The Wealthy In Canada Are NOT Cheating You

[Anonymous]

When I saw that headline the Mic, I knew Romero would copy and paste it as the gospel truth. Now, I know in the third world affluence is not willingly shared, but in Canada it is.

The idea that the rich are getter richer at the expense of the rest of us is at the core of federal Liberal tax policy. It is also behind the tax policy of at least two provincial governments: Ontario's Liberals and Alberta's NDP.



The idea, though, is mostly untrue.



Worse yet, it has led to a widespread belief that income distribution in Canada is unfair; that ordinary people who work hard are not properly rewarded because a few fat cats are skimming off most of the cream. This class envy, stoked by pandering politicians such as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has bred a resentment of success. And that resentment will produce government policies that only make matters worse.



The claim that the rich are pulling ahead of the rest of us is frequently made by "progressive" politicians and media commentators. Lefty academics, too, get into the act with economic studies claiming to prove growing income unfairness.



Even Jim Prentice, the former bank executive who was briefly premier of Alberta, insisted Alberta's flat-tax policies bit the working poor "pretty hard compared to the rest of the country." The truth was, that under Alberta's now-defunct flat tax, low-income families paid some of the lowest provincial taxes in the country.



But even Prentice caved into the fashionable idea that the poor and middle-class are being hosed.



There are plenty of studies showing that the rich are getting richer. The trouble is most are based on pre-tax income statistics. Who lives in a pre-tax world?



While the pre-tax income gap between the richest 20% of Canadians and the lowest 20% has grown in the last 15 years – from 11-to-1 to almost 13-to-1 – the post-tax gap remains close to where it has been for nearly four decades – around 5.5-to-1. If Canadian governments didn't tax heavily and redistribute generously, those complaining about growing income inequality might have a point. But the fact is governments are already actively redistributing income – a lot.



To the extent there is income inequality, what used to be called "women's lib" has been largely responsible. Freed from traditional gender roles, more women – far more women – are taking professions than did 50 years ago. That's a very good thing for society in general and women in particular.



But as a result, women no longer quit working when they get married and stay home to care for their children and "their man." This has led to far more two-income couples and far more two high-income couples.



In the 1960s and 1970s, men became doctors, women became nurses. And when a doctor married a nurse, she quit her job and stayed home. Now when a doctor marries another doc, they both keep practicing and their double income is way higher than even his high income used to be.



Economists call this "assortative mating" and it accounts for up to 40% of what income inequality there truly is.



There has been some stagnation in middle-class incomes. During last fall's federal election campaign, Trudeau did manage to get that sort of correct.



But this stagnation is most often a result of government policies, not upper-class greed.



For instance, has Ontario lost upwards of 300,000 manufacturing jobs in the past decade because "the rich" wanted to scoop up those incomes for their profits? Or is it because Ontario government policies have doubled electricity costs for manufacturers, increased their taxes a third or more and pushed them to move their operations?



Upward mobility in Canada is still healthy. Nearly nine in 10 "poor" Canadians will eventually rise to the middle-class or above. The "rich" are not cheating the rest of us.



Punitive taxation of upper income-earners will only make things worse by stifling innovation and risk taking.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/2016/01/16/we-already-redistribute-income---a-lot">http://www.edmontonsun.com/2016/01/16/w ... me---a-lot">http://www.edmontonsun.com/2016/01/16/we-already-redistribute-income---a-lot

[RW]

I don't feel they are cheating us.  I just feel hoarding money (greed) is not economically valuable.

[Anonymous]

When I saw that headline the Mic, I knew Romero would copy and paste it as the gospel truth. Now, I know in the third world affluence is not willingly shared, but in Canada it is.

The idea that the rich are getter richer at the expense of the rest of us is at the core of federal Liberal tax policy. It is also behind the tax policy of at least two provincial governments: Ontario's Liberals and Alberta's NDP.



The idea, though, is mostly untrue.



Worse yet, it has led to a widespread belief that income distribution in Canada is unfair; that ordinary people who work hard are not properly rewarded because a few fat cats are skimming off most of the cream. This class envy, stoked by pandering politicians such as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has bred a resentment of success. And that resentment will produce government policies that only make matters worse.



The claim that the rich are pulling ahead of the rest of us is frequently made by "progressive" politicians and media commentators. Lefty academics, too, get into the act with economic studies claiming to prove growing income unfairness.



Even Jim Prentice, the former bank executive who was briefly premier of Alberta, insisted Alberta's flat-tax policies bit the working poor "pretty hard compared to the rest of the country." The truth was, that under Alberta's now-defunct flat tax, low-income families paid some of the lowest provincial taxes in the country.



