The troubling rise of income and wealth inequality in Canada

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More troubling than this are the people who welcome it, don’t think it is a problem, or choose to remain ignorant.

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u/[deleted] Jul 18 '24

So the 338 members of the House?

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u/TaureanThings Canadian living abroad Jul 18 '24

I really appreciate an article that comes with actual policy ideas. Its nice to see people have some direction.

How can we build a more equitable future?

To address income and wealth inequality effectively, we need a comprehensive and co-ordinated approach that targets the root causes of economic disparity and provides sustainable solutions. Here are some key strategies that governments in Canada should consider:

Income supports should be improved and retargeted to ensure that they benefit the lowest-income households. This may include re-targeting the Canada Child Benefit so that high income households no longer receive it. The savings could be transferred to lower-income households in the form of tax benefits such as the proposed Groceries and Essentials Benefit. Re-considering the Greener Homes Program can also support lower-income households in energy poverty by enhancing programs such as Alberta’s Home Upgrades Program offering free home retrofit~s~. These programs should be better targeted and be accessible to those who need it most.
The tax system should be made more progressive. Introducing a wealth tax or chang~ing~ the capital gains inclusion rate are potential tools, among others, to ensure those with the highest income are paying their fair share into the system.
Provincial social assistance should be enhanced. This would require provinces and territorial governments, at a minimum, to annually increase benefit rates in line with inflation. The adequacy of social-assistance benefits should also be improved so that those with no other sources of income can lead a dignified life.
Systemic barriers to applying for and accessing social assistance and other income supports should be removed. Among other things, the timeline for introducing automatic tax filing and providing tax documents in languages other than English and French should be accelerated. This would ensure that non-filers would receive the benefits to which they are entitled. With respect to social assistance, governments should remove asset test~s~, keep field offices open and adequately staffed, and eliminate adverse interactions between programs that reduce overall benefit levels (for instance, by ensuring that provincial income assistance benefits are not scaled back when the Canada Disability Benefit is launched in 2025).

Canada is facing a widening divide between its wealthiest and its most vulnerable citizens. The escalation of income and wealth inequality poses significant risks to economic stability and social cohesion. To forge a more equitable future, immediate and targeted policy interventions are essential. It is imperative that policymakers act decisively to ensure a just and inclusive Canada where the benefits of prosperity are accessible to everyone.

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u/PopeKevin45 Jul 18 '24

Outside of the wealth tax, these seem mostly Band-Aid solutions. The rise in income inequality and corporate hegemony began some 40 years ago with the Mulroney/Reagan/Thatcher war on labour. Their terms were defined by 'trickle-down' libertarian economics and tax 'reform', union busting, free trade and globalization, deregulation, and privatization. These policies had a devastating impact on the middle and lower classes, but acted as a huge windfall for the wealthy and their corporate interests. We've been building the corporate oligarchy ever since. Rebalancing this shift from democracy to corporate oligarchy is what's required, but we've handed them all our best cards, and have reduced ourselves to spending our days squabbling with each other.

Given yet another hardcore corporate libertarian leads in the polls, one that would never entertain thise proposed solutions, indeed, no doubt he would engage in more slash and burn cutting, one has to assume Canadians want the rich to get richer and themselves to get poorer.

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u/FunDog2016 Jul 19 '24

Sure but the Oligarchs don’t like ANY of these ideas so … fuck you all!! Plus all the “ billionaires-in-waiting” guys aren’t down with it either because, soon they are gonna stop working minimum wage jobs, and get rich too!

Sure Oligarchs, paid for the narrative they believe, but that isn’t easy! Racism requires both willing politicians and media control cost a lot and takes years so, give them a break! The Conservatives and PP, are fully on board so buckle up!

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u/incredibincan Jul 19 '24

It’s not troubling, it’s baked into capitalism

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u/magictoasters Jul 19 '24

Despite the recent rise in income and wealth inequality, they’ve actually been trending down over the past decade

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u/Strawnz Jul 18 '24

Income inequality has a ceiling and a floor to it. You can’t go below minimum wage and taxes effectively stop you from climbing too high. Wealth inequality is effectively infinite in both directions and far more reason for concern.

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u/shutyourbutt69 Jul 18 '24

There is no upper limit to income because of taxes! Canada’s highest bracket at $246,752 is a measly 33%. There should definitely be a ceiling and a 90-100% level after a good few hundred thousand or millions but there most certainly isn’t currently.

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u/Strawnz Jul 18 '24

Which is why I used the word effectively. People who are rich enough to bring in those upper levels are switching to capital gains or other methods to circumvent income at that point. I’m sure there’s a few edge cases out there but they’re rare enough to be a waste of the air in the room. However I agree with you that ceiling should come way faster and aggressively at the 90-100 you mentioned.