# Wealth disparity by the numbers



## sags (May 15, 2010)

It isn't surprising people are angry and want to "tax the rich". Wealth will have to be distributed more evenly or society will collapse.



https://www.pbo-dpb.gc.ca/web/default/files/Documents/Reports/RP-2021-007-S/RP-2021-007-S_en.pdf


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## Longtimeago (Aug 8, 2018)

Wow what an original thought sags.


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

So, people with more education get better jobs, and people with better jobs make more money. This simple relationship seems to be lost on political thinkers since in politics money is not earned and there is no connection between work, productivity and wealth. So it is no wonder they think wealth pops up out of the ground or falls from the sky with no work, risk, brains or effort required and therefore if one person has more than another it must be "unfair".


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## 5Lgreenback (Mar 21, 2015)

And que the ridiculous simplistic theories of how this wealth is "earned" by the top 0.1%.....


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## ian (Jun 18, 2016)

I left a what I thought was a great paying job on the railway to go to college and university. Spent five years working and attending classes. Then I worked hard, often twelve hour days, in order to make commissions during various recessions. Several moves, lots of personal sacrifices by me and by my spouse and children. Yes, I earned a very good income. But there was a reason for it. I did not do 8 hours a day with time and a half or double time if I worked an extra 15 or 30 minutes. It is how I ended up in what might be called the top 1 or 2 percent of income earners prior to retirement. No secret to it. Nor am I ashamed. It was all about choices. It is also about risk and reward. Do I put my savings in term deposits or CSB's or do I place my money in the market or in a new business with high risk? Or do I go out and buy a new car, new sound system, or take an exotic vacation?


I have some nieces and nephews that have done the same. Years in training, hard work, launched their careers, willing to move away from mommy and their high school friends. I also have a few others who have gone no where. Too lazy or lacking in foresight to invest in their futures. Stuck in minimum wage type employment in service industry jobs. They no doubt want to tax the rich. They pretend to resentful and spout off that foolishness. Instead, some of these people should look themselves in the mirror and be honest about how they got where they are. Or did not.


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## Prairie Guy (Oct 30, 2018)

Great chart...it shows how success is rewarded. Now please show us the chart from the left's poster child Venezuela.


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## Pluto (Sep 12, 2013)

40% of Canadians pay no tax. The top 20% of earners pay 54% of the tax. Obviously, Sags, wealth distribution is taking place. I'm not too keen on it going further.


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

Not true.

Nobody pays "no tax" unless they never buy anything, fill up their vehicle, visit a Provincial Park, renew their license plates, buy a fishing license.

High income earners pay 54% of "personal income taxes" which is 36% of total government revenues, so they pay about 20% of total revenues.


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## ian (Jun 18, 2016)

sags...what are you suggesting? That we boost the highest incremental tax bracket on high income earners from 50-54 percent to 75? What number do you think it should be?


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## Pluto (Sep 12, 2013)

sags said:


> Not true.
> 
> Nobody pays "no tax" unless they never buy anything, fill up their vehicle, visit a Provincial Park, renew their license plates, buy a fishing license.
> 
> High income earners pay 54% of "personal income taxes" which is 36% of total government revenues.


Tell that to T2. He said 40% pay no tax. don't you trust the government? 

There is nothing immoral with being financially well off. You make it sound like a crime.


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

I think it is a pervasive problem with no simple answers like "tax the rich". I do think it if continues it will ultimately create deep social strife.

A consumer spending based economy cannot thrive if people don't have money to spend.

Unfortunately, given the support needed for the COVID virus, I think we are already in deep trouble.

The government needs to be thinking about how they can address the problem before it is too late.


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

Pluto said:


> Tell that to T2. He said 40% pay no tax. don't you trust the government?
> 
> There is nothing immoral with being financially well off. You make it sound like a crime.


You seem to have trouble distinguishing between "personal income" taxes and all other sources of government revenue, including many other taxes and fees.

Are you claiming that 40% of Canadians contribute nothing to government revenues ?


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

ian said:


> sags...what are you suggesting? That we boost the highest incremental tax bracket on high income earners from 50-54 percent to 75? What number do you think it should be?


No, that isn't a solution because there aren't enough wealthy people to make a difference.

I think the change has to come at the employee wage level. We can't continue to have an economy that is paying 1990 wages.

Of course, then the problem becomes can employers afford it. It won't be easy to solve, but we best stop hiding from it.


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## ian (Jun 18, 2016)

That would be perfect. Lets give everyone a raise. But keep prices at the same level otherwise inflation will eat up most of that wage increase AND some folks may end up paying slightly more income tax. And when products are increased in price to the extent that imported goods are less expensive we will have two choices. Lay off people or move them to other occupations or impose tariffs.

Heck we could ensure lots more employment in the auto industry if we imposed a large tarriff on all automobiles and parts. Oh...but then the price of automobiles in Canada would increase substantially. Forgot about that.

There is a harsh reality to the laws of economics. In our province, years ago, we had a Premier who wanted to combat poverty by printing more currency. Some people at the time thought that it was a good idea.


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## Prairie Guy (Oct 30, 2018)

sags said:


> High income earners pay 54% of "personal income taxes" which is 36% of total government revenues, so they pay about 20% of total revenues.


The important part is that they pay 54% of personal taxes, but you have to water it down as much as you can to try to prove a point that no one agrees with anyway.

Where's the chart from Venezuela?


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## Pluto (Sep 12, 2013)

sags said:


> You seem to have trouble distinguishing between "personal income" taxes and all other sources of government revenue, including many other taxes and fees.
> 
> Are you claiming that 40% of Canadians contribute nothing to government revenues ?


