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U.S. economic polarization crying out for attention

Published

3 years ago

February 28, 2023

By Zhong Sheng, People’s Daily

The United States is the most economically polarized among Western countries. It has long been stuck in the conundrum where the rich get richer and the poor become poorer.

According to the latest data from its Census Bureau, the U.S. Gini coefficient hit 0.494 in 2021, setting a new record. The yawning wealth gap has become a chronic malaise of American society, leaving an indelible stain on the country’s democracy and human rights record.

Since the 1970s, income inequality and wealth disparity in the U.S. have continually deepened. According to a Federal Reserve’s latest report, the total wealth of the richest 1 percent reached a record $45.9 trillion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, more than that of the bottom 90 percent combined.

A Bloomberg report said that more and more wealth is getting to the top of the “pyramid,” which is the latest signal of the widening wealth gap in American society.

Currently, 37 million American people are still living below the poverty line. A survey by Pew Research Center suggested that one-in-four U.S. parents say there have been times in the past year when they could not afford food their family needed or to pay their rent or mortgage.

Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz commented that the U.S. has become a wealthy country full of poor people and a huge gap is dividing its upper class and other classes.

The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified economic inequality in the U.S. Excessive money supply and large-scale fiscal spending drove up stock and housing prices, bringing enormous benefits to wealthier asset owners. According to a Fed report on household wealth, the total wealth of the richest 1 percent increased by more than $12 trillion, or more than a third, during the course of the pandemic.

Besides, the economic recession triggered by the pandemic has led to massive job losses and further deterioration in the economic situation of low-income earners. The website of The Atlantic said that low-income people in the U.S. would usually delay seeing a doctor when they became ill, not because they did not want to recover, but because they had no money at all.

What’s more ironic is that during the pandemic, it was difficult for those in need to reach the relief measures of the U.S. A UN human rights expert said that U.S. responses to COVID-19 have fallen people in poverty.

The economic polarization has exacerbated social injustice in the U.S.

In the country, access to higher education is disproportionately skewed toward the rich, while the low-income group has no equal access to education. A study found that at 38 elite colleges in the country, more students came from the top 1 percent of the income scale than from the entire bottom 60 percent.

A report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development showed that more than 580,000 people were homeless in 2020, with 226,000 sleeping outside, in cars or in abandoned buildings.

A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association said the gap in life expectancy between the richest and poorest percentiles increased to 15.51 years in 2021.

Problems including growing ethnic conflicts, frequent urban riots and serious violent crimes in the country are all closely related to the widening wealth gap.

The wealth polarization in the U.S is inherent to its own political system and the interests of the capital that its government represents.

Over a hundred years ago, Republican Senator Mark Hanna said of American politics: “There are two things that are important in politics. The first is money, and I can’t remember what the second one is.”

Under the influence of money politics, the American government is more willing to serve a small group of rich people, rather than the interests of the majority of voters.

A study by the American think tank Niskanen Center showed that Members of Congress are usually more responsive to the opinions of the rich than the poor in their districts. Low-income constituents have a hard time holding their representatives accountable.

Singaporean scholar Kishore Mahbubani pointed out that the U.S. is functioning as a plutocracy instead of a democracy. A democracy is a government of the people, by the people, for the people, while a plutocracy is a government of the one percent, by the one percent, for the one percent, he added.

In the U.S., the world’s number one capitalist country, polarization between the rich and the poor is crying out for attention. U.S. democracy, which cannot find a solution to the wealth gap, is unquestionably hypocritic. The country should reach out to the people at the bottom, face up to the grim reality of the ever-widening wealth gap at home and take earnest measures to solve the problem.

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TAU reaffirms commitment to globally competitive learning

Published

2 days ago

November 29, 2025

Our Reporter

As 16 graduands make First Class

Stephen Olufemi Oni, Ilorin

The Thomas Adewumi University (TAU), Oko-Irese, in the Irepodun local government area of Kwara State, has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening quality education, innovation, and globally competitive learning.

Speaking at the institution’s 2nd Convocation ceremony in Oko-Irese, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Francisca Onaolapo Oladipo, said TAU is living up to its ranking as the fastest growing institution in Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine, and Innovation (STEM-i) ecosystem by surpassing more than 100 percent in its number of graduating students at the second convocation.

She said: “TAU emerged on April 8, 2021, as Nigeria’s fastest-growing Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine and Innovations (STEM-i) ecosystem. Today, we rank 1st among the 20 private universities that were licensed in
2021, 4th among the 14 Universities in Kwara State, 5th among Nigeria’s over 170 private Universities and 50th nationally, an impressive rise reflecting our unwavering commitment to excellence.

”What a Moment of Extraordinary Significance today, we stand at a crossroads far more significant than words can adequately capture. Exactly one year ago, we gathered at this very Auditorium to celebrate our inaugural Convocation, a ceremony that marked the graduation of 26 pioneering students who dared to believe in a vision when others saw only impossibility. Those 26 trailblazers proved that Thomas Adewumi University was not just a dream, but a reality rooted in excellence. Today, as we honour 63 outstanding graduates, we witness something far more profound than numerical growth.

