在世界经济论坛峰开幕之际,全球慈善机构乐施会发布报告称,新冠疫情期间每30个小时就有一位新的亿万富翁诞生,而2022年每33个小时就有近100万人正陷入极度贫困。乐施会建议向大发疫情财的亿万富翁们征税,补贴因生存成本上涨而陷入贫困的民众。
A new billionaire emerged every 30 hours during the Covid-19 pandemic, and nearly a million could fall into extreme poverty at around the same rate in 2022. Those are the sobering statistics recently released by Oxfam.
全球慈善机构乐施会近日发布的数据揭示了一个冷酷的现实:新冠疫情期间每30个小时就有一位新的亿万富翁诞生,而2022年每33个小时就有近100万人正陷入极度贫困。
There were 573 more billionaires in the world by March 2022 than in 2020, when the pandemic began, the global charity said in a brief that was published on Monday, the first day of the World Economic Forum summit in Davos, Switzerland. That equates to one new billionaire every 30 hours, Oxfam said.
乐施会在5月23日发布的一份简报上称,2022年3月世界上的亿万富翁总人数比2020年疫情初期增加了573位。乐施会表示,这相当于每30个小时就有一位新的亿万富翁诞生。5月23日是瑞士达沃斯举行的世界经济论坛峰会开幕的日子。
On top of that, it estimated that 263 million people could be pushed into extreme levels of poverty in 2022 because of the pandemic, growing global inequality and rising food prices that have been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine. That’s the equivalent of nearly a million people every 33 hours, Oxfam said.
此外,乐施会估计,2022年将有2.63亿人因为疫情、全球不平等恶化和乌克兰战争加剧的食品价格上涨而陷入极度贫困。乐施会表示,这相当于每33个小时就有近100万人陷入极度贫困。
The organization pointed out that billionaires were collectively worth $12.7 trillion as of March. In 2021, billionaire wealth represented the equivalent of nearly 14% of global gross domestic product.
乐施会指出,截至2022年3月,亿万富翁资产总和达到了12.7万亿美元(约合人民币84.6万亿元)。2021年,亿万富翁的总资产相当于近14%的全球国内生产总值。
Gabriela Bucher, executive director of Oxfam International, said that billionaires were arriving at the Davos summit to “celebrate an incredible surge in their fortunes.”
国际乐施会的执行总监加布里埃拉·布赫指出,亿万富翁们来达沃斯峰会是为了“庆祝自己财富的惊人增长”。
“The pandemic and now the steep increases in food and energy prices have, simply put, been a bonanza for them,” she said.
她说:“简而言之,疫情和当前食品能源价格的飞涨给他们带来了财运。”
“Meanwhile, decades of progress on extreme poverty are now in reverse and millions of people are facing impossible rises in the cost of simply staying alive,” Bucher added.
布赫还表示:“与此同时,几十年来对抗极度贫困取得的进步如今正在倒退,数以百万计的人正面临基本生存成本的突飞猛涨。”
Oxfam said the fortunes of food and energy billionaires rose by $453 billion in the last two years, equating to $1 billion every two days.
乐施会指出,食品和能源业的亿万富翁在过去两年间资产增长了4530亿美元,相当于每两天就入账10亿美元。
For instance, food giant Cargill was reported to be one of four companies that control more than 70% of global agricultural market, Oxfam said. The corporation, owned by the Cargill family, generated a net income of nearly $5 billion last year — the biggest profit in its history. There are now 12 billionaires in the Cargill family alone, it said, up from eight prior to the pandemic.
乐施会举了个例子,食品巨头嘉吉公司据报告是控制全球逾70%的农产品市场的四家企业之一。嘉吉家族拥有的这家企业去年获得了近50亿美元的净利润,这是该企业有史以来的最高利润。现在光是嘉吉家族内部就有12名亿万富翁,而疫情前共有8名。
Meanwhile, Oxfam said the pandemic created 40 new billionaires in the pharmaceuticals sector. The billionaires are those who profited from their companies’ monopolies over vaccines, treatments, tests and personal protective equipment.
乐施会指出,与此同时,疫情在制药行业催生出了40名新的亿万富翁。这些亿万富翁凭借各自企业对疫苗、治疗、检测和个人防护设备的垄断而获利。
In order to prevent even starker wealth inequality, and to support people with rising food and energy costs, Oxfam recommended that governments impose one-off solidarity taxes on the pandemic windfalls of billionaires.
为了防止财富不平等进一步加剧,给无力应对食品能源价格上涨的民众提供支持,乐施会建议政府向因疫情而大发横财的亿万富翁们征收一次性“团结税”。
The charity also suggested that governments end “crisis profiteering” by introducing a 90% temporary excess profit tax on the windfalls generated by big corporations across all sectors.
乐施会还建议政府通过对各行业大公司临时征收90%的暴利税,来终止富翁从危机中获利。
Oxfam also proposed a permanent tax to rein in extreme wealth, monopoly power and the higher carbon emissions produced by the super-rich.
乐施会还提议征收固定税以限制超级富豪的巨额财富、垄断权力和高碳排放量。
It said that an annual wealth tax starting at 2% on millionaires and 5% on billionaires could generate $2.52 trillion a year. That would be enough to lift 2.3 billion people out of poverty, make enough vaccines for the global population, as well as deliver universal health care and social protection for those living in low and lower-middle income countries.
乐施会指出,每年对百万富翁征收起步税率为2%的财富税,对亿万富翁征收起步税率为5%的财富税,一年就能产生2.52万亿美元的税收收入。这些钱足够让23亿人脱离贫困,为全球人口提供足够的疫苗,还能为中低收入国家的民众提供全民医保和社保。
Speaking to CNBC’s Karen Tso in Davos on Monday, Bucher said that there are people in a “battle for survival.”
布赫5月23日在达沃斯对话美国消费者新闻与商业频道的凯伦·左时表示,有些人正在“为生存而战斗”。
“We need to think about extreme wealth because there is extreme wealth, the hopeful part of all of this is that wealth exists in the world, it’s just very badly distributed,” she said.
她说:“我们需要考虑巨额财富,因为巨额财富确实存在。给人带来希望的是,财富存在于世界上,只是分配得很不公平而已。”
英文来源:美国消费者新闻与商业频道
翻译&编辑:丹妮