Category: Inequality

Canada West Forum 1: Wealth and Inequality

Canada West Forum Society invites you to an engaging conversation about the important issue of widening wealth inequality. The wealth inequality gap has been expanding for decades, leaving more and more Canadians struggling to make ends meet.
This is not an accident but, rather the consequence of an imposed economic system that creates winners and losers.

Impoverishment of thought

In an age of extreme media coverage and immediacy, the associated defeat of intelligence is worrying. Genuine intellectual debate all too often disappears in favour of ersatz ideas dominated by the one-track thinking and the politics of offence.

Is democracy doomed in North America?

With the Musk/Trump administration ripping huge holes in America’s social safety net, it is frightening to observe how major media properties have sagged onto bended knees to pay homage to wealth and power. There is a parallel to Germany in the 1930s. There, political leaders took control of media that did not serve the Nazi Party. A cocktail of naked opportunism and misplaced arrogance among the country’s most powerful men facilitated the rise of the Third Reich. With the media silenced or controlled, it was relatively easy for evil men to consolidate power and punish opponents…

Invitation declined

A candidate for the People’s Party of Canada asked if I would join his podcast for a discussion of government functions. Having no interest in promoting or assisting that party, I declined. So, who are the people who support the People’s Party?

Language may change, but…

According to Oxfam International, the richest 1 percent have amassed $42 trillion in new wealth over the past decade, nearly 34 times more than the entire bottom 50 percent of the world’s population. Oxfam has calculated that for every $1 raised in tax in G20 countries, less than 8 cents comes from taxes on wealth.

“The opposite of poverty is enough”

Conventional wisdom says that economic disparities lead to political violence, or mildly violent collective actions. Yet few politicians anywhere are willing to address root causes of social difficulties. It is so much easier to accuse disaffected people of being indolent, abusive, drug-ridden lawbreakers. Those positions gain political success in many places. The Australian Institute of International Affairs noted confusion about the level of American support for Trump and the political party he captured and dominates:

Economic inequality by design

For as long as I can remember, we’ve been told that putting more wealth in the hands of the already wealthy will benefit everyone through greater economic growth, more jobs, and higher wages. Academic studies find the opposite is true. However, with most major media outlets controlled by the super-rich, these studies are barely reported…

Happiness is… (2024 edition)

Overall, Canada ranks 15th in the World Happiness Report, although it is first among nations with populations of more than 30 million. However, when the happiness of citizens under age thirty was ranked, Canada was listed at a miserable 58th, trailing countries like Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. Some may wonder if those countries will be receptive if youthful Canadian refugees turn up at their borders.

Sick society

Ultra-wealthy elites…Political corruption…Vast inequality…
These problems aren’t new — in the late 1800s they dominated the country during America’s first Gilded Age.
We overcame these abuses back then, and we can do it again.

Vulnerable societies

Compounding the economic risk factors that are manifesting is a widespread domestic discontent with current economic systems, perceived to be rigged and unfair. Concern about inequality underlies recent social unrest on almost every continent…