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Editorial: PM should tie words to actions

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a Nova Scotia audience this week that he and U.S. president-elect Donald Trump have something in common — they are both committed to helping the middle class.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a Nova Scotia audience this week that he and U.S. president-elect Donald Trump have something in common — they are both committed to helping the middle class.

They have something else in common — neither has had much first-hand experience at being middle class.

That does not mean they cannot hear and understand the concerns of ordinary citizens, but we should not swallow whole any pronouncements they make about their commitment to this broad, vaguely defined sector of the population. We should pay more attention to what they do than what they say.

“As different on some levels as my approach is from the incoming president … we both got elected on a commitment to help the middle class, and we’re going to be able to find common ground on doing the kinds of things that will help ordinary families right across the continent,” the prime minister said.

Trudeau didn’t live lavishly as a young adult. He drove a modest car, shared accommodations, found seasonal jobs and, when he completed his university education, became a high-school teacher. But he never had to struggle, never had to worry about making ends meet — family money was always there as a backup and as a supplement to his teacher’s salary.

And because of his family name, he became a sought-after guest on the speaking circuit, earning $290,000 from speaking engagements in 2006 and $462,000 in 2007.

When he became an MP in 2008, speaking fees dwindled, so he downsized and bought a smaller home. So at least he knows what it’s like to have a mortgage, to tailor living conditions to his income.

Trump has had a busy and lucrative business career, and is worth between $3 billion and $10 billion, depending on who’s talking. But he got his start with family credit and his family’s fortune. It’s doubtful he ever had to give much thought to grocery bills or watch his kids grow out of their clothes while wondering how to pay for a new pair of shoes.

Family wealth should not disqualify either leader from speaking to the concerns of the middle class, but let’s remember why they focus on that demographic — it’s where the votes are.

A definition for the middle-class is elusive — some experts base it on median income; others on discretionary income. But a 2013 Wall Street Journal poll indicates that a huge majority of Americans think of themselves as middle class, and that’s what politicians seize upon. It’s the group that believes (with considerable justification) that it is shouldering the bulk of the tax burden, paying for services for the poor while the very rich loll about in luxury aided by generous tax exemptions. It’s rich vote territory.

It would be foolish for any politician to ignore the concerns and desires of the majority of the population. That’s what they’re elected to do.

And indeed, Trudeau has embarked upon a cross-country tour to hear those concerns, to hear the stories and troubles of individual Canadians.

But those individuals’ stories, while generating photo-ops and sympathetic sound bites, can’t compete with representatives of well-heeled corporations paying thousands of dollars to rub shoulders with the prime minister and other members of the cabinet. Ordinary Canadians can’t compete with well-connected lobbyists who know how to work the system.

Trudeau is probably better in tune with the middle class than Trump is, but when he dismisses concerns about cash-for-access events, or when he blithely believes nothing is wrong with accepting a tropical vacation from a billionaire, he is showing there is still a gap between his words and his actions.