The level of income inequality between the rich and the poor has widened alarmingly in the last one decade between 2010 and 2022, taking Bangladesh to the brink of becoming a higher unequal country, says a report of a national daily recently. The alarming disparity is evident everywhere since almost all businesses have gone into the grips of businessmen linked to the ruling party for the past few years.
The government, in an attempt to showcase financial prosperity during its rule, has quite often tried to say that the per capita income has increased and now stands at $2469. In reality, wealth in any form actually went to the wealthy and nouveau rich people. The fact is – the millionaire and also billionaire boom is not a sign of a thriving economy but a symptom of a failing economic system. Particularly, in Bangladesh the people who are manufacturing RMG products, sending remittance from abroad, assembling our phones and growing our food are being exploited in order to enrich the local corporations and the wealthy. Their lives are not changing for the better in any aspect. This rising inequality has hit the country hard.
Thus, the government should focus on policies that would lead to fairer distribution of wealth and stronger workers’ rights. These could include introducing a better living wage, supporting labor unions and tackling gender discrimination. Moreover, instead of increasing the tax ceiling for taxpayers’ – tax policies should be used to reduce extreme wealth – and impose less tax on hardworking public.
We have seen how certain dubious syndicates have monopolised banking, energy and manufacturing businesses in Bangladesh and created more disparity between the rich and poor. If they are not stopped, we are afraid the gap will continue to widen. The budgetary allocation of the public money must not be for the election cost of the ruling party members as the next national polls are nearing where the deprived classes may become the prey of voting fraud with this illegal money. It seems that wealth inequality is now becoming a tool to monopolise the state machinery. It must not go in a society struggling to be inclusive where no one will be left behind.
