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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2016-10-26, Page 44 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, October 26, 2016 www.seaforthhuronexpositor.com Seaforth Huron Expositor PUBLISHED WEEKLY — EST. 1860 P.O. Box 69, 8 Main Street Seaforth Ontario NOK 1 WO phone: 519-527-0240 fax: 519-527-2858 www.seaforthhuronexpositor [p] POSTMEDIA NEIL CLIFFORD Advertising Director n e i I. cl ifford@su n med ia. ca SHAUN GREGORY Multimedia Journalist shaun.gregory@sunmedia.ca DIANNE MCGRATH Front Office seaforth.classifieds@sunmedia.ca NANCY DEGANS Media Sales Consultant ndegans@postmedia.com SUBSCRIPTION RATES 1 YEAR $50.00 (47.62+2.38 GST) 2 YEAR $95.00 (90.48+4.52 GST) SENIORS 60 WEEKS $50.00 (47.62+2.38 GST) 120 WEEKS $95.00 (90.48+4.52 GST) Publications Mail Agreement No. 40064683 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT P.O. Box 69 Seaforth ON NOK 1 WO For any non -deliveries or delivery concerns: phone: 519-527-0240 Advertising is accepted on condition that in the event of a typographical error, the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. In the event of a typographical error, advertising goods or services at a wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Advertising is merely an offer to set and may be withdrawn at any time. The Huron Expositor is not responsible for the Toss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts, photos or other materials used for reproduction purposes. Seaforth Huron Expositor is a member of the National Newsmedia Council, which is an independent ethical organization established to deal with editorial concerns. For more information or to file a complaint go to www. mediacouncil.ca or call toll free 1-844-877-1163. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canadian Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities. Canada At the root of recent political upheavals in several countries is the growing gap between the rich and the rest Michael Warren ere is one overarching issue that links Brexit, Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump and Justin Trudeau. It's the worsening income and wealth disparity that permeates the globe. The middle and working classes in many countries are being hollowed out. They aren't receiving their fair share of the proceeds of their economies. The elites in governments and corporations promise change, but they can't — or don't — deliver. The economically disenfran- chised feel they have nothing to lose by supporting populist lead- ers advocating extreme, simplistic and often self-defeating solutions. The winner -take -all nature of our form of capitalism is contribut- ing to enormous concentrations of wealth. Credit Suisse's Global Wealth Report (2014) found the richest one per cent of the world's population owns nearly 50 per cent of all global wealth — and they're growing richer by the year. This inequity is one of the rea- sons for the slow -growth global economy. A healthy economy isn't possible when the middle and lower classes are struggling with depressed wages. In Britain the top 10 per cent of the population enjoys incomes nearly 10 times that of the bot- tom 10 per cent. This high level of income inequity was a major fac- tor in the Brexit vote. A new report from the Centre for Social Justice and the Legatum Institute found the only group that voted over- whelmingly for Britain to stay in the European Union was a com- bined middle and upper class. The other four classes — all lower income — voted Leave. "The vote was a heart -felt cry from millions of people who feel that Westminster no longer knows, or even cares, how it feels to walk in their shoes," the report's authors said. Most of these people are from outside London's wealth bubble. They felt, without much sup- porting evidence, they had noth- ing to lose by voting Leave. Unfortunately, their cry for help may prove self-defeating. Prospects for the U.K. economy post-Brexit are gloomy. Growing government and personal debt may compromise future health and social programs, hurting the very people who voted Leave. Economic inequality is more pronounced in the United States. The richest Americans have taken almost all the gains in U.S. wealth since the 2008 recession. Even the upper middle class is losing ground. President Barack Obama has called income disparity "the defining challenge of our time." But his attempts to redistribute income to the middle class through tax reform and other ini- tiatives were victims of congres- sional gridlock. The Global Wealth Report shows that in only three years — from 2011 to 2014 — the upper middle class in the U.S. lost a trillion dollars to the one per cent. Americans in the bottom half of income lost almost half of their share of the nation's wealth dur- ing the same period, much of it in housing equity depleted by the recession. This leaves the top one per cent of Americans with more wealth than all the people in the bottom 90 per cent. The elites' income has gone up a staggering 400 per cent over the past 25 years, while the average American income increased by only 21 per cent. It's