One man went to Davos and dared to say what Pepe Escobar thought no one would – that “it’s the inequality, stupid.”
Amid all the back-slapping exuberance of record high global stock markets and record high global net worth, John McDonnell, the U.K. opposition Labour Party’s spokesman on finance, came to the World Economic Forum in Davos with an uncomfortable message for the global elite…
“I just warn the Davos establishment: There’s an anger building out there that you need to recognize and deal with,”
As Bloomberg reports, most delegates in Davos have adopted an upbeat tone this week — reflected in the optimism of top bankers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Deutsche Bank AG who told Bloomberg they see a continuation in a global boom in dealmaking.
But as McDonnell warns, there’s an “avalanche of discontent” out there among the masses.
But in the Swiss resort, “there’s almost a sense of euphoria, it is extraordinary, and I think there’s a sense of complacency.”
McDonnell’s warning carries weight because he would be chancellor of the exchequer if Labour came to power — something investors are preparing for.
“Out there, beyond the Davos compound, many people — we saw it in the Oxfam report — feel the markets have been rigged against them, not for them,” McDonnell said.
“When they’re told we’re coming out of that recession, growth is returning and they don’t feel they’re participating in the benefits of that growth, that’s when people become really alienated and angry.”
Bloomberg reports that McDonnell then laid out a recipe for regaining the trust of the masses, including:
- Paying workers a “real living wage” and allowing them to share in the profits of the companies they work for.
- Recognizing trade unions and appointing workers to company boards.
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