200 trillion dollars in global debt
Here is another, more radical view of the problems we are facing: http://www.thestreet.com/story/11332796/1/dont-blame-millionaires-for-wealth-inequality.html
The author says that there are a small number of extremely wealthy people who are sucking the life out of the global economy by holding 200 trillion dollars in debt over our heads. He advocates a global bankruptcy to eliminate this debt and get us free from these vampires.
The author advocates a tax, not on income, but on wealth: the savings of this tiny group of incredibly wealthy people. This is, of course, impossible because these people have bought the government that they want, and there is no chance of the government biting the hand that feeds it.
So, a global economic revolution? Man the barricades!
Conrad Theodore Seitz 