But even Prentice caved into the fashionable idea that the poor and middle-class are being hosed.



There are plenty of studies showing that the rich are getting richer. The trouble is most are based on pre-tax income statistics. Who lives in a pre-tax world?



While the pre-tax income gap between the richest 20% of Canadians and the lowest 20% has grown in the last 15 years – from 11-to-1 to almost 13-to-1 – the post-tax gap remains close to where it has been for nearly four decades – around 5.5-to-1. If Canadian governments didn't tax heavily and redistribute generously, those complaining about growing income inequality might have a point. But the fact is governments are already actively redistributing income – a lot.



To the extent there is income inequality, what used to be called "women's lib" has been largely responsible. Freed from traditional gender roles, more women – far more women – are taking professions than did 50 years ago. That's a very good thing for society in general and women in particular.



But as a result, women no longer quit working when they get married and stay home to care for their children and "their man." This has led to far more two-income couples and far more two high-income couples.



In the 1960s and 1970s, men became doctors, women became nurses. And when a doctor married a nurse, she quit her job and stayed home. Now when a doctor marries another doc, they both keep practicing and their double income is way higher than even his high income used to be.



Economists call this "assortative mating" and it accounts for up to 40% of what income inequality there truly is.



There has been some stagnation in middle-class incomes. During last fall's federal election campaign, Trudeau did manage to get that sort of correct.



But this stagnation is most often a result of government policies, not upper-class greed.



For instance, has Ontario lost upwards of 300,000 manufacturing jobs in the past decade because "the rich" wanted to scoop up those incomes for their profits? Or is it because Ontario government policies have doubled electricity costs for manufacturers, increased their taxes a third or more and pushed them to move their operations?



Upward mobility in Canada is still healthy. Nearly nine in 10 "poor" Canadians will eventually rise to the middle-class or above. The "rich" are not cheating the rest of us.



Punitive taxation of upper income-earners will only make things worse by stifling innovation and risk taking.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/2016/01/16/we-already-redistribute-income---a-lot">http://www.edmontonsun.com/2016/01/16/w ... me---a-lot">http://www.edmontonsun.com/2016/01/16/we-already-redistribute-income---a-lot

I get tired of governments using this lame excuse to get more money out of us because they cannot live with their means. If Tommy Douglas was alive today, I would vote for him no matter what office he ran for. That man could stretch a dollar like few others.



I have worked right around the world and this is one country that gets it right. It's too bad today's politicians in Ottawa and a few of the provinces want to get it wrong. I only have a grade 12 education, but I have done pretty well with what I had to work with. Now politicians are claiming I am greedy and any success I have has come at the expense of those at the bottom. This kind of dishonesty does not serve anyone except selfish politicians who seek winning elections. I would expect this warfare talk in the third world countries I have worked in, but not here.

[RW]

They aren't talking about you Herman.

[Renee]

I don't feel they are cheating us.  I just feel hoarding money (greed) is not economically valuable.

The economic demographic the article deals with isn't hoarding money. Ask yourself, since when are two income households considered "wealthy"?



The article is more about the class warfare pitting the upper middle class against the poor that the left thrives upon. Unfortunately there aren't enough of the truly "wealthy" to persecute, despite what the Rohammads of the world would have you believe. The left, just like their opponents on the right, know where their bread is buttered. attacking the so-called "evil 1 percenters" is a smoke and mirrors game. The only viable targets for their tax schemes and bullshit social engineering are those of us that have gone to school, built careers and have achieved a modicum of upward mobility.

[Anonymous]

I don't feel they are cheating us.  I just feel hoarding money (greed) is not economically valuable.

The economic demographic the article deals with isn't hoarding money. Ask yourself, since when are two income households considered "wealthy"?



The article is more about the class warfare pitting the upper middle class against the poor that the left thrives upon. Unfortunately there aren't enough of the truly "wealthy" to persecute, despite what the Rohammads of the world would have you believe. The left, just like their opponents on the right, know where their bread is buttered. attacking the so-called "evil 1 percenters" is a smoke and mirrors game. The only viable targets for their tax schemes and bullshit social engineering are those of us that have gone to school, built careers and have achieved a modicum of upward mobility.

I'm accused by the left and our federal government of hoarding wealth. All I did was work  as hard as I could, learn as much as I can, make myself available for promotion and buy land. This hoarding wealth and greed is all bullshit.

