Archive for the ‘Equality’ Category
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Ottawa just makes income inequality worse
On the international stage, Canada solemnly agrees that a small minority has acquired too much of the world’s wealth. Back home, Ottawa does nothing to stem – or even slow – the trend. The gap between rich and poor has increased sharply on Stephen Harper’s watch. The Prime Minister’s policies – spending cuts, tax credits for select groups and downloading of federal responsibilities – have made Canada less equitable and less inclusive.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, globalization, ideology, tax
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Gov’t spending should be fair to all age groups
Retirees now report the lowest rates of low-income status of any age group, while more than a quarter of Canadian children start kindergarten vulnerable in ways that make them more likely to fail in school, commit crimes, and fall ill. Canadians in their 40s and younger also inherit larger government and environmental debts than their parents did a generation ago. Such evidence suggests that younger generations need to become a greater priority for policy adaptation by our governments.
Tags: budget, child care, globalization, ideology, pensions, poverty, standard of living, youth
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Indigenous thought belongs in the classroom
… a recommendation of the 1996 Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, which says, “Aboriginal children are entitled to learn and achieve in an environment that supports their development as whole individuals.” … must penetrate the conscience of the nation, for it means that we cannot ignore the need for indigenous thought and fairer funding in on-reserve schools. It also means we can no longer ignore the need for indigenous history in all of our schools.
Tags: featured, ideology, Indigenous, jurisdiction, rights, standard of living
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SCC labour rulings not revolutionary: it’s the Charter going to work
A constitutional right to strike will certainly embolden unions to challenge elements of existing labour legislation, and some schemes will require amendment, especially to the definition of who qualifies as providing an essential service. But Charter rights are not absolute. Governments will still be able to defend limitations on the right to strike for a variety of pressing purposes, the health and safety of the public chief among them.
Tags: featured, ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
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The era of offshore bank secrecy is dead
By 2018 Canada will join an agreement with 85 other countries including traditional tax havens such as Liechtenstein, the British Virgin Islands, and the Cayman Islands. The information being exchanged includes account balances, interest payments, and beneficial ownership… Keeping an offshore account is not illegal. Not reporting the money to Canada and not paying your fair share of taxes is illegal.
Tags: economy, globalization, tax
Posted in Equality Delivery System | No Comments »
Tax system needs a good cleanup
… the working income tax credit, the disability tax credit, the caregiver tax credit and the child tax credit — have commendable objectives. But suppose Canada had a leader with the courage to eliminate all the loopholes that didn’t serve a public purpose or meet any real need… Federal revenues would go up by an immediate $3.4 billion ($5.9 billion if Harper’s two latest tax breaks are included). That would be enough to produce a comfortable surplus… and alleviate the cost-cutting that has become a permanent feature of federal budget-making.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, ideology, tax
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The rich do get richer. Why can’t the poor also get richer?
This is a question not of equality, but of social mobility… Inequality matters less if you have a chance of moving between unequal poles… The places where social mobility still occurs – including Canada and Scandinavia – tend to be places with robust social safety nets and active governments. These can both reduce inequality and boost mobility. So, to answer the opening question: The poor aren’t getting poorer, but if you want them to stop being poor entirely, you need a national project.
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
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The tax axe is hovering over Canada’s wealthy
The modern rise in inequality has been disguised, in a sense, by the huge increase in women’s participation rates in the workforce since the late 1970s. Household incomes have benefited accordingly. But the average couple with children is working harder to stay afloat than it did, say, in 1967… the soaring income inequality of the 1930s was reversed by governments that required the rich to pay a greater share. In Canada now that would mean establishing a new marginal income tax rate above the current 29 per cent, for anyone earning $135,000 or more.
Tags: economy, ideology, standard of living, tax
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Canada’s social escalator broken
It is true that the 52 per cent of Canadians who describe themselves as middle class are concerned about their jobs, their ability to pay their bills, their lack of retirement savings and their children’s prospects… But… A substantial chunk of the adult population — 45 per cent — is trapped below the middle class. They think they’re stuck there for life, no matter how hard they work.
Tags: economy, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
We can all take some credit for helping the rich get richer
… there are lots of ideas for reducing inequality. Some… quite simple and workable. Knowing what to do is not the issue. The issue, as usual, is the political will to attack the problem frontally. The NDP is so far proposing a distinctly modest increase in corporate taxes, which is more than its opponents. As of now, with an election less than a year away, the big winner once again, and still champion, is inequality.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, standard of living, tax
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