The Globe and Mail Commentator Barrie McKenna claims that the “Gap Between Rich and Poor Won’t Be Closing Anytime soon.” http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/commentary/barrie-mckenna/gap-between-rich-and-poor-wont-be-closing-any-time-soon/article174023
Though the statement in itself is likely to be true, the article appears to be highly biased and be heavily influenced by left-wing political undertones. The commentary uses data from a study conducted by Dr Michael Norton and Dr. Dan Ariely. They set up three basic pie chart models for how wealth was distributed in a country, where one model portrayed perfect equality, one Sweden’s equality and one the Us’s equality. 92% of Americans chose the Swedish model as their optimal level of equality, which Mr. McKenna uses as a premise to create a biased and flawed argument. He claims that the research shows that the Americans regret that they have chosen to make use of a capitalist policy, and that Canadians should therefore be careful not to make the same mistake as their southern neighbours.
As we know, politics is all about prioritizing how we want the government to act based on the values and beliefs we have. Therefore, the data shown in the research does not convert to politics as easily as McKenna makes it look. Most people want equality at some level, but where people differ is how important it is to them.
