Thank you again, Betty! I take your words to heart!
Bill, while inequality is not an easy issue, I think SDG 10 demonstrates that the difficulties are not a show-stopper.
The UN Sustainable Development Goal 10 is to "Reduce inequality within and among countries". Each of the SDGs has a set of targets and each target has one or more "indicators". Clearly it is a difficult question exactly how to reduce inequalities, but the targets and indicators for SDG 10 at least demonstrate that with a lot of discussion and a desire to find agreement, we can make progress.
Here is target 10.1: "By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national average"
And indicator 10.1.1: "Growth rates of household expenditure or income per capita among the bottom 40 per cent of the population and the total population"
Target 10.2: "By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status"
And indicator 10.2.1: "Proportion of people living below 50 per cent of median income, by age, sex and persons with disabilities"
Target 10.3: "Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard"
Indicator 10.3.1: "Proportion of the population reporting having personally felt discriminated against or harassed within the previous 12 months on the basis of a ground of discrimination prohibited under international human rights law"
And so forth - all the SDGs and their targets and indicators are available at https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/11803Official-List-of-Proposed-SDG-Indicators.pdf
All the nations of the world have unanimously approved these 17 SDGs. I think it amazing. To be sure, implementing the goals is another question, alas, but still, I think the SDGs show that when we take the global perspective, we are on the right track.
