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Real health innovation means investing where health begins
Wednesday, January 25th, 2023
According to health science, federal Liberal investments in child care, housing, poverty reduction, and climate action ARE investments in health. Federal leadership has been necessary because provinces have been retreating from investing in the social conditions that shape health and well-being. Any additional federal transfers for health ought to encourage provinces to achieve a better balance in their social and medical spending in order to promote health.
Tags: economy, Health, ideology, standard of living
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Governments have been under investing in youth for decades
Wednesday, February 19th, 2020
Since 1976… Had public investments in younger Canadians kept pace with investments in retirees, governments would invest over $19 billion more per year on younger residents. That’s enough to pay for a national child-care program twice; or increase post-secondary spending by 50 per cent; or rapidly accelerate the national housing strategy in response to the growing gap between rents, home prices and young people’s earnings.
Tags: budget, child care, featured, Health, ideology, standard of living, youth
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | 1 Comment »
Young Canadians facing deep declines in standard of living
Saturday, September 29th, 2012
Sep 28 2012
While policies that can create minimum wages and some social housing are important, they do little to help the typical 38-year-old today who has debt that is more than 100 per cent of household income because of housing and tuition costs. A generation ago, the norm was around 40 per cent. So we must look to other policy mechanisms that will reduce time and income pressures as younger Canadians start jobs, careers and homes.
Tags: budget, child care, economy, housing, pensions, poverty, standard of living, youth
Posted in Equality Policy Context | No Comments »
Forget Occupy, the real divide is generational
Saturday, September 22nd, 2012
Sep. 21 2012
Those under 45 are squeezed – squeezed for time at home, and squeezed for money because they’re burdened with higher student debt and paying higher housing prices with lower wages. And when they choose to have kids, they are squeezed for child-care services, which often cost the equivalent of another mortgage… Championing social policy for generations facing tough times is a big part of Canada’s legacy.
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, pensions, poverty, standard of living, youth
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
Income-splitting is not the solution
Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011
November 21, 2011
Income-splitting does not benefit most families with kids because it offers no help to couples in which both parents earn similar amounts. Nor does it help lone parents. Instead, the Conservative plan benefits a minority of couples in which one parent earns less than $25,000, and the other earns quite a lot more. This scenario is especially common for couples when one parent stays home – 18 per cent of Canadian families. But even for families with a stayat-home parent, income-splitting is insufficient to remedy the time, income and service squeeze with which they struggle.
Tags: standard of living, tax
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »
Boomers, seniors aren’t to blame
Tuesday, November 8th, 2011
November 7, 2011
The potential for conflict exists because social and economic trends over the last four decades have worked to increase average incomes and wealth for those approaching retirement, while squeezing the time, income and services for many in the following generations who are raising young kids… We successfully used policy in the past to adapt our environment for the evolving needs of a generation. Canadians can now repeat this achievement for Generation Squeeze… there is no reason to pit seniors or near-retirees against families with young kids…
Tags: budget, standard of living, youth
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »
Boomers know how to play politics
Tuesday, October 25th, 2011
October 24, 2011
Child poverty in Canada is three to five times higher than the countries that make it a real priority to eliminate poverty among the generation raising young kids… Canada allocates just 0.34 per cent of GDP to child care and kindergarten services for children under age six (2008). This is just over half of what the United Kingdom and New Zealand allocates; and barely one-third of what is allocated in France, Sweden and Denmark.
Tags: budget, child care, ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »
Make domestic child health a priority
Thursday, July 8th, 2010
July 8, 2010
… while we go to heroic measures to help one sick individual, we are not generous in promoting the population’s health by guaranteeing all families with children access to decent housing, food, early learning or quality child care, and enough unstressed time together. The limited availability of these community supports is why nearly a third of the next generation of Canadians are vulnerable before they start school Put bluntly, we have a disease fetish in Canada. And the medical care system reinforces it.
Tags: child care, featured, Health, housing, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
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