Summary Of Thomas Piketty's Capital In The Twenty-First Century '?

Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century is concerned with income inequality. His central thesis is based on the equation r>g, where r is the average annual rate of return on capital, and g is the growth of the economy. Piketty’s main argument is that invested capital will grow faster than income, the implications of which are profound. To put it simply Piketty believes that if r>g, the rich will get richer while those who rely on income will never catch up to the wealth of people who are already rich. Piketty’s findings are nothing new; they are a structural feature of capitalism dating back centuries. They also resonate in today’s context with the Occupy movement, pitting the 99% against the 1%. In his book Piketty puts forward umpteen prescriptions, one of which is a global tax on capital. For Piketty in an ideal world a global tax on capital would rectify this unequal distribution of wealth, however is such a tax system feasible?

What Piketty propounds is that when the rate of return on capital significantly exceeds the growth rate of the economy (r>g), then it logically follows that inherited wealth grows faster than output and income. This results in a concentration of wealth, which can lead to political,

Piketty proposes a permanent annual tax on capital. He suggests rates of 1% for fortunes between 1-5million euros and 2% above 5 million euros, which if applied could bring in a significant amount of revenue. Oracles Chairman Larry Ellison who is worth reported $41 billion as of September 2013 was a high school drop out who held a number of odd jobs through the years until he founded what is today one of the world’s largest technology companies (Business Insider). Ellison who would be an ideal candidate for Piketty’s tax is an example of hard work and a “rags to riches” story, in contrast to the picture Piketty paints of the rich getting richer through inherited