Quote:
Originally Posted by ranchlandsselling
^ some interesting info.
I think what's important (for a place like Canada) is protecting the poor, too often these complaints about wealth distribution appear, at least to me, are about the middle class "not being rich".
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I agree, although I wouldn't necessarily say "protecting the poor" is important but rather having a system in place where the poor don't need to stay poor. One of the results of this massive income inequality is the lack of mobility. For instance, it becomes harder for the rich to become mega-rich, even harder for the middle-class to become rich and almost impossible for the poor to become rich. I can't find them at the moment but I recall reading that in the 1960's it was quite common for people to work their way out of poverty and into the middle-class. Nowadays, that is becoming very difficult and studies have shown that the biggest factor determining your lifelong economic situation is the economic class that you were born into.
With greater income equality it allows for fewer poor, fewer rich and a much larger middle-class. This has a positive influence on social issues and makes for a more robust and flexible economy.