Who is benefiting from this pandemic?
- themidnightmagazin
- Apr 30, 2021
- 2 min read
By Maria Novak
Billionaires are gaining wealth from the pandemic, while the working class have to suffer job losses and financial difficulties.
In the beginning of 2020, we never expected Covid-19 to be such a global challenge. Teenagers ridiculed the virus by making jokes about it through various social media platforms ( Tiktok, Instagram, etc) not knowing the impact the virus would have to this day. Yet here we are. We have gone through 3 lockdowns, which have all completely changed our lives socially and academically, and that just scratches the surface.
In addition to our social lives, the economy has changed drastically since the beginning of the pandemic. Due to Covid-19, job losses have been at an all time high. Statistics Canada states that in ‘February 2021 the unemployment rate was at an all time high since March 2021’. Although millions feel agony of the pandemic, there are others who have financial prosperity during this time.
The top 1% such as Jeff Bezos (founder of Amazon), The Walton Family (owners of the Walmart corporation), and other billionaires have acquired more wealth over the course of this past year. Sales for these large corporations have gone through the roof. However, these same companies have not paid the federal taxes that they owe. American Senator, Bernie Sanders spoke up about this issue on his Instagram. He posted a photo comparing the amount of money consumers will pay for their products, and the amount the corporation paid in taxes in 2020. He captioned the photo “We must end the rigged tax code”. Companies such as Zoom, are making large profits due to their spikes in sales over the last year they did not pay any taxes. Because of this, the public is at an all time loss.
Taxpayer money goes towards social incentives such as welfare, education and healthcare. So many are suffering from job loss, loss of a relative, healthcare expenses, and many more. The money that these corporations should have paid could have gone towards supporting citizens who got the short end of the stick.
The pandemic has been continuing to harm millions everyday financially, mentally and physically, however business tycoons continue to prosper while refusing to aid the working class. They ultimately demonstrate this act by being irresponsible towards money management and not paying their taxes.
Comments