China, India drive 'tipping point' in global income inequality levels

THE World Economic Forum asserts that income inequality is the single biggest risk facing the planet, and the issue is currently at the heart of political and popular debate across much of the world. In the United States, for instance, the topic is already becoming central to the 2016 presidential election campaign.

Just recently, Republican candidate and US Senator Marco Rubio said that his party is "the champion of the working class" and too often unfairly portrayed as "a party that doesn't care about people who are trying to make it". Meanwhile, Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton called herself the candidate of "everyday Americans" and asserted that "every American deserves a fair shot at success . . . fast food and child care workers shouldn't have to march in the streets for living wages".

Interestingly, it is not just politicians, but also religious leaders, including the Pope, who have also raised the prominence of this issue. Pope Francis, for example, recently described the scale of global economic inequality as "pure scandal".