[RW]

My dad had a saying: How many steaks can a rich man eat for dinner in a week?  



If you distributed even a small chunk of that kind of wealth, how many steaks would be bought?  How would that drive the economy?



I don't care about this left and right smokescreen.  What I want to know, is what does someone with personal wealth in the billions do for the economy?



The article Ro posted was NOT about people making six figures either.  It's not about having a decent paying job.  It's about excessive wealth.

[RW]

I don't feel they are cheating us.  I just feel hoarding money (greed) is not economically valuable.

The economic demographic the article deals with isn't hoarding money. Ask yourself, since when are two income households considered "wealthy"?



The article is more about the class warfare pitting the upper middle class against the poor that the left thrives upon. Unfortunately there aren't enough of the truly "wealthy" to persecute, despite what the Rohammads of the world would have you believe. The left, just like their opponents on the right, know where their bread is buttered. attacking the so-called "evil 1 percenters" is a smoke and mirrors game. The only viable targets for their tax schemes and bullshit social engineering are those of us that have gone to school, built careers and have achieved a modicum of upward mobility.

I'm accused by the left and our federal government of hoarding wealth. All I did was work  as hard as I could, learn as much as I can, make myself available for promotion and buy land. This hoarding wealthy and greed is all bullshit.

Are you a billionaire Hermie?  If not, the article posted does NOT apply to you.

[Anonymous]

I'm accused by the left and our federal government of hoarding wealth. All I did was work  as hard as I could, learn as much as I can, make myself available for promotion and buy land. This hoarding wealth and greed is all bullshit.

Of course it's all horseshit. I doubt Rohammad believes all his hypocritical copy/pasta ideological ed-ops either. We know it's crap. According to the CTF(Canadian Taxpayers Federation) the average doctor in Alberta will be charged an extra $7600 this year after Nothead and Trudeau pilfer their pockets. I guess when they are not busy saving lives and making us healthier doctors are hoarding wealth at the expense of those at the bottom.



We used to have the richest, most upwardly mobile middle class in the world here in Alberta. The current government's policies have put a stop to that ever coming back and it has nothing to do with the current price of oil. Anyway, Canadians are shooting ourselves in the feet by letting scumbag politicians in the NDP and Liberal parties demonize educated professionals, highly skilled workers and entrepreneurs in this country for political gain.

[Anonymous]

I'm accused by the left and our federal government of hoarding wealth. All I did was work  as hard as I could, learn as much as I can, make myself available for promotion and buy land. This hoarding wealth and greed is all bullshit.

Of course it's all horseshit. I doubt Rohammad believes all his hypocritical copy/pasta ideological ed-ops either. We know it's crap. According to the CTF(Canadian Taxpayers Federation) the average doctor in Alberta will be charged an extra $7600 this year after Nothead and Trudeau pilfer their pockets. I guess when they are not busy saving lives and making us healthier doctors are hoarding wealth at the expense of those at the bottom.



We used to have the richest, most upwardly mobile middle class in the world here in Alberta. The current government's policies have put a stop to that ever coming back and it has nothing to do with the current price of oil. Anyway, Canadians are shooting ourselves in the feet by letting scumbag politicians in the NDP and Liberal parties demonize educated professionals, highly skilled workers and entrepreneurs in this country for political gain.

I have lived in places where there is a good case to be made for class warfare. At least in corrupt third world countries there really are powerful people that are holding people back the establishment of a middle class. Canada is not one of those places. It makes no sense to be throwing doctors, dentists and engineers under the bus.

[RW]

I'm accused by the left and our federal government of hoarding wealth. All I did was work  as hard as I could, learn as much as I can, make myself available for promotion and buy land. This hoarding wealth and greed is all bullshit.

Of course it's all horseshit. I doubt Rohammad believes all his hypocritical copy/pasta ideological ed-ops either. We know it's crap. According to the CTF(Canadian Taxpayers Federation) the average doctor in Alberta will be charged an extra $7600 this year after Nothead and Trudeau pilfer their pockets. I guess when they are not busy saving lives and making us healthier doctors are hoarding wealth at the expense of those at the bottom.



We used to have the richest, most upwardly mobile middle class in the world here in Alberta. The current government's policies have put a stop to that ever coming back and it has nothing to do with the current price of oil. Anyway, Canadians are shooting ourselves in the feet by letting scumbag politicians in the NDP and Liberal parties demonize educated professionals, highly skilled workers and entrepreneurs in this country for political gain.

Nothing to do with the current price of oil?  BUAHAHAHAHA!  What a load of shit Shen.



