Back in my political days in Edmonton, I was tasked with getting some information about the people in my constituency. So I spent about a day doing some research (pre-internet days) from Canadian census data. I found out the average household in Edmonton earned (at that time) $33,000 a year.

I wasn’t surprised at that number, but what did surprise me was the attitude of people making much more than that. They still believed they were in the middle class.

Unlike the gentrified cities of the USA, Edmonton has various economic classes living fairly close to each other. A wealthier Edmontonian really can’t complain that he or she is forced to pay higher living expenses, when there are so many housing choices within their primary employment. And the wealthy shop at the same grocery stores as everyone else.

The story is different in Vancouver and Toronto, with housing prices much higher than Edmonton. I often wonder how people making $33,000 a year can afford to live in these cities. If they can’t live there, how do the wealthy people find the working people to do all the jobs needed to be done so wealthy people can enjoy their wealth.

But for sure, the wealthy really don’t understand the privileges they have — even if they earned them.