If George W. Bush's new tax cuts had been in effect, the top 400 would have saved about $8.3 million each and the lowest half of all earners would have saved the grand total of $19 each in taxes. (Thanks to the "New York Times").
One of the many ways in which Canada is becoming Americanized is distribution of income. While it’s not as bad as in the U.S. ,it's very bad compared to most OECD and E.U. countries.
Between 1990 and 2000 the income of the top 10% of Canadians increased at the rate of 291 times the incomes of the bottom 10%, $23,610 to $81 for the decade.
As the CCPA Monitor pointed out last February, of 112 countries, 70 have a fairer distribution of income than the U.S., and 22 are fairer than Canada.
Here's Canada's #1 hypocrite (see _Pay the Rent or Feed the Kids_) Paul Martin from October 2000:
"We must work towards reducing the gap between rich and poor...We have always said we must work towards reducing this gap."
Today the gap between rich and poor in Canada is greater than at any time in the past 30 years. Some 300,000 families and 400,000 individuals in Canada are living in abject poverty, with incomes LESS THAN HALF the LICOS lines.
When in 1989 the House of Commons vowed to eliminate child poverty by 2000, 15.2 were poor. In 2001, using the new Market Basket Measure of poverty,16.9% of Canadian children were poor. Ottawa had hoped that the new measuring methods would show a REDUCED rate of child poverty.
Mel Hurtig
Please note: comments/responses should be directed to mhurtig@telusplanet.net.
Note: mhurtig@telusplanet.net
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Dave Ruston