Rich forced to ditch country clubs, summer homes post-recession

It is a shame that our society ever let these people end up in such a situation in the first place. We should all work together so that there is never such a massive chasm between the rich and the poor. That way when the rich are forced to take a cut in pay the fall won't be from such a great height.
Perhaps if the wealthy paid a fair tax rate on their total income & assets the public schools wouldn't be so bad and there wouldn't be a problem with their children going to public schools?

It's ok though. America is quickly moving towards an Indian society Very rich and very poor. Canada will get to be India's Bangladesh and Mexico will be Pakistan.

Somehow I cannot summon up a tear for these people. The fact that Capitalism, their system of choice has failed them is the real story. This system has to be changed and changed drastically. It is necessary because it is destroying the lives of most people (the non rich) and the environment on which we all , rich or poor, depend.

If this change were to happen the next article in this series would be - Where Have All the Billionaires Gone?. On the other hand there would be other articles about the recovery of the middle and lower classes as well as an improvement in the functioning of our natural environment.

It would be too bad for the billionaires reduced to mere millionaires and them many multi millionaires who would have to subsist of a net wealth of a few million but that is the price of progress.

I have no sympathy for the folks forced to take these cuts because they have not had the foresite to save some of their wealth and have not been able to compete well enough to produce the wealth required to maintain their lifestyle. It sounds like people living above their means on rewards that were not earned in the first place.

Wealth should be an earned priveledge not an entitlement. The poor are poor because they choose to be and the rich who are rich by chance or lucky birthright alone won't stay that way. I have great respect for wealthy people who have earned their wealth and enjoy it as the earned reward for their work and ingenuity. These are the people that create and fire the engine of our economy.

Without the abilty to earn acording to your abilty and effort, there is little incentive to innovate or do your best work. People who cry about the gap between rich and poor tend to be in the lower range and tend to believe things like "money is evil" or "wealthy people are greedy and undeserving". How deserving is a "poor" person who doesn't use his or her talents to earn the most that they believe they are worth? How productive is that attitude that "wealth is bad" if you want to attain wealth? There are alot of homemakers and blue collar workers who have come up with great ideas and had the conviction to see it through to earn thier wealth. Capitalism allows this and it is available to anyone who has the passion and courage to go after it intelligently.

Stop thinking like a looter who wants to steal from the ingenuity, and convictions of the successful and we'll all be better off. If people live their lives in eternal escape mode wishing for something better but never doing anything productive to earn it, well, I really don't have any sympathy or support for that majority. The means to their success is within their own hands and is supported by a capitalist system not the other way around. The sooner people stop thinking like whiny peasants who are green with envy and too lazy or scared to really earn what they want, the better off we'll all be.

I don't think the rich should be punished for being successful.

Capitalism may not be perfect, but it is the best option.

I agree with Mr. Galt. The rich should not be punished for working hard and being successful.
IN general, the rich do not have the same worries as the poor. However, I think that you can get sick whether you are rich or poor and no amount of money is going to help you.
Again, I agree with Mr. Galt. "Capitalism may not be perfect, but is is the best option."

WELL, BOO F****N HOO!

There is a difference between the upper (and very upper) middle class and the rich. The rich are like the poor. Market crashes and job losses do not apply to them in term of life changing. The folks who suffer the most are in between. We have enough to lose and not enough to be insulated from losses.

The biggest losers are those who benefit from generosity of others. Arts and science research - all the way to the soup kitchen lines. If we continue to have hard times and then stop the 'write offs' associated with support for these endeavors - we will lose some of them.

Get the economy back on track! Regulate the financial world in a real way! Lose the debt so the money we spend has value!

Then we all will feel RICH!

It effects all classes of people. But no I do not feel sorry for anyone.

Mr. Galt and Trixie obviously are not totally in touch with reality, the wealthy(80%) for the most part are that way by fate or by criminal entreprise. I would like them to come live(here in Canada) where I live where one family controls not only most of the business but has so much political power as to thwart any other entity from flourishing. To Mr. Galt things like buying a property next to a flourishing business, establishing the same type of business, cutting its prices so low that the original business cannot compete is good business. Of course the when the original business goes under just imagine what the price of good at that business is then. How about having so much political clout as to influence the issuance of building permits to business wishing to start a business in the area. How about another smaller business who at the prospect of one of their best producing employees decided to send two goons to employees wife at home. This goes on every day in this country. The rich thwart creativity and nouveau rich in this country and that is why ultimately there will have be a revolt. When rich people can influence in such matters as getting special tax breaks for everything they do, there is something wrong. How about the rich family who at the time of building their 10 million dollar home decided to put a chapel in it to take advantage of the whole thing being property tax exempt.In a perfect world capitalism works but in this world the rich corrupt it to the point it malfunctions. No sir, you are spreading the message that the rich want you to spread and I for one balk at your statements. The rich take advantage of the less fortunate for the most part, whether here or some third world country and in my mind they should be thankful of their ngood fortunes and be leaders in society to make it better for everyone and not try to squeeze every last drop of blood from the less fortunate. Leeches. I do however have a great respect for those who through all of this succed in bringing new and wonderful things into the world using their genius but most of the rich are just self centered meglomaniacs who think they're entitled.

