Archive for the ‘Equality’ Category
« Older Entries | Newer Entries »
How first nations can own their future
Saturday, December 17th, 2011
Dec. 17, 2011
Truly progressive governments recognize individual property rights and enforce the rule of law, thus allowing people to reap the rewards of their initiatives. Individual property, voluntary yet enforceable contracts, open markets – these have been the holy trinity of economic progress in the Western world since the Industrial Revolution, and they are transforming China, India, Brazil and many other previously impoverished countries. The formula for progress is no different for first nations…
Tags: economy, ideology, Indigenous, participation, privatization, rights, standard of living
Posted in Equality Policy Context | No Comments »
Leaner government, less crime
Saturday, December 17th, 2011
Dec. 16, 2011
… the key is income inequality. The only three cities in the country with double-digit violent crime increases were all boom towns… where the influx of wealth drove up criminal opportunity… Every other city saw declines, because they suffered more economically over that period than they benefited. Less disposable income equals less vice, equals less gang crime, equals fewer homicides… The only two other cities with increases at all – both single digit – were… both economically devastated… (They) demonstrate that economic desperation — true poverty — drives people to crime.
Tags: crime prevention, ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Equality Policy Context | No Comments »
Oh, those lucky poor people
Saturday, December 17th, 2011
Dec. 16, 2011
A little historical perspective can be an excellent way to show people that progress is possible – which is the first step in getting them up and working toward a better world… Consider Attawapiskat. The issue is living conditions and what we can or should do about them. The distant past isn’t relevant to that question. What’s relevant are living conditions elsewhere around the country. They’re far superior – which shows we can easily do better for the people of Attawapiskat. And that’s the only perspective we need.
Tags: ideology, Indigenous, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
Ottawa proposes first nations property ownership
Thursday, December 15th, 2011
Dec. 15, 2011
Conservative MPs are proposing… legislation that would allow natives to own private property within the communal land of reserves. The change… would mark a dramatic shift for individuals living on reserve. It would make it easier to accumulate wealth and to use homes as collateral when seeking bank loans to start businesses… about 10 communities out of the more than 600 first nation reserves in Canada that are ready to move in this direction… But Mr. Atleo of the Assembly of First Nations has previously… noted that AFN chiefs had rejected the concept of private property.
Tags: economy, ideology, Indigenous, privatization, rights
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
Poverty of ideas in tackling poverty
Wednesday, December 14th, 2011
Dec. 14, 2011
… the problem of poverty cannot be solved by mere economic development and conventional Band-Aid solutions… poverty and misery are the direct consequences of the way our socio-economic system is organized and resources are allocated. Bluntly put, poverty is the result of our institutional failure… Charles Darwin (1809-1882), the British naturalist who influenced our knowledge of life on Earth, aptly observes: “If the misery of the poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, greater is our sin”. “Poverty is like punishment for a crime you didn’t commit,” according to Eli Khamarov.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
Growing inequality damaging to society
Tuesday, December 13th, 2011
Dec 12 2011
… a less frequently reported aspect of this growing inequality is its effect on everyone in the society, not just the poverty class. A 2009 book from the U.K., The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better, by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, “demonstrates that a whole range of social problems — from poor health to educational failure, from mental illness to obesity, from drug addiction to violence, from teenage births to the weakening of community life — share one overwhelming feature: they are all several times more common in more unequal societies”
Tags: economy, ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Equality Debates | 1 Comment »
Wealth Gap
Monday, December 12th, 2011
Dec. 11, 2011
Margaret Wente has a point. If you take a long enough historical period and use a narrow definition of poverty, the poor are doing better than you think. Things would look even better if we compared today with the 17th century. Beyond this, poverty is more than material deprivation. It also involves social exclusion and lack of opportunity for participating in society. These have measureable effects on health and social well-being. They reflect growing income inequality, and not simply decreasing material deprivation.
Tags: ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
The poor are doing better than you think
Sunday, December 11th, 2011
Dec. 10,2011
The real problem… lies with the elites of the financial class who’ve grabbed a gargantuan share of the spoils by means of fancy financial engineering that creates no value, and sometimes destroys it on a massive scale. Nobody knows how to keep them from wrecking the system every so often. The financial lobby is the biggest and most powerful interest group on Earth. Their ability to rig the system so as to enrich themselves has overwhelmed the ability of the politicians and the regulators to keep them in check.
Tags: economy, ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
A novel solution to inequality: Pay poor people more
Friday, December 9th, 2011
Dec. 9, 2011
The OECD says that inequality is growing even in countries we think of as paragons of egalitarianism… This trend looks set to continue. The developed world’s cherished standards of living are under fierce assault. This is especially the case in Europe… Reversing it, however, should require a focus on alleviating poverty, not reducing the stock of wealth further… perhaps by setting a higher minimum wage (many countries do not have one). A concerted effort to pay poor people more would help to bring the minimum closer to the median wage in rich countries.
Tags: economy, ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Equality Policy Context | No Comments »
Recession, what recession? Company directors see pay soar 33 per cent during downturn
Thursday, December 8th, 2011
Dec. 7, 2011
A survey by the Conference Board of Canada suggests remuneration for directors on boards of publicly traded companies rose significantly between 2008 and 2010, when the general economy was struggling and unemployment was mostly on the rise. The findings of the semi-annual survey show the average total compensation companies paid to outside directors soared to $112,651, a 33 per cent jump from the $84,452 average in 2008.
Tags: economy, ideology, standard of living
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
Recent Comments