[INFORMATIVE] The Billion Dollar Crisis: How Much Money is Too Much Money

The Billion Dollar Crisis: How Much Money is Too Much Money

By Amelia Taylor

Internationally, more than 700 million people are surviving on less than $3.65 per day, which is an indicator of extreme monetary poverty. With recent global studies showing that by 2030, there might still be 600 million people trapped in poverty, there's only one question to ask: “What's the solution?”.

The answer is an estimated $70-$325 billion per year for a minimum of seven years. While this may seem like a huge sum, it's only about 0.1%- 0.6% of the gross national income (GNI). Achieving this requires global budgeting and funding efforts, but it's not impossible.

Social pressures and the role of large-scale corporations play a significant role in poverty and climate change. In fact, billionaires, on average, emit 1 million times more greenhouse gasses than the average person. Their ‘investment emissions’ alone total a whopping 393 million tonnes of CO2e each year - enough to cause 1.3 million deaths due to extreme heat, according to research from Oxfam.

Alongside the staggering global waste trends of average consumers, the true environmental risk of biodiversity loss and record-high levels of climate change are all too real.

As of 2024, the number of billionaires internationally has reached a record-breaking 2,781, with their collective wealth amounting to a staggering $14.2 trillion. However, that money isn't spread out equally, it's mostly concentrated at the top of the economic heirarchy.

There is a select group of individuals considered to be a part of the ‘$100 Billion Club’ - an elite group of 14 members that has grown by almost 90% in the last 4 years, according to Forbes. To put this amount of wealth into perspective: if you spent $1 million every day, it would take over 2,700 years to spend just $1 billion. Now imagine trying to spend thousands of billions!

This very specific kind of wealth is only amassed by a few circumstances. For example, by generational inheritances, diversified assets such as billion-dollar corporations, or luxury real estate. This concentration of wealth is neither environmentally or economically sustainable for a few reasons.

Firstly, due to their carbon and greenhouse emissions, as previously mentioned. Additionally, the Social class risk poses a potential problem because it pushes negative consumer habits onto people who live off average incomes, without offering them any financial return.

The effect of negative consumer habits stretch far beyond the action of simply purchasing a product. It extends to psychological feelings of inadequacy or inferiority compared to others due to the products they possess, driving a need to buy more and more 'stuff' that no one truly needs. This leads to overconsumption of gadgets and clothing, which ultimately end up in landfills, where they sit for hundreds of years without decomposing. Overcrowded landfills host significant contributions to environmental degradation and biodiversity extinction, by releasing harmful greenhouse gasses like methane into the air we breathe, further contributing to global warming and climate change. Similarly, the toxic chemicals from decomposing waste can leach into the soil and groundwater, posing serious health risks to surrounding communities. The lengthy accumulation of non-biodegradable waste depletes natural resources and disrupts surrounding ecosystems.

As previously mentioned, having too much wealth is not sustainable, and it's not even healthy for those who have it- because we’re all on the same planet and therefore will suffer the same consequences of each other's actions. This includes the negative effects of deforestation to build

up more factories or poor-quality food resources due to chemical exposure from (said) factories. Hosting such a huge difference of wealth compared to average or less incomes creates a “ wealth gap,” where those who make around 300% less unfortunately suffer the extreme consequence of the actions of the top 1%. This can show up as a lack of basic necessities such as food, shelter, clean water, and proper healthcare.

A potential permanent solution would be policy change and lobbying for the health of this planet and every person and animal in it. For example, one effective policy change could be implementing an increased wealth tax that targets the highest earners of society. Additionally, stricter regulations on corporate environmental practices could be enforced to mitigate their ecological impact. Redirecting tax revenues from the wealthy towards social programs and organizations as well as "green" initiatives could potentially help bridge the wealth gap and promote economic and environmental sustainability. Another approach could be adopting a universal basic income to ensure a minimum standard of living for everyone. Lastly, holding our government and the ultra-rich accountable for the ignorance of their astonishing lifestyles should help us all move toward a more healthy and biodiverse planet.

There is still hope for a truly ‘green’ future for this planet, it simply requires dedication and the effort of all people globally to begin to reverse the shocking effects of the 1% and to demand environmental responsibility from our governments.


Sources
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Oxfam. “Richest 1% Emit as Much Planet-Heating Pollution as Two-Thirds of Humanity.” Oxfamamerica.org, 2023,www.oxfamamerica.org/press/press-releases/richest-1-emit-as-much-planet-heating-pollution-as-two-thirds-of-humanity/.Peterson-Withorn, Chase.

“Forbes’ 38th Annual World’s Billionaires List: Facts and Figures 2024.” Forbes,www.forbes.com/sites/chasewithorn/2024/04/02/forbes-38th-annual-worlds-billionaires-list-facts-and-figures-2024/.

Shieber, Jon. “Through Their Lifestyle -- and Their Investments -- Billionaires Are Fueling the Climate Crisis.” FootPrint Coalition, FootPrint Coalition, 11 Nov. 2022,

www.footprintcoalition.com/post/through-their-lifestyle-and-their-investments-billionaires-are-fueling-the-climate-crisis. Accessed 19 Sep. 2024.

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UNU WIDER, 23 Oct. 2023, www.wider.unu.edu/publication/new-estimates-cost-ending-poverty. Accessed 19 Sep. 2024.