The Economy is Soaring High, So Why Aren't Wages?
Mar 10, 2008
A recent column in the Winnipeg Free Press argued that divisions in Canadian society no longer run across language or religious lines, but rather economic ones. Today, Canada is divided by where people live, how much education they have, and the amount of money they make. And things are not getting better for working class Manitobans, just as they aren’t across the rest of the country.
Western Canada has been thriving because of strong resource and service industries, while manufacturing and forestry industries in eastern Canada have been faltering for a variety of reasons, the high value of the Canadian dollar not the least of them. Retail sales in the west have surpassed those in the east as well, and are particularly high in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
Education and income also play a role in this division. A Statistics Canada report has shown that wages of managers and professionals rose about 20 percent over the last decade, while more blue-collar positions in the clerical and manufacturing sectors saw no rise at all.
A new report from the Manitoba branch of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) looked at the economic welfare of Manitoba families with children under the age of 18 living at home. This was a follow-up to a previous CCPA study (The Rich and The Rest of Us) from 2007 that found that Canada’s hot economy was translating into financial benefit for the richest segments of our society but not translating to the working middle-class.
Not surprisingly, Stuck in Neutral: Manitoba Families Working Harder Just to Stay in Place reveals that while there are differences in income inequality between Manitoba and Canada as a whole, the trends are pretty much the same. The gap between the rich and the rest in our province is growing. Although government – through taxation and other means – has mediated this discrepancy somewhat, the income gap continues to grow in Manitoba.
As an example, real earnings have not increased for many Manitobans in the last three decades. Although the richest Manitobans were much better off in 2004 (the year of the most recent data used in the study) than they were in the late 1970s, real earnings either remained the same or dropped for about 40 percent of Manitoba families raising children under the age of 18.
It’s become apparent from a variety of studies over the last year that working-class Manitobans and Canadians are working harder for incomes that are either stagnant or increasing very slowly, regardless of where one lives. But in a period of steady economic growth one has to wonder why more of this prosperity has not benefited anyone other than those at the top of the income scale.
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I hate to piss on pissinginthetent's comments, but I can't resist. Right wingers like him always want to dump (piss?) on our social safety net and public services. Blogs like this one underline the importance of the public sector - this at least creates a balance for the "thin the herd" crowd who choke the blogosphere with their vitriol.
Mike G - -0001-11-30 00:00
If any of you think you can depend on the health care system or the education system in 20 years...you have another thing coming. And don't think your pension will be around for you either. Time to cut back, take the bus , move to a smaller home and save half your money.And you might want to buy some gold and silver.
pissinginthetent.com - -0001-11-30 00:00
Does this answer why wages are not soaring? (re: the title)
newbie - 2008-03-18 14:01
Sorry "newbie" but I think you're missing the point of this blog and blogs in general. I read a few blogs now and I have to admit I always take them with a grain of salt, because, unlike a fact-checked news article there are no journalistic standards to adhere to. The point of a blog is to get people to think and get them talking. Blogs are posted as a springboard for more discussion and to get you thinking. If you need an answer to the question why aren't wages soaring? I'd say it's simple. There are a limited few who see the true benefits to a hot economy and that's why the rich keep getting richer and the rest of us stay where we are or get poorer. Good blog, I enjoy reading this thing.
Al - 2008-03-18 15:10