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Is the Solution to Extreme Wealth Inequality Really – Alaska?
Article

Is the Solution to Extreme Wealth Inequality Really – Alaska?


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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Innovative

Recommendation

When the world’s eight richest people hold the same amount of wealth as half of the remaining seven billion, it is clear that extreme income inequality is a fact of life. Economists and experts all have their ideas on how to narrow the wealth gap, but as writer Scott Santens notes in this enlightening article, the US state of Alaska may be on to something. Its Permanent Fund Dividend allows all Alaskans to reap the financial benefits of the state’s natural resources. And therein perhaps lies the seed of new ways to tackle wealth inequality. getAbstract recommends this intriguing report to politicians, economists and anyone looking for inequality solutions.

Take-Aways

  • One view of income inequality posits that land ownership is responsible for almost all the disproportionate growth in wealth. A “land-value tax” would provide funds for wealth redistribution.
  • The decline of union bargaining power also drives inequality. An “unconditional basic income” that would pay every citizen a minimum amount could substitute for unions’ wage bargaining power.
  • The state of Alaska directly pays part of the income from the state’s natural resources to its citizens.

About the Author

Scott Santens is a writer, blogger and advocate for a universal basic income.