A thriving free society needs various levels of wealth/class in order to function properly. People need incentives to want to earn more income/wealth to enjoy perks they never had. What we need to do is to ensure wealth does not influence political decisions and that political decisions are made purely for the best interest of society. There is simply too much entitlement going around at all levels which needs to stop. A few examples are:
1) Should an MPP secure a very good pension for 6 years in office - NO
2) Should Quebec Students have the right to complain for such little pay hike in tuition fees- NO
3) Should stay at home Moms receive a salary - NO
4) Should Teachers, Vice Principals and Principals receive 60% of their income as a pension plan which averages out to $4000 per month - NO
5) Should the provinces continue to demand 6% transfer payments from the Fed Government to pay for our Healthcare Increases - NO
I can write a book about so much waste/spending on so many issues but in the end, each of you will have at least 2-3 entitlements; that should you not get it, you will cast your vote elsewhere. That's why we are in the mess we're in.

To Carl: The rich CAN'T take advantage of the poor in this country, simply put, if you don't want the job, you can walk away and you do not have to work. Then, in this great country of Canada, you go apply for some sort of social assistance and it is handed to you.
I like what Northern Ontario says. People need incentives. THAT is why capitalism works. You have to try to become the best at what you do, or you are squashed. Therefore, you only survive as a company if you are one of the best. That is how it should be.

Lehman Brothers went bust yet Goldman Sachs who wasn't far behind didn't go bust. "Must be the magic of Captialism"
Toronto Skydome built at great cost to the taxpayers virtually 'gifted' to the Rogers family "Magic of Capitalism".
Bell, Rogers, Telus have bloated poorly run mobile telecom business that charge way beyond what virtually every other developed country charges yet no one else is able to compete "Magic of capitalism".
TD, BMO, Scotia, CIBC,Royal have great profits, lousy products and poor service yet no competition from the worlds greatest banks, must be "Magic of capitalism".
I could go on and on with many other worldwide and Canadian specific examples but many people are too stupid to see how rigged the game is.
So yes, people who work and earn a large income that gets suddenly reduced without notice are Capitalism's losers and should suffer badly. People who are bailed out at every turn with your dollars money are "proof of Capitalism's" effectiveness.

One could ask why ambitious people left Europe to come to a country that didn't have an entitled aristocracy but what's the point? Too many people want to punish teachers, pensioners, children and low income people so that we can maintain the rigged system that helps Thomson, Weston, Irving, Rogers, Pattison etc. maintain their position.

We can all sit around and laugh at the nouveau riche become nouveau poor. While the truly wealthy smirk at charging everyone $100 + for transmitting the 1GB of wireless data that costs them $0.05 etc. Oh well at least these crooked capitalists are "OUR" crooked capitalists. Yeah Adam Smith !

I know there are decent hard-working businesses out there that earned their wealth and deserve it, but how do you explain these bankers in Canada, 5 yrs ago they made 6 million now they make 10 million, people place their money in these banks for very little interest and many charges.

The Public Sector is enriching themselves beyond reason , police, Firemen, teachers, nurse's, a big paycheck every week without fail, while the Private Sector has collapsed.

Privitize all jobs to make the system fair.

As the middle class disappears it will be harder and harder for the rich to keep their wealth. If none of the population can afford anything, who's going to buy the crap these companies are trying to sell?

To Northern Ontario: Stay at home moms shouldn't earn a salary? Are you talking about the one year of mat leave? No one will ever be able to afford a kid again. Well, just the rich. And of course, the rich are the only ones with the right to reproduce. This just goes to show that there is no value given to the work of raising children. The same as how there's little value given to caring for the elderly. If it doesn't make a profit...it has no value.

@New Grad. Thanks for the heads up on the issue of stay at home Moms. I do agree with them being paid while on maternity leave. I saw many blogs stating that Moms should get paid a salary to raise their families. I didn't clarify that point very well.

