Trudeau spoke of the concerns of “Nathalie,” an imaginary member of the middle class, earning what was at the time the median income of roughly $40,000 a year. As an economist, the fact that Nathalie wasn’t a real person doesn’t bother me: we use stylized fictions to make a point all the time. But what about her equally fictitious co-worker — let’s call her Nancy — who is paid the same as Nathalie, but is childless? Their middle-class credentials are as solid as Nathalie’s, but they don’t benefit from either of the Liberals’ signature measures to help the middle class. And even though their numbers are growing, they still don’t have the demographic weight of families and seniors.

Source: National Post October 10, 2017 13:18 UTC