Middle class eroding: study shows shocking wealth inequality in Canada
- Thread starter mentalfloss
- Start date
I'm guessing that you didn't make $100k this year... How much did the CRA ding you for?
I think the more socially dangerous fact surrounding this issue is that the top 1% gets 99% of the access to govt. In that I am saying the regular working person is not able to get meetings with the PM or Premier or ministers or most times not even their own MP/MLA to discuss their concerns or try to gain govt support for their needs/wants. The wealthiest 86 people most likely get a call back from Harper himself when they call the PMO whereas you or I will get some intern to the PA of a junior staff member in the PMO if any response at all. That my friends is why there is so much distrust of govt and why most citizens feel disenfranchised. The fact that this access to the higher levels of govt usually results in the richest getting legislation they want or project funding or contracts simply makes the rich richer while the rest of us seemingly foot the bill. It is this part of our system that is broken and it is being recognized by more and more people all the time giving to the overall hatred of govt by the general population. Until we change this the disparity between the upper echelon of wealth and the middle/lower classes will continue to grow at a rapidly increasing rate.
You can have an offshore account too, it's a pain in the ****, and if you do it to hide taxable income the CCRA will get you no matter how rich you are. The IRS is even worse,(or better depending upon your viewpoint); a co-worker of mine rescinded his US citizenship because the IRS was going after everyone, and while his main purpose in life is to die rich, he would rather pay Canadian taxes (and Nova Scotia taxes to boot) than have to put up with the harrassment from the IRS to file retrurns where he owes nothing to them.
You can hate the rich man all you want, but I've never had a poor man give me a job.
I guess I've been lucky, I get a phone call from my MP, (Peter Stoffer) every time I have a letter to the editor printed in the local paper. He has never failed to return a phone call either, even though I have never voted for him. I am still miffed at him though for backtracking on his promise to vote for the end of the firearms registry, ( he was the swing vote at the time), and I told him so.
Sure but if you called him and asked him to vote a certain way on minimum wage or build a road somewhere he would smile, nod and do what he pleased whereas one of those 86 people who backed him with a few hundred grand would get his new road.
Yup, you're right in that regard, he is unimpeachable in that aspect, and for that he has my utmost respect. My problem was that he was swayed by the mass of calls, e-mails and letters to change his mind blindsiding those who trusted him at his word and remained silent, which is where my respect for him was lost. There was no warning nor any chance to rebut or challenge the attack from the other side, had there been I'm sure Mr. Stoffer would have seen that the majority of his constiuants did favour the demise of the registry.
The rich can certainly influence politics, not by buying politicians, but by buying voters, their useful idiots. I can see where money buys power, buy paying the powerless, where they themselves become those who they once so despised.