“This 142% increase in our graduating class is not merely a statistic to be recorded in annual reports, it is a declaration that Thomas Adewumi University has transcended the realm of promise and entered the domain of proof.

“We have moved from potential to performance, from aspiration to achievement, from vision to velocity.
This year, 63 graduands from 4 Faculties and 11 academic programmes are being conferred. It is noteworthy that we have 16 First Class graduates, 40 in Second Class Upper Division, and 7 in Second Class Lower Division. These results reflect the quality of training and mentorship provided at Thomas Adewumi University, and we are proud to contribute these innovators to both the Nigerian and global workforce, confident that they will make a meaningful
impact.

”Preparing Globally Competitive Graduates, these 63 graduands are not merely degree holders, they are comprehensively prepared global professionals equipped with exceptional advantages that set them apart from their peers nationwide. Through our international partnerships, these graduates have obtained additional microcredentials from MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, Berkeley, and Yale, world-class certifications from Alison, UK, RUDN professional University, Russia, World Bank’s Saylor Academy, Google, ICAN, and the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development initiatives in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence.

“Our Coursera collaboration provided them with additional industry certifications, while partnerships with Microsoft, IBM SkillsBuild, and MIT OpenCourseWare through our Global Campus initiative democratize access to cutting-edge knowledge. They are thus fully equipped to embark on meaningful and innovative careers in today’s technology-driven world.”

Earlier in his Convocation Lecture, titled “Crowdfunding Opportunities forstartups: Equiping Nigerian graduates for a sustainable future”, Dr. Bayo Williams Olugbemi charged the graduads on the mindset of job creation, saying “as a graduate, your future is not defined by what Nigeria gives you, but by what you create. The idea of crowdfunding is the idea of hope. It is proof that when people come together, ideas once impossible become achievable.

“I urge you not to think only about searching for jobs. Instead, think about creating value, and if capital is a barrier, remember: “The crowd can be your first investor.”

In his goodwill message, the Executive Secretary of the National University Commission, Professor Abdullahi Ribadu, represented by Esther I. Eyo, Esq commended the resilience of TAU management said “NUC acknowledges TAU sustained progress in advancing quality teaching, impactful research, innovation, and community engagement, all of which align with our national aspiration for a globally competitive and knowledge-driven university system.

“It would interest you to know that, in the accreditation exercise conducted in 2023, Thomas Adewumi University achieved a 100% Full Accreditation status across all programmes assessed a laudable feat that reflects the University’s strong commitment to maintaining high academic standards.”

Also speaking, the Founder/Chancellor of the institution, Dr. (Engr) Johnson Adewumi, urged the graduands to be good ambassadors of the University, adding: “Remember that your degree is not an end but a beginning, go forth with courage, humility, and a sense of responsibility. Strive to illuminate whatever space you occupy with the light of integrity, excellence and service.”

Highlight of the event was the conferment of an honorary doctorate degree on two distinguished personalities; Engr Oluseyi Afolabi and Pastor Oladokun Olatunde.

End

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photo

Published

2 days ago

November 29, 2025

Our Reporter

L-r Speaker, House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas; President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio and Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, during the dinner for members of the National Assembly by the First Lady yesterday. Photo: Senate President’s Office.

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JUST IN: Even Tinubu moves with too many police escorts – Senator Ndume

Published

2 days ago

November 29, 2025

Our Reporter

By Hassan Taiye

Senator Ali Ndume has criticised what he described as the excessive use of security convoys by top government officials, including President Bola Tinubu, warning that the practice leaves ordinary citizens exposed and vulnerable.

Speaking on Politics Today on Channels Television on Thursday, Ndume said many public office holders move with security details that are unnecessarily large, even when their positions do not warrant such heavy protection.

He recalled visiting the residence of a colleague and finding “more than 10 policemen” attached to him, despite the lawmaker being junior to him in the National Assembly.

Ndume further argued that the presidential convoy itself is excessively large, stressing that security efforts should be focused on protecting the overall environment rather than individual personalities.

He said: “I went to one of my colleagues’ house for dinner. And I saw more than 10 policemen. He is even my junior in the National Assembly. Some of them, if you see them coming, you will pull back thinking that maybe it’s the President or the Vice President that is coming.
“

You can see even the president, the convoy that the president goes about with is too much. Secure the place and when the president goes, you withdraw. Secure Abuja and the president can even drive out, you know, himself.

But when you secure personalities, and this is what is happening in Nigeria, then others, common people, as we call them, become vulnerable, and we don’t care. So if you secure Abuja, then you can drive at night. And let me tell you, this is what is happening in most countries”.

The lawmaker’s comments come just days after President Tinubu ordered the withdrawal of police officers from VIP escort and guard duties.

In a statement, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the directive was aimed at redeploying police manpower to core law enforcement responsibilities.