not surprising Sen. Bernie Sanders attracted such vehement support from millennials for his message of a just, equitable and inclusive society. "People are sick and tired of the status quo ... they should reject the same old estab- lishment politics," he argued. Meanwhile Donald Trump is marketing his anti -trade, anti- establishment ideas to Ameri- cans who have lost much of their wealth and opportunity. A sur- prising number seem willing to look past Trump's bigotry and racism to his simplistic message of "Make America Great Again" Canada has one of the most pressing income and wealth prob- lems of any developed country, second only to the United States. The 86 richest individuals and families in Canada (0.002 per cent of the population) have accumulated more wealth than the poorest 11.4 million Canadi- ans. Our economy has more than doubled over the last 30 years, but middle class incomes have gone up only 13 per cent. A new debt survey shows half of Canadians are now within $200 of being unable to handle their monthly expenses. A third aren't able to pay their bills and are technically insolvent. Justin Trudeau made helping the middle dass a central feature of his election campaign. Unlike the U.S., we are fortunate to have a majority government capable of and seem- ingly committed to acting. In his first budget Trudeau used our tax system to redistribute income. He cut the middle class tax bracket by seven per cent and intro- duced a new33 per cent tax bracket for Canadians eaming more than $200,000 ayear. He also cancelled income splitting and other tax breaks and benefits for the wealthy. We have a new Canada Child Benefit, which targets middle - and working-class families. A typical family of four earning $90,000 will receive a tax-free payment of $490 a month. Finance ministers recently reached an agreement to gradu- ally expand the Canadian Pen- sion Plan to provide somewhat greater retirement income for middle- and working-class work- ers. orkers. And reforms to the Employ- ment Insurance Act have strengthened and broadened the scope of this key social safety net. None of this constitutes a quick fix. There isn't one. But compared to much of the devel- oped world, Canada is moving in the right direction. All we need now is a stronger economy. am so sorry Seaforth and area for that mess To my knowledge, it has been roughly eight years since our computers have been updated. Working day in and day out with a processor slower then dial up Internet, a technological facelift seemed refreshing. So the IT guy walks in with the thin, light and from what Apple bids "powerful" lap- top. Wow, I thought, when it's closed it's barely the thickness of a newspaper, and a local news- paper at that. Sorry I had to say it. I know the paper is much smaller than it was twenty years ago, readership is diminishing due to the rising popularity of online news sources. And if online readers are not bringing down the print circulation its silly mistakes I make. Last week's paper is a prime example of my foolishness. I can holler to the sky or until the cows come home and blame Column Shaun Gregory others for that front page and second and third page massacre, but what will it do? I may feel better for the moment. It always feels nice not being the one at fault. In life, it takes a real human being to admit fault. After seeing the paper on the rack last week, besides wanting to throw gasoline to it and set- ting the pile to flames in my backyard then removing the ashes for evidence, just so there wasn't a fragment of that mess left in the world, I wanted to quit; pack it in, put the pencil down for good. Several distinct options came to mind, perhaps dyeing my hair, purchasing a fake moustache, putting on a pair of Steve Urkel glasses and concealing myself from the angered readers of Seaforth appeared to be the most logical solutions. When you hit a certain age you can no longer lean on mommy and daddy for help or a hug. You must know the types of parents I'm talking about, when you screw up, and they say 'hey' don't worry son, everything, will be okay, no matter the predica- ment or situation. You failed math, crashed the car, left a pen in the dryer and ruined a load of laundry. There is nothing wrong with loving your child or having these kinds of parents. However I'm a grown man, so the reflection that stares back at me every time I hop out of the shower is simply the only indi- vidual I can turn to. I can ask my girlfriend, but she has enough stuff to worry about and a 30 -plus human being is out of the equation. So I'm sorry Sea - forth area for that pile of muck I called a newspaper last week. I made a mistake and I'm doing what I can to make it right. Back to the computer, since we received the new laptops the program that sends all the infor- mation to our layout team has not been properly installed, which has led to many instances where standards of communica- tion were not met. You do not deserve a paper like that and I will make sure it never happens again. Shaun AKA the numbskull, signing out from space because that's where my mind seems to be at lately. #thereisalwaysabettertomorrow.