In his final speech as vice president, Joe Biden warned that the top 1 percent needed to pay their fair share, or else.
Biden delivered his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland, which is attended by world leaders, top executives, investors and members of the press.
The outgoing vice president started his speech by noting that there is a "palpable sense of uncertainty about the state of the world," and we need to ask ourselves, "What kind of world are we going to leave for our children?"
The main theme of his speech was that the "liberal international world order" is at risk of collapse, as bad actors like Russia meddle in elections and try to undermine the progressive values of the United States and Europe.
Bad actors have always existed, Biden said, but their potential impact feels greater now than in years past. Part of the reason is that income inequality has risen creating pressure on the world order as we've known it, he asserted.
While it is "easy" for business leaders and politicians to embrace the benefits of globalization at a place like Davos, Biden warned it is at "our peril" to ignore fears across the developed world.
Globalization is benefiting people at the top, and some people at the bottom. Biden warned, however, that the middle class is being hollowed out. The middle class historically has been the engine for growth and the source of social stability.