middle class

Well...here's hoping everyone had a wonderful Canada day .  With our 141st birthday falling on a tuesday it created a bit of confusion as to what days we all took off.    At least the weather was gorgeous for outoor fun. 

Canada day is also a time to reflect on what it means to be Canadian.  One of the wonderful things about Canadians is how we are generally a very happy and generous country.  We really do care about other people and want to do whatever we can to help others out...we feel bad when we see others suffering.  I think it comes from our ancestors...many who came to Canada with a desire to create a better life and weren't afraid of hard work.  And they knew if they helped others out that one day that person might be able to help them out if they needed it.

When I was a young boy my parents explained the Canadian class system to me and made it clear that the majority of us were hard working middle class people.  They also explained that in Canada you should be proud to be middle class because if you wanted to work hard enough you could build a really good life.  And for most of my life that has been true but lately there seems to be a bit of a shift.  It seems that the middle class is dissapearing.  There seems to be more neighborhoods popping up with Million dollar houses while young people have to take out a 50 year mortgage to get into their "$350,000 starter home".   It's hard to imagine this new generation will ever have their mortgage paid off.  Yet at the same time we live in a consumer society obsessed with the super wealthy.   Just not a healthy combination!

For those of us who started a little earlier and bought a house when the market was lower things aren't so bad.  Except the money left over after the bills each month is getting smaller and smaller. The last few months it's gotten much more noticeable...the price of gas, tax's and insurance and groceries (the essentials) is increasing at a crippling rate.

I know we still live in one of the greatest countries in the world --I just wonder how long the majority of us will be "hard working middle class".

Shane