Inequality is a political disease.

It is now well recognised that inequality causes mental illness which may, through drug use or enforced migration, cause physical harm. Armed forces know that uncertainty, through arbitrary use of power, makes people feel helpless and insecure but politicians prefer to define inequality in purely economic terms. It maybe because politics is about exercising power over others and crocodile tears about inequality allows them to increase taxes with which to bribe the poor for votes. In India we have dollar billionaires featuring in the list of the richest men in the world while arguing about whether earning Rs 33.3 per day makes you little bit poor as opposed to being dirt poor. Using these statistics the Congress doubled its tally in the Lok Sabha in 2009 by starting the MNREGA scheme, forgiving all loans to farmers and massively increasing salaries of useless civil servants. The results have been disastrous for the economy. Real GDP was growing at 8.1% in 2004, growth is 4.9% today, agriculture growth was 9% in 2004 vs 4.6% today, retail inflation was 3.8% in 2004 vs 9.6% today, car sales were growing at 27.2% in 2004 vs falling by 5% today, exports were growing at 23.3% in 2004 vs 5.5% today, Current Account was 2.3% in surplus vs 2% in deficit today. The only thing that has increased is the market capitalisation of companies to 62% of GDP vs 42% in 2004 as hot money flow has increased foreign ownership of stocks to 22% vs 16% in 2004. Even the IMF has weighed in with a report showing inequality increasing across the globe and Christine Lagarde has warned of its ' pernicious effects '. The report shows that countries with severe inequality has weaker growth. The IMF report recommends raising property taxes, taxing the rich more than others and raising the eligibility age for government retirement programs. Redistribution of wealth was the central pillar of communism which, with the disintegration of the Soviet Union, was shown to be a failure. But inequality is also increasing in the home of capitalism, the US. The reason is constantly increasing numbers of poor people in developing countries which allows American companies to use virtual slave labor abroad, reducing employment at home. Only by reducing the numbers of the poor can we increase their bargaining power. Or else inequality will increase as the rich exploit them to increase their own wealth. Trouble is the rich own the politicians as well.