Archive for the ‘Equality Debates’ Category
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Can women in power save the world?
Quotas for women (or “targets,” which is a euphemism for quotas) are all the rage these days. Some people say they’re long overdue. I say they are an insult. Women are quite capable of high achievement on their own… We can tell our daughters they need special treatment to succeed. Or we can tell them they need smarts, stamina and guts. Which message would you rather send?
Tags: ideology, standard of living, women, youth
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To truly reduce inequality, Canada must question neoliberal policies
The policy of freeing up capital to cross international borders without restriction was meant to channel capital from countries where it is abundant (the rich countries) to those where it is scarce (developing countries). Access to foreign markets was supposed to deliver a win-win, with rich-country investors getting higher returns and developing-country borrowers getting capital more cheaply. Unfortunately, it has not worked this way, since much of the capital is short-term and speculative…
Tags: economy, featured, globalization, ideology, participation, privatization, standard of living
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Ottawa imposes unequal increases in benefits for injured veterans
… the minimum payments will be based on the current salary of a senior private, even if the disabled soldier left the military at a higher rank… this is being done in the interest of fairness. “To do otherwise… would mean that some veterans receiving the benefits could be making more than their comrades on active duty.” … the majors, the colonels, the generals and even the high-ranking non-commissioned officers – will not be affected by the rank reductions.
Tags: budget, Health, ideology, mental Health, pensions
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A new bill is a good start. But gay and trans people need much more
While federal human-rights tribunals have consistently found that transgender discrimination is captured by protected categories such as “sex,” adding “gender identity” and “gender expression” makes this interpretation crystal clear. Perhaps more importantly, the new legislation serves a crucial symbolic function – it tells members of transgender communities that they can use the law to respond to pervasive inequality.
Tags: crime prevention, featured, ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
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The price of acceptance: Immigrants with disabilities in a system of disadvantage
Denying people with disabilities the right to live in Canada reinforces the stereotype that disability is a “burden,” a deficit within the individual, and an economic risk to Canada health and social services. To change this rhetoric, we need to examine the barriers around a person that prevent them from being included… When we view those who think or act “differently” as deficient, we lose the opportunity to discover new ways to address social and economic problems.
Tags: disabilities, ideology, immigration, mental Health, rights, standard of living
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Guaranteed annual income is a second-best solution to inequality
… there are better ways to achieve this – for instance, by instituting a more progressive tax system and raising the minimum wage. Moreover, poverty reduction cannot be disassociated from the discussion over income inequality. We need to work at both ends of the income/wealth spectrum. But guaranteed annual income says nothing about tackling the more perverse elements of inequality… governments may no longer see direct job creation as a priority…
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, participation, standard of living, tax
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You’re more conservative than you think
The Great White North is a much more economically mobile country than the U.S., which is increasingly an aristocratic society of fixed classes… If your father was in the top 10 per cent of U.S. earners, you’re likely to be rich yourself. But if your father was in the bottom 10 per cent. he’ll likely pass on his poverty to you. The American dream, the idea that it’s a country where everyone has an equal chance to get ahead, isn’t dead. It’s simply migrated to Canada.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, participation, standard of living, tax
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Close the wage gap between men and women
… women in Ontario still make only 70.6 cents for every dollar a man earns, for a gap of 29.4 per cent… no matter what women have done over the years to close the gap — whether it’s climbing the corporate ladder, getting more education, earning more experience or changing occupations — it has barely budged, according to a new study from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, participation, standard of living, women
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Canada must do better on caring for its children
Measured against these inequality gaps, Canada is at the back of the pack — ranking 26 out of 35 rich countries… But the truth is too many of our children are unhappy and unhealthy. They don’t have a fair shot in life… Most areas that were assessed showed little or no improvement over the last decade… Canada is one of a handful of countries, along with France, Iceland and Sweden, where inequality among children has increased markedly in recent years.
Tags: child care, featured, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
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The Politics of Backlash
In the developing world, the past two decades have seen hundreds of millions of people emerge from abject poverty and join the “consuming class.” … [with] access to education, health services and opportunity. That’s a huge gain for humanity. The problem is the rise of the rest — with its accompanying transfer of jobs, investment and optimism from places like Ohio or Alsace-Lorraine to places like Vietnam or Indonesia – has created a bitter class made up of the losers in this global shift.
Tags: economy, featured, globalization, ideology, participation, standard of living
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