Canada

Several things are driving extreme inequality :

• Corporate concentration : Behind every huge multinational, you find billionaires and extreme CEO compensation. This is why I avoid multinationals like Starbucks Coffee, Dunkin Donuts, McDonalds, Tim Hortons. I prefer to go to local coffees. This is also why I use Linux instead of Microsoft. This is why I encourage people to use Firefox instead of Google Chrome. This is why I financially support free open source software such as LibreOffice, VLC, GIMP. This is why I always avoid huge hotel chains. I only go to local hotels. Every Billionaire owns a multinational. An economy of small and mid-sized businesses is an economy with far less inequality.

• Labor market flooding The labor market was flooded with temporary workers and recent migrants that often don't know their basic rights. This has had bad consequences on low-income workers.

• Money in politics: Several provinces have very weak rules when it comes to money in politics. This gives rich donors enormous influence.

• Weak lobbying rules: The maximum fine for illegal federal lobbying in Canada is $25,000 dollars. If you get caught again, it's $50,000. These figures are an absolute joke.

• Under-investment in public transit: Forcing people to use an individual car to move is a great way to support the insurance industry, the banking industry and the oil industry. Guess who happen to own Canadian Insurers, Canadian Banks and Oil Refineries? The elite.

• Stupid provincial tax policies A lot of the provincial tax policies are just plain stupid. Take Ontario. Doug Ford announced a tax cut on gas to help working families. This is a purely stupid idea. It means a Toronto Bank CEO going to the country club on Sunday gets a tax cut. The TD Bank clerk taking the bus doesn't.

• Stupid zoning policies: Several Canadian cities make it incredibly hard to build apartment buildings. Toronto, which suffers from one of the worse housing crisis in the Western World, recently failed to allowed sixplexes citywide. Apartments buildings are far more affordable than individual homes. Winners are landlords and single home owners.

• Fucked charity system: Revenue Canada allows deductions for donations to charities. Perhaps it started out as a well-meaning idea, but it turned out to be a major mistake. Often, rich Canadians appoint their wives to these fake charities and give them a huge salary. It's common to see charities paying people $300,000 or $750,000 to run an empty art gallery. The goal is just to pay less taxes. This system is now totally out of control.

Basically, this is going to require change at the federal, provincial and municipal level.