Income inequality is still a major problem

Letter to the National Post (November 23, 2012) This article on the Fraser Institute’s take on income mobility confuses personal income growth with (inter-generational) income mobility. Over a course of a lifetime income rises as people get promoted, etc., and typically peaks in the 40s and 50s. So there’s no surprise that 83% of the lowest earners move up the income ladder over a decade. Income mobility, as it is commonly understood or measured by economists, looks at how well parental income predicts offspring income. What is important to know is where in the income distribution were Charles Lammam’s parents at similar age-experience profile. Studies on inter-generational income mobility (a.k.a. “economic mobility”) show greater portability of Canadian society vis-à-vis the United States; however, this does not negate the fact that income inequality, especially at the very top end, has been on a steep rise in Canada. Kai Chan, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Letter as it appeared in the NP © 2012 National Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized distribution, transmission or republication strictly prohibited.

Banks, race, gender

Letter to the Globe & Mail (November 8, 2012) Re Women Challenge Central Banking Men’s Club (Nov. 7): The board of the Bank of Canada is not much different than the euro zone experience. Only two of the 15 board members are women. The board fares even worse on reflecting Canada’s mosaic – it has no visible minorities, even though they account for 20 per cent of Canada’s population. The club is even more white than it is male. Nevertheless, such positions should be filled by merit only, but in a country with such a large visible minority population, are there none qualified for the role? The board counts four directors (of 12 appointed positions) from the Atlantic provinces, even though that region accounts for only about 7 per cent of Canada’s population. Kai L. Chan, Dubai Letter as it appeared in the G&M © Copyright 2012 CTVglobemedia Publishing Inc.  All Rights Reserved.

Asian immigrant experience defies easy comparisons

Letter to the Wall Street Journal (November 2, 2012) Although Asian-Americans as a whole have achieved a lot of success (as measured by household income and education), they still lag on many indicators, most notably social inclusion, where they still seem relegated to the lower echelons of social hierarchy. Several years ago when I was working at an investment bank in New York City, I went to an Upper West Side house party of a fellow Princeton alumnus.  I was dressed in a tailored shirt with designer cuff links and wore Italian leather shoes.  I approached the security desk in the lobby with a bottle of wine in a bag and asked for the room number of my friend.  The guard asked if I was making a Chinese food delivery. Kai L. Chan Dubai, United Arab Emirates Letter as it appeared in the WSJ Copyright ©2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.  All Rights Reserved

A racial slur against the Chinese

Letter to the Financial Times (May 19, 2012) Mr Kai L. Chan. Sir, I was shocked to have seen the word “Chinaman” used in print. Are your editors ignorant of the fact that the word is a racial slur? One does not call a person from London an “Englandman” and neither is a Parisian a “Franceman”. The proper term is “Chinese man”. The word is offensive because it is rooted in the belief that Chinese people speak “chop suey” English. I would expect that you print an apology or at least a recognition of the controversy of this word. To Chinese ears the term “Chinaman” is just as offensive as the n-word is to a black person. Kai L. Chan, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Letter as it appeared in the FT Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2011

Real, it isn’t

Letter to the Globe & Mail (April 27, 2012) I find it amusing that all five cast members of The Real Housewives of Vancouver are white and blond (Why Our Clickers Are Stuck On Shallow – Arts, April 25). Almost half the population of Vancouver is visible minorities and far from every white female has blond hair. “Real,” the show is not; crass, banal and racially biased, it probably is. Kai Chan, Dubai Letter as it appeared in the G&M © Copyright 2012 CTVglobemedia Publishing Inc.  All Rights Reserved.