Like I said, take it up with T2. He said 40% pay no tax.


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## Jimmy (May 19, 2017)

"The top 10% – those who earn over $80,000 – earn 35% of all income, and pay 55% of income taxes.

By comparison, the bottom 50% of Canadian income earners (those earning under $35,000) earn nearly a third of all income, yet pay just 4% of all income tax"









It's time for a tax revolt in Canada


It’s time for a tax revolt in Canada – and not just the phony tax revolt promised (and long since forgotten) by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the 2015…




torontosun.com





All you need to know about who pays taxes here. So it is laughabale to hear Trudeau and the left talk about getting the rich to pay their 'fair share'


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

How much tax do they actually pay after collecting 35% of the total income in Canada ?


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## Jimmy (May 19, 2017)

sags said:


> How much tax do they actually pay after collecting 35% of the total income in Canada ?


They pay 55% of all collected. Pretty lopsided wouldn't you agree?


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## Prairie Guy (Oct 30, 2018)

Jimmy said:


> They pay 55% of all collected. Pretty lopsided wouldn't you agree?


It's never enough for some people...the more they can take from others the less they have to earn themselves.


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

Jimmy said:


> They pay 55% of all collected. Pretty lopsided wouldn't you agree?


They collect 35% of all income, so what is the tax rate they actually pay ?

If they collected 35% of all income and only paid 55% of the income taxes collected, it looks like they paid a pretty low rate of taxes.


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## ian (Jun 18, 2016)

sags...I do not mind paying taxes but I do not want to pay more. I have been in the top incremental bracket years. My spouse as well and she cannot get OAS because of the clawback. We are happy to pay for the privilege of living in Canada but enough is enough.


it is really easy to say increase taxes. It rolls off the tongue so easily. Until it is YOUR taxes that get increased or your benefit that gets cut.

Why on earth kill the goose that lays the golden egg?


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

ian said:


> I left a what I thought was a great paying job on the railway to go to college and university. Spent five years working and attending classes. Then I worked hard, often twelve hour days, in order to make commissions during various recessions. Several moves, lots of personal sacrifices by me and by my spouse and children. Yes, I earned a very good income. But there was a reason for it. I did not do 8 hours a day with time and a half or double time if I worked an extra 15 or 30 minutes. It is how I ended up in what might be called the top 1 or 2 percent of income earners prior to retirement. No secret to it. Nor am I ashamed. It was all about choices. It is also about risk and reward. Do I put my savings in term deposits or CSB's or do I place my money in the market or in a new business with high risk? Or do I go out and buy a new car, new sound system, or take an exotic vacation?
> 
> 
> I have some nieces and nephews that have done the same. Years in training, hard work, launched their careers, willing to move away from mommy and their high school friends. I also have a few others who have gone no where. Too lazy or lacking in foresight to invest in their futures. Stuck in minimum wage type employment in service industry jobs. They no doubt want to tax the rich. They pretend to resentful and spout off that foolishness. Instead, some of these people should look themselves in the mirror and be honest about how they got where they are. Or did not.


This is called "white privilege" lol.


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## Pluto (Sep 12, 2013)

sags said:


> No, that isn't a solution because there aren't enough wealthy people to make a difference.
> 
> I think the change has to come at the employee wage level. We can't continue to have an economy that is paying 1990 wages.
> 
> Of course, then the problem becomes can employers afford it. It won't be easy to solve, but we best stop hiding from it.


There aren't enough wealthy people to make a difference - good insight. 

You don't like 1990 wages - start a business and pay your workers properly. Show us how its done.


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## ian (Jun 18, 2016)

People who think that poverty or wealth disparity can be solved simply by raising wages are dreaming in tecchnicolour. And in most instances I doubt very much whether they have ever owned a business or had to meet a payroll.


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## Longtimeago (Aug 8, 2018)

This is a pointless subject. Life is not fair in many ways. But why would anyone think it should be? Nature is not fair. Some animals live and some die. There are always the weak and some are the strong, the lucky and the unlucky, the haves and the have nots. That's just nature including human nature.

Since the first **** sapiens walked the earth, each one has tried to get more than their neighbour has, in any way you want to consider. it is survival of the 'fittest' with fittest being defined in the relevant terms of the times. In the past that might have meant doing a better job of protecting your cattle and therefore having a bigger herd than your neighbour. No one gave away cattle to make it 'fair'. Today it means earning more money than your neighbour and trying to suggest that the answer is to give some of what you earn to your neighbour to make it 'fair' is ludicrious. To suggest that is to deny human behavioural instincts. You might as well suggest a lion share its kill with any other animal that happens to wander by.


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## Jimmy (May 19, 2017)

sags said:


> They collect 35% of all income, so what is the tax rate they actually pay ?
> 
> If they collected 35% of all income and only paid 55% of the income taxes collected, it looks like they paid a pretty low rate of taxes.


? No . It means the opposite. They earn a small share yet account for ~1/2 the tax. Most top earners are usually in the top tax bracket. Pretty basic stuff.


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## like_to_retire (Oct 9, 2016)

Jimmy said:


> ? No . It means the opposite. They earn a small share yet account for ~1/2 the tax. Most top earners are usually in the top tax bracket. Pretty basic stuff.


No kidding - duh...........

ltr


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## Jimmy (May 19, 2017)

like_to_retire said:


> No kidding - duh...........
> 
> ltr


 I was just explaining that to sags .


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## like_to_retire (Oct 9, 2016)

Jimmy said:


> I was explaining that to sags in case you were snarking at me.


Yep, I know


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