In the battle between workers and Canada’s capitalists the latter gain and the former lose. The recession amounts to simply a natural disaster, not a man-made one and . nature has to be allowed to run its course, job losses, wage cuts and less welfare benefits. Workers have to gird themselves for sacrifices.
Between 1980 and 2010, according to Statistics Canada, the pre-tax median income of the bottom 20% of earners dropped by about 20%. During the same period, the top 20%’s median incomes rose. The result was an overall increase of 19.4% in pre-tax inequality, according to a study by the Centre for the Study of Living Standards, an Ottawa-based think tank. Even after taxes and the distribution of benefits, the rate of inequality still rose during the period, only at a lower rate of 13.5%. Canada’s income inequality has increased faster than all except 5 of the 34 OECD countries, nearly doubling the rate of the notoriously unequal United States.
The top 60 Canadian-based firms make up 67% of all equity market capitalization and 60% of all corporate profit, and, given that “the entire Canadian political economy is driven by the performance of the equity market”, these firms are powerful. A Shrinking Universe: How Concentrated Corporate Power is Shaping Income Inequality in Canada by Jordan Brennan explains “Many important decisions made in the Canadian political economy are conditioned by their performance and their values" These include “decisions by businesses about whether to build new factories or expand the workforce; decisions by the Bank of Canada about interest rates and the money supply; decisions by commercial banks about acquisitions and lending; and decisions by governments about bailouts and stimulus,” and so on. These firms -- within which we’ll find many of the super rich -- have little incentive to close the inequality gap, raise wages, and reduce unemployment. “Contrary to the received wisdom,” the report asserts “a move towards full employment and unlimited industrial production will not be welcomed by business because it undermines the pricing power of large firms and leads to a reduction in the capital income share.” Companies are finding they can make record profits with far fewer workers.
A capitalist is not merely a term for the very wealthy. Capitalists rule by virtue of their wealth. Their goal is to steer the state for their own interests.
Source
Between 1980 and 2010, according to Statistics Canada, the pre-tax median income of the bottom 20% of earners dropped by about 20%. During the same period, the top 20%’s median incomes rose. The result was an overall increase of 19.4% in pre-tax inequality, according to a study by the Centre for the Study of Living Standards, an Ottawa-based think tank. Even after taxes and the distribution of benefits, the rate of inequality still rose during the period, only at a lower rate of 13.5%. Canada’s income inequality has increased faster than all except 5 of the 34 OECD countries, nearly doubling the rate of the notoriously unequal United States.
The top 60 Canadian-based firms make up 67% of all equity market capitalization and 60% of all corporate profit, and, given that “the entire Canadian political economy is driven by the performance of the equity market”, these firms are powerful. A Shrinking Universe: How Concentrated Corporate Power is Shaping Income Inequality in Canada by Jordan Brennan explains “Many important decisions made in the Canadian political economy are conditioned by their performance and their values" These include “decisions by businesses about whether to build new factories or expand the workforce; decisions by the Bank of Canada about interest rates and the money supply; decisions by commercial banks about acquisitions and lending; and decisions by governments about bailouts and stimulus,” and so on. These firms -- within which we’ll find many of the super rich -- have little incentive to close the inequality gap, raise wages, and reduce unemployment. “Contrary to the received wisdom,” the report asserts “a move towards full employment and unlimited industrial production will not be welcomed by business because it undermines the pricing power of large firms and leads to a reduction in the capital income share.” Companies are finding they can make record profits with far fewer workers.
A capitalist is not merely a term for the very wealthy. Capitalists rule by virtue of their wealth. Their goal is to steer the state for their own interests.
Source
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