Income Inequality in Canada Growing Fast

Lower taxes on the wealthy have contributed to growing gap between richest, poorest, OECD study finds.

Remember that "Occupy" movement and their whole "income inequality" thing? Well, their message received a bit of reinforcement compliments of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, which found that Canada's level of income inequalitywas far higher than the developed country average. Via The Globe and Mail:

OECD research shows the average income of the top 10 per cent of Canadians in 2008 was $103,500 – 10 times than that of the bottom 10 per cent, who had an average income of $10,260, an increase from a ratio of 8 to 1 in the early 1990s.

The richest 1 per cent of Canadians saw their share of total income rise to 13.3 per cent in 2007 from 8.1 per cent in 1980.

Moreover, the richest of the rich – the top 0.1 per cent – saw their share more than double, to 5.3 per cent from 2 per cent. At the same time, the top federal marginal income tax rates tumbled – to 29 per cent in 2010 from 43 per cent in 1981.

Those are not good numbers! Especially if you're in that bottom 10 per cent. Although if you're in that top one per cent, your income went up, your taxes went down, and life probably got a whole lot better. Who do you have to sell your soul to around these parts to join that club?