The gap between the rich and the poor increases

The gap between the earnings of the rich and the poor in OECD countries is expanding.

According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, in 2008 the top 10 percent of Canadians average annual income was roughly 105 thousand dollars, which was 10 times higher than the earnings of the bottom 10 percent. The annual income of the bottom 10 percent was closer to 10 thousand.

The study also showed that the richest one per cent of Canadians have had an income increase of 5.2 per cent over the past 27 years.

To add to their increase, shares owned by the richest 0.1 percent of Canadians has more than doubled.

Tax benefits have only counterbalanced less than 40 per cent of wage inequality, which has dropped 30 per cent.

The gap between the rich and the poor is a trend happening in countless OECD countries. Italy, Japan, Korea, the UK, Israel, Turkey and the United States are all struggling with this as well.