Alberta put all its eggs in one oily basket and now it's paying the price.  That has nothing to do with Notley.

[RW]

I'm accused by the left and our federal government of hoarding wealth. All I did was work  as hard as I could, learn as much as I can, make myself available for promotion and buy land. This hoarding wealth and greed is all bullshit.

Of course it's all horseshit. I doubt Rohammad believes all his hypocritical copy/pasta ideological ed-ops either. We know it's crap. According to the CTF(Canadian Taxpayers Federation) the average doctor in Alberta will be charged an extra $7600 this year after Nothead and Trudeau pilfer their pockets. I guess when they are not busy saving lives and making us healthier doctors are hoarding wealth at the expense of those at the bottom.



We used to have the richest, most upwardly mobile middle class in the world here in Alberta. The current government's policies have put a stop to that ever coming back and it has nothing to do with the current price of oil. Anyway, Canadians are shooting ourselves in the feet by letting scumbag politicians in the NDP and Liberal parties demonize educated professionals, highly skilled workers and entrepreneurs in this country for political gain.

I have lived in places where there is a good case to be made for class warfare. At least in corrupt third world countries there really are powerful people that are holding people back the establishment of a middle class. Canada is not one of those places. It makes no sense to be throwing doctors, dentists and engineers under the bus.

I agree with you.  I see this as yet another tax on a working class but one with less impact than targeting the working middle or working poor.



In that, I see the same upper middlers bitching about corporate taxation.  Seems you guys don't want to pay it or for anyone else to either.  Where is the money supposed to come from?  The sky???

[Anonymous]

When I saw that headline the Mic, I knew Romero would copy and paste it as the gospel truth. Now, I know in the third world affluence is not willingly shared, but in Canada it is.

The idea that the rich are getter richer at the expense of the rest of us is at the core of federal Liberal tax policy. It is also behind the tax policy of at least two provincial governments: Ontario's Liberals and Alberta's NDP.



The idea, though, is mostly untrue.



Worse yet, it has led to a widespread belief that income distribution in Canada is unfair; that ordinary people who work hard are not properly rewarded because a few fat cats are skimming off most of the cream. This class envy, stoked by pandering politicians such as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has bred a resentment of success. And that resentment will produce government policies that only make matters worse.



The claim that the rich are pulling ahead of the rest of us is frequently made by "progressive" politicians and media commentators. Lefty academics, too, get into the act with economic studies claiming to prove growing income unfairness.



Even Jim Prentice, the former bank executive who was briefly premier of Alberta, insisted Alberta's flat-tax policies bit the working poor "pretty hard compared to the rest of the country." The truth was, that under Alberta's now-defunct flat tax, low-income families paid some of the lowest provincial taxes in the country.



But even Prentice caved into the fashionable idea that the poor and middle-class are being hosed.



There are plenty of studies showing that the rich are getting richer. The trouble is most are based on pre-tax income statistics. Who lives in a pre-tax world?



While the pre-tax income gap between the richest 20% of Canadians and the lowest 20% has grown in the last 15 years – from 11-to-1 to almost 13-to-1 – the post-tax gap remains close to where it has been for nearly four decades – around 5.5-to-1. If Canadian governments didn't tax heavily and redistribute generously, those complaining about growing income inequality might have a point. But the fact is governments are already actively redistributing income – a lot.



To the extent there is income inequality, what used to be called "women's lib" has been largely responsible. Freed from traditional gender roles, more women – far more women – are taking professions than did 50 years ago. That's a very good thing for society in general and women in particular.



But as a result, women no longer quit working when they get married and stay home to care for their children and "their man." This has led to far more two-income couples and far more two high-income couples.



In the 1960s and 1970s, men became doctors, women became nurses. And when a doctor married a nurse, she quit her job and stayed home. Now when a doctor marries another doc, they both keep practicing and their double income is way higher than even his high income used to be.



Economists call this "assortative mating" and it accounts for up to 40% of what income inequality there truly is.



There has been some stagnation in middle-class incomes. During last fall's federal election campaign, Trudeau did manage to get that sort of correct.



But this stagnation is most often a result of government policies, not upper-class greed.



For instance, has Ontario lost upwards of 300,000 manufacturing jobs in the past decade because "the rich" wanted to scoop up those incomes for their profits? Or is it because Ontario government policies have doubled electricity costs for manufacturers, increased their taxes a third or more and pushed them to move their operations?



Upward mobility in Canada is still healthy. Nearly nine in 10 "poor" Canadians will eventually rise to the middle-class or above. The "rich" are not cheating the rest of us.



