
Rich Stay Rich, Poor Stay Poor is the new trend with the top 20% holding 70% of Canada’s wealth while its very poorest segment has no share at all. That is a fact…a scary fact. Canada has become a place where there are a very few extraordinarily wealthy people and a growing number of very poor people. Those few wealthy people control an increasing amount of the country’s wealth each year.
Arguably one of the biggest threats to the stability of world economies is the undeniable rise in economic inequality over the past decades. With few exceptions, economic inequality has been on the rise in advanced and developing countries alike. Regulation is a fundamental aspect of economic development. The big distinction between effectively developed and less developed country is the quality of the regulatory system.
Net worth is measured by what you own versus what you owe! Income levels are not an accurate indicator of wealth and income is only a small part of the big picture. It is how money is spent that really matters. Canadian household debt is $1.67 for every $1.00 of disposable income.
The super-rich fuel the inequality crisis by using their power to influence politics and to drive down wages. They are rich because they pay the lowest tax margin and invest their money off-shore…evading taxes.
The definition of Middle Class is conveniently malleable. It is a broad group of people in contemporary society who fall economically between the poor and upper class.
Fact is – there is a myth surrounding Canada’s middle class. People who live a comfortable life think they are middle class, yet they are fretting anxiously over bills. They own their own home, with a mortgage to go with it, have two cars in the drive-way, with payments owing each month, struggle to put their kids in dance class, ballet or sports then wonder when they will ever manage to save for their retirement.
If the ‘so called’ middle class
are struggling to make ends meet
then they are poor.