Archive for the ‘Equality’ Category
« Older Entries | Newer Entries »
Inequality Is a Drag
It’s true that market economies need a certain amount of inequality to function. But American inequality has become so extreme that it’s inflicting a lot of economic damage. And this, in turn, implies that redistribution — that is, taxing the rich and helping the poor — may well raise, not lower, the economy’s growth rate… incentives aren’t the only thing that matters for economic growth. Opportunity is also crucial. And extreme inequality deprives many people of the opportunity to fulfill their potential.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Equality Policy Context | No Comments »
Income inequality: Mary Poppins has had enough
… comedy website Funny Or Die… draws attention to America’s growing level of income inequality. Meanwhile in Canada, nearly half (44%) of households living below the poverty line had at least one person working, something Citizens for Public Justice say points to the “rise in precarious, low-wage employment… while high-quality full-time jobs are becoming increasingly scarce.” … the 86 richest Canadians now have as much wealth as the poorest 11.4 million Canadians.
Tags: economy, ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
Therese Casgrain, feminist icon, written out of public history under Stephen Harper’s government
Therese Casgrain, a feminist icon and Quebec heroine who died in 1981, has been quietly removed from a national honour, to be replaced by a volunteer award bearing the prime minister’s banner… It honoured Canadian activists such as June Callwood until it was eliminated — unannounced —by the Harper government in 2010. An image of Casgrain and her namesake volunteer-award medal also disappeared from Canada’s $50 bank note in 2012, replaced by the image of an icebreaker on a new currency series.
Tags: ideology, participation, rights, women
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
Rising income inequality the “new normal”: study
… the OECD… study highlights the explosive rise of incomes in the top 1% over the last 30 years, and their growing share as compared to the bottom 90% and 99%. Authored by eminent Canadian economist and Broadbent Fellow Lars Osberg, it argues “there is no natural upper bound to the real incomes of the top 1% and thus no natural upper bound to their income gap with median households.” … another recent study that found that Canada’s top 1% accounted for 13.3% of all reported individual income in 2011, up from 12% a decade earlier.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, participation, standard of living, tax
Posted in Equality Delivery System | No Comments »
If we really want to soak the rich, we should abolish the corporate income tax
Canadian tax law provides individuals a tax credit on the dividends they received, while taxing only one-half their capital gains: in recognition of the tax that has already been levied on the same income at the corporate level… But in fact the evidence suggests that shareholders do not bear the bulk of the tax… As much as three-quarters of the tax, according to recent research, gets passed on in the form of lower wages for the company’s employees… Wouldn’t it be simpler, and fairer, just to tax shareholders directly?
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, tax
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
Hectoring from Ottawa won’t solve Ontario’s fiscal woes
Close the multitude of tax loopholes that allow the country’s wealthy elite to stash income in shell companies that pay low corporate taxes; hide assets in offshore tax havens; write off personal expenses and exploit all the tax credits, deductions, refunds and allowances in Canada’s 3,236-page Income Tax Act… billions of foregone dollars would flow into federal and provincial coffers. Not only would this ease Ontario’s fiscal woes; it would narrow the gap between rich and poor
Tags: budget, economy, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, tax
Posted in Equality Policy Context | No Comments »
Conditions deemed ripe for action on income inequality
Recent research by York University law and society professor Lesley Jacobs shows that 80 per cent of Canadians from all walks of life believe governments could do a lot more than they are actually doing… Public debt and budget deficits, globalization and a general distrust of government’s ability to solve complex problems are barriers to action… Raising taxes on the rich is problematic because there are too many ways for them to avoid paying. However, rearranging the corporate tax system that benefits high-income earners could make a difference
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Equality Debates | 1 Comment »
Ontario voted for sensible, pay-as-you-go social progress
Wynne’s incremental approach to social progress has tended to be the way among successful Ontario governments, dating from the 43-year-long Tory rule of Ontario ending in 1985. Social progress by all means, but within our ability to pay for it… That’s what Ontarians voted for…
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
Canadian pay inequality gap getting harder to close
Canada lacks good, regular data, but the best available evidence… shows that wealth is not only distributed very unequally among individuals and families, but also that wealth inequality has been rising since the 1970s… Over the past decade or so, much of the broad middle class have seen their wealth boosted by rising housing prices, while the value of financial assets held mainly by the very affluent has fluctuated much more… their share is likely to rise even higher if the housing market begins to falter.
Tags: economy, featured, globalization, ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Equality History | No Comments »
Income Inequality: The Big Split
Fourteen per cent of all income in Canada is now received by the top one per cent, up sharply from eight per cent in the 1980s. For every $1 increase in national earnings over the past 20 years, more than 30 cents have gone to the top one per cent… the majority of Canadian families with children under 18 would get no benefit at all from the Conservatives’ income splitting scheme – despite being the express target of the policy.
Tags: budget, ideology, standard of living, tax, women, youth
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
Recent Comments