From my experience studying global economic policies, it’s clear that addressing wealth inequality requires more than just local or national solutions—it must account for global realities, especially those involving the global South. Many economic models and redistribution plans focus primarily on domestic issues, neglecting the fact that much of the wealth in developed nations has been historically and continuously extracted from poorer countries through imperial and multinational corporate practices. For instance, tax policies targeting residential investment properties in wealthy cities like New York are often touted as progressive. However, these measures do little to halt the fundamental exploitation that funnels wealth from the global South into the pockets of the wealthy in the global North. While taxing luxury penthouses and high-end properties may generate revenue and deter certain tax avoidance strategies, it doesn’t address why such wealth disparities exist or challenge the global structures enabling wealth expropriation. This disconnect means that any plan for redistributing wealth which ignores how multinational corporations have profited by extracting resources and labor from less developed nations risks maintaining the status quo instead of creating real change. Moreover, protecting such systems under the guise of reform risks solidifying the asymmetrical power relations that benefit the world’s richest. It’s crucial to recognize that meaningful economic justice involves including the global South not only as beneficiaries but as active participants in restructuring the international economic system. Policies need to go beyond surface-level reforms and tax strategies. They must confront multinational exploitation, transfer pricing abuses, and the flow of capital that continues to disadvantage poorer nations. Ultimately, protecting the existing system without challenging these fundamental injustices only perpetuates exploitation. Genuine change requires realigning economic incentives and global solidarity so that redistribution plans do not merely redistribute within a flawed empire but alter the very foundations of economic inequality worldwide.