TALKING POINT
'Hug The 1 Per Cent'. That was the provocative headline on a Jan. 30 editorial about new Statistics Canada research on the country's top earners. But readers had their own thoughts about income inequality – not all of them involving open arms. Their comments kick off a new feature, which gathers the most lively print and digital reactions of the week.
- The opening paragraph of your editorial Hug The 1 Per Cent – “… They are a net benefit to Canada. Occupy that” – had me and my colleagues laughing out loud. Well put! A statistic that should be more widely discussed by the students and others living off the avails of the state. -Penelope Hedges, Vancouver, letter
- I don’t think many of the top 1 per cent of income earners are looking for a “hug” or anything like that. I think most would simply be fine if the bottom 50 per cent of taxpayers, who collectively pay 4 per cent of the country’s tax bill, would stop complaining that the top 1 per cent, who pay over 21 per cent of the tax bill, are not paying “their fair share.” -Tony, digital reader
- Our system is one of guaranteed opportunity, not outcome. What people do with that opportunity will determine whether or not they hit the top 1 per cent. -Winch, digital reader
- Hug The 1 Per Cent? Good idea, Globe. Squeeze ’em hard. -John Warden, Toronto, letter
- I am nowhere near the 1 per cent, but I don’t want to destroy the incentive for people to aspire to be part of the 1 per cent. It is in my best interests. -Koop2, digital reader
- The Globe’s praise of the super-rich for allegedly doing more than their bit for society is misguided. True, the 1 per cent pay more than 21 per cent of the income taxes that help support government services – but they get more than their money’s worth.
Government provides the framework of laws and treaties that protect property and business, and the muscular arm of the police and armed forces that back up that framework. It provides infrastructure for moving materials and goods through the production chain and smoothly off to market. And infrastructure that flies executives off to global meetings and carries workers back and forth from home to job to store. Government educates those workers to be skilled employees and subsidizes the health system that helps keep them fit to work. Government also subsidizes research at universities and by private companies that generate new means and methods for generating wealth, most of which accrues to the already rich.
The 1 per cent have seen a pretty good return on their investment since 1982: an income raise of almost $180,000 a year (just under 50 per cent). Those of us who pay the other 80 per cent of income taxes gained about $1,700 on average. -James Russell, Ottawa, letter - This is called trickle-up economic theory: the massive transfer of income and wealth away from the middle and lower classes toward the fat cats at the top. History teaches us that this is the ideal food for social unrest and violence. -Claroch, digital reader
- Why is a solid and strong middle class such a difficult concept? Economies grow because people (lots of people) buy stuff, the more they can buy the more it all grows. So why are the “leaders” of these businesses so opposed to paying employees a salary and increasing it fairly while they give themselves gratuitous raises and bonuses? We need our leaders to look beyond their own interests and see the whole picture, that’s what leaders do (or so we’ve been lead to believe). -Regular Guy, digital reader
- The issue here is standard of living equality. Income disparity is not really an issue if those at the bottom still live a good life. Unfortunately, I don’t think that is the case in Canada. -Reggie93, digital reader
- Once you lose the middle class, democracy is also on its way out. We’re on our way to becoming the next Brazil, where life is very good for the 1 per cent. -Doug Fir, digital reader
- Your suggestion that we should be grateful for the taxes paid by the top 1 per cent is faulty in both its analysis and conclusions.
It is true the top 1 per cent pays a higher share in income taxes, but when all taxes (including sales, payroll, property and other taxes) are considered, they pay a lower share of their income in taxes than the poorest 10 per cent, as comprehensive analysis by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has shown.
It is also incorrect to assume that escalating top incomes are unrelated to stagnant incomes for other Canadians. Not only do many consider rising inequality to be one of the causes of the economic crisis, but the IMF, OECD and many others now agree we would all be better off with greater equality. It’s time others understood this as well. -Paul Moist, national president, Canadian Union of Public Employees, letter - Of course the wealthy should be paying a higher proportion of the tax burden (The Rich Are Getting Richer? Yes, No, It Depends – Feb. 1). It is the price they pay to preserve the capitalist system (which remains the best for all concerned). The alternative is being lined up against the wall and shot when the revolution comes. -Douglas Bjorkman, Vancouver, letter
- We are all the 1 per cent. Did any of us walk four miles for drinking water? Did any of your neighbours die of malaria or diarrhea or malnutrition? No one lost sleep wondering if an approaching military force might kill their family in the night. These less fortunate ones are the real 99 per cent. As much as we all want to hate the rich, in the bigger picture, we are all the 1 per cent. -Stan Duptall, digital reader
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SPEAKING UP DIGITAL COMMENTARY ON THE NEWS
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On the new 'boyfriend trainer' iPhone app
"Many women in our society feel the need to try to shape men into some ideal fantasy from movies or books (sensitive but tough, emotional but stoic), and are frustrated when they turn out to be normal people with faults. This app is a result of those frustrations."
-Odb2, web commenter
On the Wheat Board using an ad depicting a pin-up girl
"Great idea, catching image. Let's put it as simple as we can: makes me want to read it and pay attention to an issue I otherwise would not. Nice work!"
-Adam Kieswetter, Facebook fan
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FOR DISCUSSION
Your two cents
On Monday, the penny drops, as new rounding rules take it out of tills in stores across the country. So is it time to empty your pockets? Or hoard those coins for posterity? Share your story at tgam.ca/penny.