This former CFO of Yahoo! asked a panel at Davos why they kept talking about taxes. The response from Oxfam director Winnie Byanyima was epic.
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00:00So don't tell me about low levels of unemployment.
00:03You are counting the wrong things.
00:05You're not counting dignity of people.
00:07You're counting exploited people.
00:24I'd say, honestly, this is a very one-sided panel.
00:27Today, the U.S. basically has the lowest unemployment rate ever,
00:31the lowest black unemployment rate ever,
00:34lowest youth unemployment ever.
00:36We've actually reduced poverty around the world.
00:38No one's talking about that at all.
00:41So why don't we talk about that?
00:42The gentleman who talked about,
00:44who said we've just talked taxes and that jobs are there
00:48and there's low unemployment rates are low,
00:51let me tell you something.
00:53We're talking about jobs, but the quality of those jobs.
00:56I can tell you about a company.
00:59I took a taxi in Nairobi recently.
01:02I was charged less than $2 for a taxi ride.
01:05Where in the world do you go in a taxi for less than $2?
01:10I asked the taxi driver.
01:12He was from one of these companies I won't mention which.
01:15I said, how much are you getting out of this?
01:20He said, 20% must go to the global company that owns the network.
01:25So I said, then what about the rest?
01:27He said, the rest I have to share with the owner of the taxi
01:30out of $2.
01:32I asked him where he rents his home, where he lives.
01:36He said they rent a room, three taxi drivers.
01:39They sleep in turns, six hours, five hours,
01:44because none of them can afford to rent a room.
01:47That's the job.
01:48Those are the jobs we are being told about
01:51that globalization is bringing jobs.
01:53The quality of the jobs matter.
01:56It matters.
01:583.4 billion people who earn $5.5 a day are on the verge,
02:04are just a medical bill away from sinking into poverty.
02:10They don't have health care.
02:12They are just a crop failure away
02:15from sinking back into poverty.
02:17They have no crop insurance.
02:19So don't tell me about low levels of unemployment.
02:22You are counting the wrong things.
02:24You're not counting dignity of people.
02:26You're counting exploited people.