... we forget we were less unequal in Canada before the advent of neoliberal ideology and economics. The inequality report points out that “inequality in Canada … was maintained at low levels from the 1950s to the 1980s,” but that “income inequality in Canada has been rising significantly over the past 40 years.” This was attributed to a combination of financialization (an increase in size and importance of the financial sector), deregulation and lower taxes since the 1980s.
Specifically, in 1980, the top 10 per cent of income earners took almost 35 per cent of national income, while the bottom half of the population took almost 20 per cent. Today, the report notes, the top 10 per cent take just over 40 per cent of national income, while the bottom half take only 15.6 per cent. This makes Canada more unequal than the EU, but less unequal than the U.S.
Wealth inequality in Canada is even more dramatic, and has remained relatively unchanged since the mid-1990s: The top 10 per cent own over 57 per cent of wealth (and the top one per cent own 25 per cent), while the bottom half own less than six per cent of wealth ...
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