Oxfam warns: Inequality soars in US amid $698bln billionaire windfall
4 Min Read
Oxfam exposes how decades of US policy, under both parties, have fueled inequality, poverty, and the erosion of basic social protections.
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In this photo illuminated by an off-camera flash, a woman walks past a homeless person's tent with a chair in downtown Los Angeles, Feb. 16, 2023. (AP)
The combined fortune of America’s ten richest individuals has soared by $698 billion in the past year, according to a new report from Oxfam America, underscoring the country’s widening wealth divide.
The study, released Monday, warns that policies enacted under the Trump administration could push inequality to unprecedented levels, though it also stresses that both Republican and Democratic governments have contributed to entrenching the gap between rich and poor.
Drawing on Federal Reserve data from 1989 to 2022, researchers found that the top 1% of US households accumulated 101 times more wealth than the median household, and nearly 1,000 times more than those in the bottom 20%. That disparity translates into average gains of $8.35 million per household for the wealthiest 1%, compared to just $83,000 for the typical family over the 33-year span.
Meanwhile, more than 40% of Americans, including nearly half of all children, now qualify as low-income, with family earnings falling below 200% of the national poverty line.
US ranks worst among rich nations on poverty and life expectancy
Compared with 38 higher-income countries in the OECD, the United States ranks first in relative poverty, second in child poverty and infant mortality, and second-lowest in life expectancy.
“Inequality is a policy choice,” said Rebecca Riddell, Oxfam America’s senior policy lead for economic justice. “These comparisons show us that we can make very different choices when it comes to poverty and inequality in our society.”
The report argues that decades of tax cuts, weakened labor protections, and a shrinking social safety net have allowed wealth to concentrate at the top, translating into outsized political influence.
Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill,” passed in May, was described as one of the “single largest transfers of wealth upwards in decades,” granting sweeping tax breaks to the wealthy and large corporations.
However, Oxfam stresses that the roots of the crisis are bipartisan.
“Policymakers have been choosing inequality, and those choices have had bipartisan support,” Riddell stressed. “Policy reforms over the last 40 years, from cuts to taxes and the social safety net, to labor issues and beyond, really had the backing of both parties.”
Report calls for sweeping policy reforms to restore balance
Oxfam’s proposed solutions span four major areas: rebalancing power through campaign finance and antitrust reforms; reshaping the tax system to better target corporate and individual wealth; rebuilding the social safety net; and strengthening union protections.
Still, the report acknowledges that these reforms face strong political headwinds, fueled by long-standing stigmas around welfare and taxation. It cites the “welfare queen” stereotype popularized under Ronald Reagan and entrenched resistance to taxation as a tool for economic fairness.
“What’s really needed is a different kind of politics,” Riddell said. “One that’s focused on delivering for ordinary people by really rapidly reducing inequality. There are sensible, proven reforms that could go a long way to reversing the really troubling trends we see.”
Despite gridlock in Washington, Oxfam highlights grassroots movements that are pushing back against economic inequality. Community leaders and labor organizers, including members of United Workers Maryland, say growing disillusionment among working Americans may signal a turning point.
“I think it’s brilliant that they see this as an opportunity,” Riddell said.
“I love thinking about this moment as an opportunity to look around us and realize our broader power,” he concluded.
