Concentration of wealth in few wrong way is becoming threat to social peace

EXTREME poverty rate in the country has dropped to 12.9 percent in 2015-16 as per a report of World Bank that The New Nation published recently. It is definitely a very positive development from 13.8 percent in the previous year to show rapid transformation in the condition of the poor with some skeptics however questioning the overnight success. The WB mainly counted cash transfers, gender equity in education and success in family planning as poverty reduction indicators. Nonetheless, we want to see extreme poverty must end quickly and even earlier than 2030 as the WB pointed out. Meanwhile, there is no doubt Bangladesh is making good progress in this regard.

But what is becoming more agonizing now as poverty level is declining is the rapid rise in income inequality in the society, which is overshadowing the relative success in poverty reduction. As national income and wealth is concentrating in the hands of a section of powerful people dominating politics and increasingly holding control over national resources, the success in extreme poverty reduction is now going to overtake by a malady of a section of extreme rich in the society. Such income inequality is going to further accentuate the concentration of wealth in the hands of few to create more divisiveness and distributive injustice in the society. In our view it is time we must refocus attention how to create a situation of relatively balanced socio-economic growth, which will put a brake on acquisition of illegal wealth and income by corrupting means so that people in the lower strata of the society will get greater share of income and resources. It is not enough to end extreme poverty; we must slowly give greater opportunity to the poor now to improve their condition. It needs new policy outlook and on top of it change in our political system and institutions, which is however unthinkable with present political leadership and bureaucracy. They work for the rich at the powerful at the cost of the common people.
 
Bangladesh has immense resources and opportunities but corrupt and selfish leadership – now and in the past – is what is the biggest impediment to the development of a prosperous nation with reasonably equitable distribution of wealth and income. So the bigger section of people was forced to live from hand to mouth while a smaller section possesses everything. Here bank looting is a routine matter, heist of central bank money is easy and misappropriation of budgetary resources goes unaccounted. Land grabbing, toll collection and illegal occupation of property are easy way of amassing wealth.

In our view we can’t feel complacent from the fact that the number of extreme poor is fast declining; the biggest emerging challenge to the nation is how to stop income inequality before it becomes a threat to social peace.