Do the “the rich get richer while the poor get poorer”? The Wealth Gap Key questions: Do the “the rich get richer while the poor get poorer”? Can uneven development be addressed by trickle down of wealth or tackled more proactively?

Mind the gap! You may have heard the phrase: “The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer” It’s certainly true that the rich are getting richer all the time, and much faster than poor people are catching up with them. The result is that the income gap between rich and poor seems to get wider. Look at 'Widening the wealth gap' and 'Where's the bulging wealth' interactives (or view the word version of 'Where's bulging with wealth' or the word version of widening the wealth gap) and see if you can work out roughly how much the wealth the world’s  top 100 billionaires grows each second compared with the World’s 100 poorest countries– you may need several attempts at this.

Is it OK for the rich to keep getting richer…? TRICKLE OR TACKLE? Sort the cards into two piles: 1 – the problems with billionaires 2 – why billionaires are great For the statement that you have been allocated use the information on the cards and their own knowledge to formulate an argument to support your statement.

Is it OK for the rich to keep getting richer…? Trickle or tackle? Make your case!   It’s tricklers versus the tacklers  Are you a ‘trickler’ who believes:  Billionaires already do enough to help the poor as their wealth trickles down to them and benefits a lot of people OR Are you a ‘tackler’ who believes that:  Billionaires need to do more to tackle poverty and help the poor, they hold on to too much of their wealth and they don’t need it all.  In groups you will have to argue your case.  After the debate vote for whether you think billionaires are ‘Givers of Wealth’ or ‘Guardians of Fortunes’.

Is it OK for the rich to keep getting richer…? - Plenary Read the ‘Things Everyone Should Know’ sheet and discuss the outcome of the vote. Finally explain what you would do if you become a billionaire. Even without being billionaires, we are very rich in comparison to most people on the planet - what do you think about this? What are we doing about this? Should we do anything?

Homework Consider billionaire JK Rowling’s quote: "I think you have a moral responsibility when you've been given far more than you need, to do wise things with it and give intelligently” Create three billionaire quotes of your own which tackle the poverty gap from different view points.