Reader wonders where the middle class “struggle” is

Dear Editor,

Listening to many Canadian political parties nowadays you would think the middle class in this country is on life support. Well show me the money, or rather, lack thereof?

Many middle class people I know have a decent income, often two cars, a spacious and pleasant home, and opportunities and funds for holidays.

Many have money to invest. Many are also putting money away for their children’s education so they too can be part of the middle class.

If things are not that bad for so many middle class people, why do political parties pander to them? Numbers! The middle class make up the greatest number of eligible voters and the greatest number who actually vote.

Who gets elected matters little to the top one per cent but the middle class as a whole votes for centrist or center right parties who promise no or little tax increases or even better, tax cuts, because you can never get too much, and then there’s that second car payment, Sally’s braces and Bobby’s music lessons.

The middle class as a whole constitutes one of the greatest obstacles to progressive social change, in terms of the elimination of child poverty, various other forms of inequality, and saving the environment.

For the most part  these matters have been reduced to monetary issues and as such, large sums of money  need to be spent on an annual basis to seriously address them, as well as a likely restructuring of our destructive consumerist society.

However, most of the “beleaguered” middle class is against significant social spending and social change if their materialistic lifestyles are to be affected.

Will the current climate crisis show them the folly of their ways?  

Mike Byrne