Archive for the ‘Equality’ Category
I’ve dated a billionaire and lived on minimum wage. This is the one, radical solution to the inequalities I’ve seen
Tuesday, November 12th, 2024
Our economic system was born of the false premise that if the wealthy are prioritized in government policies, their wealth will trickle down to the poor. Since 2020, the world’s five richest men have more than doubled their fortunes. Recently, the CBC reported that “income inequality in Canada (had) hit the highest level ever recorded.”… Minimum wage increases have little impact in a system that enables and perpetuates kleptocracy.
Tags: poverty, rights, standard of living, tax
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
Murray Sinclair sought to build a pathway toward mutual understanding and healing for future generations
Wednesday, November 6th, 2024
In waves of paternalism and government intervention, Indigenous Peoples were moved off their lands, onto reserves or into the cities and, far too often, into the courts and prisons… That “reconciliation” entered the national vocabulary is a testament to his gentle persuasiveness… His vision for a reconciled Canada sought to unite the strengths of Indigenous Nations and Canadian ideals, creating a path toward a future where the best of both worlds could flourish together.
Tags: featured, Indigenous, jurisdiction, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Equality History | No Comments »
The rich say boosting the capital gains tax will hurt productivity, but it’s just not true. Time to do a little myth-busting
Monday, June 17th, 2024
Most academic economists support a higher inclusion rate, partly because it levels the playing field between different types of capital income. But the best motivation is $20 billion in revenue it will raise over five years, to support modest new programs announced in this budget. This will help fund school lunches, affordable housing initiatives, dental care and disability benefits — while still respecting Freeland’s fiscal “guardrails.”
Tags: budget, economy, featured, ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Equality Policy Context | No Comments »
Pierre Poilievre’s vision for Canada: Heaven for the very rich and squat for everyone else
Friday, June 14th, 2024
… the real redistribution in recent years hasn’t been the small bit directed toward benefits for ordinary Canadians but rather the gush of money toward the wealthiest Canadians. In 2021, the richest .01 per cent saw their incomes grow on average by a stunning 30 per cent to $12.5 million a year, while the incomes of 14 million working Canadians actually declined, according to Statistics Canada.
Tags: budget, standard of living, tax
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
Inside the Campaign to Kill a Step Toward Tax Fairness
Monday, June 10th, 2024
… interest groups don’t have to offer an alternative and can just snipe at proposals that they dislike. The capital gains change is expected to bring in more than $19 billion over the next five years. Anti-tax groups don’t need to explain where that money should come from, or what services should be cut if the tax is axed… But the process is a warning about the powerful forces that will battle any move to increase tax fairness, if it means the rich will pay more.
Tags: budget, ideology, tax
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
Canada’s shift to a more regressive tax system, 2004 to 2022
Thursday, May 9th, 2024
Taxation of the wealthiest is a central means to reduce inequality, provide adequate shared public infrastructure and services that benefit all, and create opportunities for all to live a decent life… Despite the progressive personal income tax system, when we look at all taxes and income, the tax system is only moderately progressive at the bottom, flat through the middle and regressive at the top.
Tags: economy, ideology, jurisdiction, standard of living, tax
Posted in Equality History | No Comments »
Wealthy Canadians get huge tax breaks, even with budget changes to capital gains
Thursday, April 25th, 2024
The tax system is much tougher on working people, who make up the vast majority of Canadians, including almost everyone in the lower and middle class. Working people pay taxes on their full working incomes, with few exemptions, and their taxes are deducted before they even receive their paycheques. Then there are those who own capital — stocks, bonds and other property… “A buck is a buck is a buck.” The budget’s tax changes are a small but important step in that direction.
Tags: budget, featured, ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Equality Policy Context | No Comments »
Liberals tax the rich, but not enough to be considered populist
Thursday, April 18th, 2024
… in recent decades, business interests have strong-armed governments into redesigning the marketplace to favour their own interests, through tax and regulatory changes, and the rewriting of labour laws to disempower workers. These “neo-liberal” changes haven’t brought us the productivity gains that were promised, but they have made us a much less equal society… We need to reverse the “neo-liberal” policies that are responsible for such extreme inequality.
Tags: budget, ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Equality Policy Context | No Comments »
Canada is bad at studying wealth inequality and we explain why that matters
Thursday, April 4th, 2024
Canada’s top 1 per cent owns 26 per cent of all wealth in Canada, and our top .01 per cent owns 12.4 per cent of all wealth. This is somewhat lower than the U.S. numbers, but it is much higher than official Statistics Canada numbers report… But looking only at income paints an incomplete picture because it ignores intergenerational wealth that has been inherited… wealth — or its absence — can be more important to the lives of individuals, as well as to broader social cohesion.
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, tax
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
Canada should support G20 plan to tax billionaires
Thursday, March 7th, 2024
In an unprecedented development, the G20 has announced it is exploring the idea of co-ordinating efforts to ensure the world’s billionaires pay annual taxes worth at least 2 per cent of their wealth… By co-operating, the world’s leading economies could curb the ability of the superrich to play countries off against each other, and incentivize nations to tax their own billionaires… It’s a plan Freeland should support, even enthusiastically champion.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Equality Policy Context | No Comments »
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