human misery and disparity. 

Read more: The 1% grabbed 82% of all wealth created in 2017 |

Corporate Global Control: The Illusion Of Choice: These 10 Companies Are Responsible For Virtually Everything Around You

A chart via Reddit shows how ten huge corporations control the production of almost everything the average person buys, from food to clothes to hygienic products.

$84 billion-company Proctor & Gamble is the largest advertiser in the U.S. and owns enough brands to serve 4.8 million people around the world, according to LinkedIn.

Nestle is famous for its chocolate, but the $200 billion-corporation is also the biggest food company in the world. It also owns L’Oreal, Gerber, Diesel and even pet food makers Purina and Friskies.
Serving two billion people around the world is renowned soap-maker Unilever, which can attribute the majority of its success to its ownership of Q-tips and Skippy peanut butter.

For the complete report click here: The Illusion Of Choice: These 10 Companies Are Responsible For Virtually Everything Around You

Rich versus Poor: Inequality rises across the Globe: 85 richest people as wealthy as poorest half of the world

The world's wealthiest people aren't known for travelling by bus, but if they fancied a change of scene then the richest 85 people on the globe – who between them control as much wealth as the poorest half of the global population put together – could squeeze onto a single double-decker bus.

The extent to which so much global wealth has become corralled by a virtual handful of the so-called 'global elite' is exposed in a new report from Oxfam today January 20. It warned that those richest 85 people across the globe share a combined wealth of Euro 1.22 trillion ( US $ 1.65 trillion), as much as the poorest 3.5 billion of the world's population.

The Oxfam report lists five key policies governments can adopt to reduce inequality and recommends that the mix of policies should be tailored to the national context. The five are: universal health and education; progressive taxation; removal of barriers to equal rights and opportunities for women; land reform and income support programs.

Read more: Inequality rises across the G20 as economic growth fails to trickle down to poorest — Oxfam America