WATCH ABOVE: Politicians love to talk about the middle class and in this federal election it seems almost every policy from every party is aimed at this group. But who really belongs to the middle class? As Jacques Bourbeau reports.
Global News recently emailed an identical question to the Conservative, Liberal, NDP and Green parties: “How do you define the middle class?”
Their replies are pasted below. You can also read our whole story about defining the middle class here.
(Note that the links in the Green Party’s response were provided by the Greens and are presented below exactly as they were sent.)
Conservative
We don’t believe in the politics of division and so-called “class” warfare that Justin is trying to import from the U.S. Under Prime Minister Harper’s experienced leadership, we are keeping taxes low and supporting Canadian families who work hard, pay their taxes, play by the rules, and are concerned about securing their families’ futures.
Liberal
The broadest swath of Canadians whose working income gives them the capacity to provide decent housing, quality of life, and a good education for their families, while saving for a dignified retirement.
NDP
Millions of Canadians identify themselves as middle class. They work hard, play by the rules and strive to give their children a better future. There are also families who despite their hard work, feel that they are struggling to get into the middle-class.
Tom Mulcair was raised on middle-class values. He understands what it’s like for today’s families to juggle work and family, and save for retirement. That’s why he has a plan to help middle-class families that includes creating quality affordable childcare and reducing the age of eligibility for Old Age Security from 67 to 65.
Green
A stable, healthy middle class is key to a healthy democracy. But the term itself defies precise definition. In some ways, it’s more a concept than a precise defined group. Middle class is a subjective term and to attempt to define middle class by income level only, would not accurately describe the unique circumstances of individuals and Canadian families alike.
What is clear in some of the research below is the definition of middle class is subject to many factors. Some of these factors we put together, cover three areas.
Income
The Government describes it in reference to how many people qualify for their tax programs. According to Joe Oliver in the House, “Two-thirds of the benefits will go to low-and middle-income families,” referring to the new family benefits rolled out this year. That puts their definition of middle class somewhere starting somewhere in the $30,000-60,000 and up to $120,000 (~ 2.77 million families). Of course most of their plans for the middle class don’t do a thing for families w/o kids.
So, if you go by national median income + the 60% of folks that live around it, you get something like this:
- 60% of unattached individuals earn $18,718 to $55,499; 60% of Families of Two or more earn $38, 755 to $125,000. (2013 estimates based on 2011)
Families
This IRPP study describes the median income by family type. Choosing a few of the most predominant family types:
Single parent, 2 kids = $31K
Single earner couple, 1 kid = $40K
Dual-earner couple, 2 kids = $99K
Duel-earner couple, 3 kids =$91K
Wealth
But income isn’t everything. Net worth can be just as determinative of class. Looking at net worth gives you this picture:
- 60% of unattached individuals own anywhere from $2,499 to $455,876; 60% of Families of Two own anywhere from $67, 971 to $1,139,488. (2013 estimates based on 2012)
But a better picture of middle class net worth has to incorporate age. The CCPA determined that the middle class from a wealth perspective changes with age substantially:
- net worth by decile of ‘economic units’ (families, partners, etc) of the 60% ranges from $550 to $62,000 in your 20s, and $8,700 to $250,000 in your 30s.
Region
National numbers, however, are quite meaningless. The middle 20% are doing great in Vancouver (middle 20% net worth is on average $519,294) but not great in New Brunswick (middle 20% net worth is $160,699) but of course cost of living between them varies significantly. That variance is largely due to the booming (but bound to bust) value of homes.
Which leads to – middle class wealth is bound up in the value of your home. In Vancouver 55% of the average household’s net worth is real estate.
Middle class is a subjective term. There’s no definition in Vision Green. Here are a couple, but I think it’s largely on you to decide how you want to define it.
(For what it’s worth – a recent Pew analysis defines the global middle class as earning $14,600-$29,200, roughly $10-20/day.)
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