It appears that the Toronto Star is almost the only company in the mainstream Canadian print media that is giving any coverage to a report released in Paris, France today.The report, is from a 20 year study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that shows over the 10 year period from 1995 - 2005 Canada had dismal performance in fighting poverty and inequality. See: Growing Unequal? Income Distribution and Poverty in OECD Countries.
In the meantime the rich get richer, and the gap between the rich and the poor grows wider.
Excerpt from the Toronto Star article below:
Poverty and inequality rates in Canada have been on the rise since 1995 and are now higher than the average developed nation, according to a new study.
The income gap is growing throughout the developed world, but the gap between rich and poor in Canada widened more dramatically than in most countries between 1995 and 2005, according to the report released in Paris today.
The 20-year analysis by the 30-member Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development found only Germany saw a similar rate of increase during the past 10 years.
"After 20 years of continuous decline, both inequality and poverty rates (in Canada) have increased rapidly in the past 10 years, now reaching levels above the OECD average," says the report. Read the rest of article here....
Check out the Growing Gap web-site by clicking here.
3 comments:
So Larry, in looking at the growing income gap between rich and poor, which only the Toronto Star reported (more about that in a minute), one needs to look at what social and economic policies induced this growing divide.
As is well known, during this wonderful period of "growing prosperity gap", it was the federal liberals who slew their deficit on the backs of ordinary Canadians. In majority, Chretien/Martin instituted neoliberal economic policies and SAPs. Monetary policy of the Bank of Canada focused on reducing inflation to 1% and dropped its twin goal of inducing employment. We know the drill.
Toronto Star may give ink to this report, but in the category of "what to do" or "how we got here" is not framed. How we got there is the "liberal deficit king" who slew the mythical dragon, in order to unleash neoliberal policies. One can look at the restructuring of UI to EI as a prime example of "shredding a piece of social safety net" to ensure that the pool of the unemployed and desperate grew and thus put no pressure on increasing wages and induced the gap.
The Star response in politics would be that the liberal party who was at the helm and caused this widen gap are the only party who really cares and will shrink it. Vote for the libs is their constant cry, and oh, please give generously to our Star Santa Claus fund and Summer Children Camp program because we really care. Grrr....
Hello,
Maybe it's time for the union movement to develop its own media. Like a provincial newspaper perhaps. Nothing is going to change if Joe average gets his ideas from Gromley and company.
Gormley and company.
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