Punitive taxation of upper income-earners will only make things worse by stifling innovation and risk taking.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/2016/01/16/we-already-redistribute-income---a-lot">http://www.edmontonsun.com/2016/01/16/w ... me---a-lot">http://www.edmontonsun.com/2016/01/16/we-already-redistribute-income---a-lot

I am so tired of reading about class envy in this country..



First they came for the business class, next it was risk takers, then they came for the professional medical class and now they have well paid skilled tradespeople in their sights..



When they come for you, who will be left to object.

[Romero]

The current government's policies have put a stop to that ever coming back and it has nothing to do with the current price of oil.

Strange. That's not what the oil companies and economists have been saying.

Canada's oil sands industry is facing one of the bleakest markets in years, hammered by plunging U.S. and global crude prices even as new pipelines have cleared logjams on key export routes.



Western Canadian Select (WCS) oil sands crude has fetched an average of roughly $15 (U.S.) under the headline North American oil price so far this month, putting the value of Alberta's heavy crude at just under $20 a barrel as of Monday's close.



Discounts at that level are a significant improvement from late 2012. At the time, a combination of surging production and pipeline shortages drove prices for oil sands crude as much as $40 a barrel under the West Texas intermediate (WTI) benchmark price, sparking concerns about provincial finances and corporate profits.



Some of those export snarls eased as Enbridge Inc. expanded existing pipeline routes and more crude flowed on trains, enabling increased shipments to the U.S. Gulf Coast.



But oil's plunge to around $35 a barrel has largely negated those benefits, erasing profits even as the sharp discounts, or differentials, of recent years have been cut in half. It shows the Alberta industry remains highly vulnerable to swings in global commodity markets well beyond the province's borders.



"Even though the differentials have narrowed from the huge $30 levels of 2013, the fact that you've got a discount at all off exceptionally low WTI levels means that the price is really quite grim," said Patricia Mohr, vice-president and commodity markets specialist at Bank of Nova Scotia.



The outlook for 2016 is equally bleak. WCS, a blend of conventional heavy oil and bitumen from the oil sands, for February delivery traded at about $13 under U.S. crude oil on Monday, according to Calgary broker Net Energy Inc.



Prices for the extra-thick crude have cratered along with U.S. and international benchmarks as global stockpiles swell and warmer-than-expected winter weather undermines demand forecasts.



http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/western-canadian-select-crude-discount-adds-insult-to-oil-patch-injury/article27898675/">//http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/western-canadian-select-crude-discount-adds-insult-to-oil-patch-injury/article27898675/

[Anonymous]

^Not quite Rohammad

Notley's hungry NDP regime has gorged itself on the productive parts of Alberta's economy, raising corporate and personal taxes and imposing a new carbon tax, while tens of thousands of private sector Albertans have already lost their jobs.



The energy industry is barely afloat. Alberta NDP policies are the financial equivalent of tossing an anvil to a drowning swimmer, while those fortunate civil servants on Notley's good ship Government sail blissfully onward, enjoying the buffet that never closes.



Meanwhile, uncertainty from Notley's thrice-delayed review of energy royalties has frozen two streams of capital that Alberta desperately needs: equity (stock market) financings, which are the lifeblood of the oilpatch because they feed the second stream, drilling expenditures.



Without drilling, there's no fracking, no seismic shot, no bids at land sales, and energy production declines. Thus, there's less royalty money for the government, but also less demand for rig hands, tradespeople, clerks, technicians, pipe and tool salespeople, geologists, accountants and engineers, not to mention the lawyers and bankers who help raise money for the industry when times are good.



Kevin O'Leary correctly notes that Notley's royalty-uncertainty-based-freeze on capital spending by energy companies will continue, until investors know what the new rules are.



Rachel Notley didn't cause Alberta's recession, but her government's disastrous policies will certainly prolong it, by delaying the day when Albertans will see the benefit of eventually higher commodity prices.

http://calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/kerr-oleary-is-saying-what-investors-are-already-thinking-about-notley-with-poll#pd_a_9275859">http://calgaryherald.com/opinion/column ... _a_9275859">http://calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/kerr-oleary-is-saying-what-investors-are-already-thinking-about-notley-with-poll#pd_a_9275859

Saskatchewan is the beneficiary of the Notley crew's destruction of our economy.

https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/12508705_1637135799870248_4734570865861306648_n.jpg?oh=608d00e7d9edfaf1b3f7208a56f1aca1&oe=5748E50B">