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Unions are key to fighting inequity
Friday, November 18th, 2011
Nov 16 2011
The assault on the middle class has taken many forms, including tax cuts to the rich, the shredding of valuable public services, and globalization that allowed companies, especially banks, to pillage at will. The attack also included moves by governments to make it more difficult for people to join unions, and to limit the ability of those unions to bargain effectively on behalf of their members… Unions have traditionally contributed to a healthy middle class in a number of ways…
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, standard of living
Posted in Equality Delivery System | No Comments »
What has gone wrong for working Canadians?
Sunday, September 4th, 2011
September 4, 2011
… the middle class has suffered through a quarter century of wage stagnation, where real income after inflation barely increases… in the 33 years between 1976 and 2009, median income increased by just 5.5 per cent – from $45,800 in 1976 to $48,300 in 2009… But Canada’s richest 20 per cent almost doubled their enormous income difference over the poorest 20 per cent, from $92,300 to $177,500. Apparently these huge gains at ordinary Canadians’ expense are not enough. Corporations continue to clamour for even more tax cuts, despite no evidence that pandering to business creates jobs or investment.
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, rights
Posted in Policy Context | 1 Comment »
CPP a better bet than private plans
Tuesday, March 1st, 2011
Feb 28 2011
If we fail to act, inadequate pensions will cost governments (us as taxpayers) a lot more down the road for income-tested support vehicles like the old age security program’s guaranteed income supplement (GIS)… It is beyond belief that finance ministers armed with incontrovertible research and overwhelming public opinion would opt for a pig-in-a-poke program like the PRPP. It shows the kind of power and influence that business, especially the financial industry, has over politicians and government in this country.
Tags: pensions, poverty, rights, standard of living, tax
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Wrong decision on CPP
Friday, January 7th, 2011
Jan 07 2011
The CPP is an efficiently-run pension plan that delivers the security of predetermined benefits at a very low cost. Instead, the government prefers PRPPs, a private sector scheme that will reward banks, mutual fund and insurance companies for years of bad behaviour… the financial industry has been gouging consumers and pillaging their hard-earned savings for decades. Canadians see through this scheme and know that expanding the CPP is the better plan for them to save toward their future retirement.
Tags: ideology, pensions, rights, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
How to build a bigger, safer nest egg
Monday, June 14th, 2010
Jun 13 2010
The current average wage in Canada is approximately $41,000 per year, and the maximum CPP benefit is about $11,500. Our proposal to expand CPP benefits over time to more than $21,000 a year is financially sound and a practical solution to the retirement security crisis. Expansion of benefits would be phased in and financed by a modest increase in the premiums paid by workers and employers. For someone earning $30,000 a year, the increase would amount to just 6 cents per working hour annually.
Tags: pensions, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
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