This text is part of the special notebook The State of Quebec 2024
Although Quebec can boast of being one of the least unequal societies in North America when it comes to the distribution of wealth, the situation is far from perfect. Inequalities in accumulated wealth remain high. And the poorest have been hit hard by the rising cost of living. In this extract from a text published in The state of Quebec 2024journalist Clémence Pavic draws a parallel between the increase in inequalities, the lack of representativeness of elected people and the decline in confidence in the democratic system.
It must be said from the outset: Quebec is one of the societies in North America where income inequalities, after taxes and state redistribution, are the lowest. A legacy of the Quiet Revolution, which left us a strong welfare state. […]
[S]if we take into account income inequalities after taxes and transfers [des années 1970 à nos jours]we realize that […] social and tax policies work to mitigate income inequality. […]
But that doesn’t tell the whole story. This does not account, for example, for inequalities in wealth or heritage — that is, capital that is passed down from generation to generation and accumulates.
In Quebec, as elsewhere in the rest of Canada, wealth inequalities are much greater than income inequalities. […]
In 2019, the average assets of the richest 20% averaged $1.4 million, while the net worth of the poorest 20% was -$364.
There are also inequalities in the face of the rise in the cost of living in recent years. Low-income households have been much more affected by the price surge than those at the top of the scale. […]
Distance between rulers and governed
Economic difficulties have piled up in recent years: inflation has dealt a blow to the purchasing power of households, the surge in interest rates has taken home owners by the throats, the rise in rents has This weakened the situation of tenants.
In these circumstances, in the spring of 2023, a large part of Quebecers — three-quarters of them, according to a Léger survey — had difficulty digesting the fact that the members of the National Assembly granted themselves a salary increase of 30%, while the rest of the population does not have the privilege of decreeing as much.
Despite popular discontent, the bill was still adopted, increasing the base salary of deputies from $101,561 to $131,766 — distancing them a little further from the reality of the rest of the population.
With $100,000 in annual income before tax, a parliamentarian was part of the 10% of Quebecers with the highest incomes, according to 2021 data from Revenu Québec. At $130,000, this one joins the 5% club.
It is, among other things, the difference with the treatment reserved for all public sector staff which has caused a reaction when, as part of the negotiations for the renewal of their collective agreements, the government is proposing increases of 9%. over five years. […]
The political and economic elite in charge
Do people in a position to govern have difficulty putting themselves in the shoes of those who elected them? Last May, the Institute for Socioeconomic Research and Information (IRIS) undertook an interesting exercise: comparing the socio-professional composition of the councils of ministers over the last four governments.
Result: the middle and working classes are very poorly represented, observe the authors of the analysis, Philippe Hurteau and Guillaume Tremblay-Boily. On the other hand, profiles from the business, private, legal or communications sectors dominate.
Within the last four governments in Quebec, there are “no warehouse workers, no beneficiary attendants, no bus drivers and no retail employees,” the researchers noted, nor “any maintenance technicians.” laboratory, administrative assistant or mechanic. […]
In short, socioeconomic inequality is reflected within the political elite in control.
However, governments would be wrong to ignore inequalities, as their cost is so great, recalled the Nobel Prize winner in economics Joseph Stiglitz in his book The Price of Inequality: How Today’s Divided Society Endangers Our Future (2012). He describes how wealth inequalities hamper growth, weaken social cohesion and make citizens doubt democracy.
“The price of inequality is the deterioration of the economy, which becomes less stable and less efficient, with less growth, and the subversion of democracy. But that’s not all: since it is obvious that our economic system can do nothing for most citizens and that our political system is under the control of moneyed interests, confidence in our democracy and in our economy of market will erode […] », wrote the American economist.
About the author:
Clemence Pavicdaily journalist The duty
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