Opinion polls are fickle things and majorities are not always right, I know, but an opinion poll published in Canada yesterday does certainly give reason to think. as the Ottawa Citizen reports:

The proportion of Canadians who said the government should reduce the gap between rich and poor has increased to 86 per cent, from 82 per cent in the 1990s, according to results of the survey conducted for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Amongst the most telling reasons were:

76 per cent worried that a growing gap will lead to more crime and, if left unchecked, Canada could end up more like the U.S.

This shows that the understanding that there is a social consequence of wealth disparities is very high. I really do hope that politicians and those who are wealthy take notice. The reason is simple and straightforward. The well-being of those with wealth is as threatened by increasing disparities in wealth distribution as is the well-being of those with little. The truth is, being a member of a society matters, and inequitable wealth distribution threatens the well-being of society as a whole.

The survey also found that:

Just over 80 per cent agreed closing tax loopholes used by the rich and by corporations would be an effective, or somewhat effective way of reducing the gap, while 70 per cent agreed raising taxes on the rich would.

The reality is that both are right, but it's good to see that an awareness of the tax base as well as tax rates is so high.

As encouraging was the finding that tax alone could not deal with this issue:

But Canadians also agreed there are other ways of reducing that gap. Ninety per cent said it could be done by making tuition more affordable; 88 per cent agreed with increasing the minimum wage; 85 per cent said it would be achieved by creating more affordable housing, and 80 per cent suggested more affordable child care.

Curiously, the survey noted that:

Atlantic Canadians are significantly more likely than others to think almost all of these methods would be very effective. Quebecers are significantly less likely to think that reducing tuition or creating more access to affordable child care spaces are very effective ... and this may be because they already have more access to affordable higher education and child care than do Canadians in other provinces.

It's always true that you don't value enough what you've already got.

The survey was of more than 2,200 people and therefore statistically valid.