Many of the comments seem to be of the opinion that people who work hard to get an education, work extremely hard to earn higher income, make many sacrifices, and pay the highest amount of taxes should be penalized. My first question is; do these people work 7.5 hrs per day with weekends off, or possibly live with some type of social assistance, have they taken any real financial risks in their life, did they sacrifice and work hard to earn post secondary education or graduate education, what do they sacrifice to earn their paycheque?

Everyone equally enjoys the things that are paid for by taxes, things such as health care, re-training if they loose their jobs, employment insurance, rent subsidies, welfare, and the list goes on and on.

Stop blaming the people who are ambitious, work hard and invest in higher education, and work extremely hard to earn higher incomes. And lets not forget that the big pay cheque that this article is talking about gets cut in half before the person who earned it gets to spend it. And lets not forget purchasing more expensive homes, cars, summer homes, goods and services only puts more money back into the countries tax coffers.

Stop the socialistic crap, if you want to earn more money then get retrained, work two jobs, take some risks etc, then post your comment or write your article at the end of the year when you get your tax bill, or after someone suggests that you should earn less.

'Socialist crap' includes the Army and the police force protecting the assets and earning potential of "Hard working, ambitious, people who sacrifice". Be careful of the stones you throw lest they hit a window in the glass house you hope to retire or get medical care in.

Not sure how you connect "socialist crap" and protection from the army and police, both have nothing to do with socialism, they are services that are paid for through taxes. Also not sure what part of the country you live in but what I see is allot more police in brand new vehicles hiding in the bushes collecting additional taxes from hard working people through radar traps. The police that are not giving tickets are dealing with problems from some of the same people who complain about "the rich". Look where the crime is and you will find where the tax dollars are spent through social programs, never ending welfare and rent subsidies and policing. As for ensuring that medical care, pensions, among other things continue to exist, they will only exist if people work, earn, and pay taxes. Look at Europe, governments keep giving and giving, and giving and look where they are now. You, the government and the people who think its unfair for people to earn as much as they can are not robin hood, "take from the rich and give to the poor", that system does not work.

I don't feel bad for the rich or anyone who had a good paying job and spent their money foolishly. There are a lot of rich people in this world who yes work hard, but still aren't worth the money we pay them. I am not suggesting that capitalism is a bad system, just greed has got in the way. I don't care how talented you are, if you are making millions and billions of dollars, you are overcharging people to the highest extent or having your products made for pennies. There are a few people who think "poor" people don't work hard or are lazy. The truth is, not everyone can have that high paying job. If you look around our country, we are losing good jobs that paved the way for middle class people. We are giving jobs to china and other nations to make products for us (north america) and the cost of the products haven't come down. (this is how the rich are getting richer)

I don't have anything against the rich, i am below middle class and i work very hard for my money. I do have a problem with companies making billions of dollars in profit every year and not sharing with the people who are helping them make that money.(employees) See the rich, our CEO's believe they are worth millions for making decisions, but rarely see past the fact that they are one person and every other person on there team deserves a slice of that overpaid bonus.

It isn't about being rich or poor anymore, it is about greed and nothing more. No one person needs that much money. If you divided the billions one company owner has over and shared with the employees, you would see a difference in the quality of life. (after all, the employees of that company helped earn those profits. No?

Kind of like the lottery, we let one lucky winner have the 50 million instead of spreading it out?

Capitalism is good, greed is evil.

It's the same at every income level. Some people (rich, middle class & poor), just don't save. They will always be hit the hardest. Others at all income levels will see less of a drop in standard of living because they were already living below their means.

This article makes me laugh. How can anyone feel sorry for these jerks losing their country clubs or summer homes? First they replace humans with robots to cut jobs, and expect those people they screwed over to still buy their products. Where the hell are they supposed to get the cash, out of their ass? Then when karma hits them, they expect sympathy? Hell no!! I run a business that I don't own, do things that few others can do, and yet I get paid pennies above minimum wage. I don't even get a damn thankyou. One dollar that I lose is more valuable than the billions that those jerks lose.

Lehman Brothers went bust yet Goldman Sachs who wasn't far behind didn't go bust. "Must be the magic of Captialism"
Toronto Skydome built at great cost to the taxpayers virtually 'gifted' to the Rogers family "Magic of Capitalism".
Bell, Rogers, Telus have bloated poorly run mobile telecom business that charge way beyond what virtually every other developed country charges yet no one else is able to compete "Magic of capitalism".
TD, BMO, Scotia, CIBC,Royal have great profits, lousy products and poor service yet no competition from the worlds greatest banks, must be "Magic of capitalism".
I could go on and on with many other worldwide and Canadian specific examples but many people are too stupid to see how rigged the game is.
So yes, people who work and earn a large income that gets suddenly reduced without notice are Capitalism's losers and should suffer badly. People who are bailed out at every turn with your dollars money are "proof of Capitalism's" effectiveness.

