It almost seems like a statement to the obvious, but the OECD (The Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development) released a new report today concluding that “The gap between rich and poor has grown in more than three-quarters of OECD countries over the past two decades”. In Canada, not only has the gap between the rich and poor widen, but also the gap between the upper and middle classes - the rich are getting wealthier faster than any segment.

While the report appears to give some hope by stating that the elderly demographic are better off now than they ever have been in the past 20 years (could be because governments have been tackling the problem of the aging baby boomers), it seems child poverty has increased significantly in the same period.

“The Arrival” by Kathy A. Adams
Empowerment International

“Children and young adults are now 25% more likely to be poor than the population as a whole. “

Though the OECD’s report is bleak, it does offer a way out namely through governments offering better education in the long run, and helping tackle unemployment in the short term by giving workers better benefits and incentives that help their families.

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