Inequality 'costs Britain £39bn a year'

(Guardian) The ever-increasing gulf between rich and poor in Britain is costing the economy more than £39bn a year, according to a report by the Equality Trust thinktank. The effects of inequality can be measured in financial terms through its impact on health, wellbeing and crime rates, according to statisticians at the independent campaign group.

Researchers pointed to the fact that the 100 wealthiest people in the UK have as much money as the poorest 18 million – 30% of all people – and said that the consequences of such unusually high rates of inequality needed to be acknowledged by politicians.

Duncan Exley, the trust's chief executive, said economists in the US had begun taking the issue seriously but that the UK was behind the curve in understanding the full extent of the harm that could be caused by inequality. "But people are starting to talk about the gap between rich and poor as we are seeing such a chasm now. Not only are wages stagnating and austerity hitting the poor hardest but the rising stock market and soaraway rates of top pay are rocketing in the other direction."

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