Dear friends, all,
>From the following I snip:
>
>"These figures show there is a very significant wealth divide in Canada,"
>said John Anderson, researcher with the Toronto-based Centre for Social
>Justice. "The bottom half of families have only six per cent of the wealth
>in Canada and that cannot be good for any society."
>
The significant campaigning point is to tell the middle income families that
all the evidence is that:
- increased inequality is bad for *everyone*
( relevant books by Michael Marmot, Richard Wilkinson and others include
'Unhealthy Societies' by RW: a useful bibliography is in the January 2001
booklet
'Why Care about Health Inequality?' by Adam Oliver of the Office of Health
Economics here in the UK www.ohe.org )
If you are involved with any other groups - particularly political
campaigning groups, please share these resources with them:
- inequality is the only issue
(of that I'm convinced: the rest, to paraphrase Ernest Rutherford, is ?just?
stamp collecting.)
hugs
john
The Fair World Project
*****************************
Oh yes, ps, inequality is bad for the 'rich' too!
*****************************
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>From: "S. Lerner" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Subject: FW Median Canadian wealth hits $81,000
>Date: Fri, Mar 16, 2001, 9:21 AM
>
>>Delivered-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>From: "Jennifer Tsun" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>>To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>>Subject: [workfare] Median Canadian wealth hits $81,000
>>Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2001 08:03:14 -0500
>>MIME-Version: 1.0
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>>Status:
>>
>>
>>
>> Friday 16 March 2001
>>Median Canadian wealth hits $81,000
>>Many Canadians are better off, but news isn't so good for the poor
>>Eric Beauchesne and Bev Wake
>>The Ottawa Citizen; with files from The Canadian Press
>>
>>If Canada's Joe Ordinary sold off all his belongings and paid off all his
>>debts, he'd be left with $81,000, a new Statistics Canada report reveals.
>>
>>That median figure is also the dividing line between Canada's wealthiest 6.1
>>million households -- and its less well-off 6.1 million households,
>>according to the report, the first of its kind since 1984.
>>
>>While that figure represents an increase of 11 per cent over 15 years for
>>Canada's median family, that increase wasn't shared across the wealth
>>spectrum. The richest 20 per cent of families saw their worth increase
>>almost 40 per cent over 15 years, while the poorest 40 per cent of families
>>saw little change.
>>
>>"The rich are getting richer in Canada and the poor have not improved their
>>position one iota," said Jim Stanford, an economist with Canadian Auto
>>Workers. "It also shows that whatever government has done to try and stop
>>inequality over the last decade is not working. Inequality is actually
>>getting worse."
>>
>>The study found that the wealthiest 10 per cent of families owned about 53
>>per cent of Canada's $2.9 trillion in net worth in 1999.
>>
>>When families were ranked from the highest net worth to the lowest, the
>>median wealth of the richest 10 per cent of families was $703,500. The
>>poorest 10 per cent owed about $2,100 more than they own.
>>
>>"These figures show there is a very significant wealth divide in Canada,"
>>said John Anderson, researcher with the Toronto-based Centre for Social
>>Justice. "The bottom half of families have only six per cent of the wealth
>>in Canada and that cannot be good for any society."
>>
>>By comparison, the top 10 per cent of families in the United States held
>>about two-thirds of all personal wealth in 1998.
>>
>>"Wealth and assets, at least in gross terms, are more evenly distributed in
>>Canada than the U.S.," said Bob Glossob, executive director of programs for
>>the Vanier Institute of the Family. "The bad news is we're moving in the
>>direction of the States."
>>
>>The wealth of families also varied provincially, from a median high of
>>$101,400 in Ontario to a low of $53,000 in Newfoundland.
>>
>>Couples with children fared less well than any other type of family, their
>>net worth decreasing slightly over the 15-year span. Elderly people and
>>couples with no children at home fared the best, with single elderly people
>>recording a 69 per cent increase in wealth since 1984, while elderly
>>families and couples with no children at home saw a growth of 42 per cent.
>>
>>Although lone-parent families gained between 1984 and 1999, in both years
>>they were significantly less well off financially than any other type of
>>family.
>>
>>The study suggests the home remains the most valuable asset, accounting for
>>almost 40 per cent of family wealth, while mortgages make up about 75 per
>>cent of the $458 billion owed.
>>
>>The most notable difference in terms of assets since 1984 is the growth in
>>RRSPs, which accounted for about 15 per cent of a family's assets in 1999.
>>
>>The amount of money invested in RRSPs was 6.4 times larger in 1999 than in
>>1984. Fifty-five per cent of families held RRSPs in 1999, up from 28 per
>>cent in 1984. Canadians aged 25 to 34 recorded the biggest jump, with 59 per
>>cent of families in that age group reporting RRSPs, more than double the 23
>>per cent in 1984.
>>
>>The other significant change was in student loans. The study suggests the
>>total amount of outstanding loans was 6.2 times higher in 1999 than in 1984.
>>More than 1.4 million families reported such debt, up from 490,000 in 1984.
>>
>>Education, however, continued to be a key to wealth. Someone with a
>>bachelor's degree, for example, had a median net worth 70 per cent higher
>>than someone with a high school diploma. Net worth climbed even further with
>>subsequent degrees.
>>
>>For the purpose of the study, "families" were defined as single people or
>>two or more individuals who are related to each other by blood, marriage,
>>common-law or adoption living together in the same dwelling. Median figures
>>were calculated by ranking all families in order, from highest to lowest
>>worth, to find the family in the middle of the range.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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