One could ask why ambitious people left Europe to come to a country that didn't have an entitled aristocracy but what's the point? Too many people want to punish teachers, pensioners, children and low income people so that we can maintain the rigged system that helps Thomson, Weston, Irving, Rogers, Pattison etc. maintain their position.

We can all sit around and laugh at the nouveau riche become nouveau poor. While the truly wealthy smirk at charging everyone $100 + for transmitting the 1GB of wireless data that costs them $0.05 etc. Oh well at least these crooked capitalists are "OUR" crooked capitalists. Yeah Adam Smith !

Born in Canada I am being forced to move to Ecuador as I can't afford to live in my own country that I love. I recently went to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned and I was in the chair for about 15 minutes for an x-ray and was in the hygienists chair for 60 minutes, the bill was $409.65. I am on a WSIB pension which pays me $324.00 per month.

I always believed in capitalism, but now I truly believe that socialism is better. It works better and fairer for all. How can people that trade stocks and only push paper around make millions of dollars? Where is this money coming from? YOU AND ME, meaning - the poor - the hard working - the middle class - all while the rich keep getting richer !!!!! It is time for a change - REMEMBER RICH PEOPLE OF THE WORLD - THERE ARE MORE OF US THAN YOU RICH, GREEDY, SELFISH, GIVE ME MORE PEOPLE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF US IT IS TIME WE DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS !!!!!!!! ANDY

TAX THE S H I T OUT THE RICH SHARE THE WEALTH NO ONE IS WORTH A BILLION WE ALL WORK HARD LUCK KNOWLEDGE HARD WORK DESERVE REWARDS NOT GLUTTONY ... CAPITALIZUM TO A POINT WE NEED HONEST FAIR GOVERMENT ..... I KNOW I DREAMING MONEY BLINDS MOST THE REST JUST GREEDY

@Andy Bartello et al... Give you more!!! Come on! You and others expect to get something without working for it???? That is what all you complainers want. You hate the rich only because you don't have what they have. All of the rich people I know, myself included, have put up tremendous sacrifices and worked our butts off to get what we have. What is the incentive to work extra hard, only to have a huge chunk of it taken and given to people like you???? Use your brain! Others have made comments that the rich don't pay their share of taxes???? WTF!!! I already pay $189,245 per year in income tax, and about $57,000 in property tax per year. I don't complain about it either. If my post pisses you off, good!

@ Dr. B. K

Your income tax that you pay is pennies of what you own and make. I work harder than many out there, have many talents, and yet I get very little to nothing for my hard work. Don't tell me that I get a measly pay because I have no brain. My investments are worth shit right now as well. I believed in that lie, THE CANADIAN DREAM, and look where it got me, NOWHERE!!! You are struggling DR? It's not like you would give a shit about any of your patients if they couldn't pay you. I'm sure that while they are dying, you won't let it disrupt your golf.

I agree with what Mr. Negative has said. It's not capitalism that is the problem - it's greed. To Dr. B.K. I am certain that you have worked extremely hard for what you have. There are many people that have worked just as hard and do not have the kind of pay cheque you mentioned. We are also talking about CEO's and the very wealthy taking home MILLIONS. You are NOT one of the people this article is referring to. In fact, not to put words into anyone's mouth, but I believe we are trying to say you should earn more than what you have. INCLUDING; however, the manufacturer, the janitor, the admin girl.....when a company does well, ALL employees should experience rewards because it takes every person in the company to make it successful. Of course there can be variance in how it is distributed. E.g. experience with the company, job performance etc etc. so that incentives are not abolished.

Its hard to stay on top of things when the cost of living keeps rising. How the hell am I supposed to get a good education when I'm looking at a lifetime of loan repayments and never get out of debt? Those great ambitious jobs come at a great ambitious price. It is a lot easier for a rich kid to get mommy and daddy to help foot the costs then go into a huge debt. People are stupid with their money anyways yes. Credit is easy to come by but why? Big guys make money. Cost of living is going up why? Big guys want money. Money money money its all people care about! What about family and friends and a quality life? What about self confidence and self esteem? Oh those things don't put money into the big guys pockets. It doesn't sell stuff when people actually know what the crap they are buying really is or can question their decision to buy in the first place. Instead we hate ourselves so we buy more which feeds into this wretched system in the first place. We made the problem ourselves and its up to us to fix it.