Les mar­chés finan­ciers, théâtres d’inégalités exa­cer­bées

The explosion of the equity markets  during the pandemic raises the question of an eco-system that exacerbates the inequalities. At the core of it lies the over-indebtedness of governments who had gradually accepted to tax consumers and workers to the advantage of corporations. The interventions of central banks , through low interest rates and massive purchases of government debts, favored issuers -primarily governments- to the detriment of savings. It drove retirees without any form of revenue on their lifetime savings. This flow of liquidity found its way to the equity markets creating a second inequality between those who benefit from the bonanza of equity values and those who live precariously. Last but not least the share buybacks and dividends continued to increase the equity prices in favor of shareholders and top management. Behind these imbalances is the ideology of the shareholder value that needs to be reviewed to integrate ethics, equality and societal considerations.