Archive for the ‘Inclusion Debates’ Category
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UN’s development index proves it takes a village
Monday, November 8th, 2010
Nov. 08, 2010
The index, though far from perfect, has revolutionized the way policy makers and economists measure success, going beyond income to include such factors as political freedom in an understanding of how to achieve human progress. This year, Norway placed first, while Canada fell to eighth place. For the first time, the index also measured gender equality, inequality within a country, as well as what it calls multi-dimensional poverty, taking into account other deprivations such as lack of access to clean water.
Tags: featured, Health, ideology, participation, standard of living
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Do you belong to the Elites? Take this test and see!
Saturday, November 6th, 2010
Nov. 6, 2010
Are you reading this column over lattes at Starbucks? If so, then you are almost certainly a member of the Elites – the social class that Stephen Harper, Rob Ford, and Tea Partiers love to dump on. The anti-elite backlash is running high these days, because an awful lot of people think that the Elites (that’s you, latte-lass) are arrogant and out of touch. The anti-anti-elite backlash is also strong, because an awful lot of the Elites think that ignorance and know-nothingism have been elevated into a political movement.
Tags: ideology, participation
Posted in Inclusion Debates | 2 Comments »
Doing good for goodness’ sake
Tuesday, October 26th, 2010
… the way forward is not through competition. Or at least not just competition. It’s through collaboration. Lots of people know how to “do competition.” But knowing how to do “co-operation” is much harder because it’s new and we don’t have the tools and skills to do it well. This just means we need to find a way to reward co-operation.
Tags: ideology, philanthropy, standard of living
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Rob Ford, the real candidate of inclusiveness
Tuesday, October 26th, 2010
October 26, 2010
Mr. Ford’s victory represents more than just a backlash against elitist big spending. It represents a potential right turn in the voting patterns of Toronto’s immigrant communities… Inclusiveness for immigrants in Toronto means getting a good job so their children can enjoy a higher standard of living than their parents. Participating in society is not achieved through parades, but by climbing the economic ladder.
Tags: budget, ideology, multiculturalism
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No longer one Toronto
Saturday, October 23rd, 2010
Oct.22, 2010
Toronto’s political divide is the result of a fundamental economic restructuring that has brought enormous boons to some and left others out in the cold. As manufacturing shifts abroad and the technology and knowledge economy burgeons, innovative companies, highly skilled people and the jobs that employ them have formed dense clusters… it also drives up housing values and splits up and sorts people by work and income… Torontonians must face up to the fact there’s no longer one Toronto. That’s the central challenge the city will be facing long after the election is past.
Tags: participation, standard of living
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How a simple policy change could increase organ donation
Saturday, October 16th, 2010
Oct 16 2010
… individuals lead busy lives, do not always use good sources of information, and must make many decisions each day. Individuals are not likely to give a lot of attention to one issue, and are not always well placed to make decisions with regard to a low-probability, psychologically stressful event, such as organ donation…. By moving toward a consent model that motivates people to make organ donation decisions, individual freedoms are still recognized, but the likelihood that people make consent decisions that are good both for them and for society would improve.
Tags: Health, ideology, participation
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Business on board for homeless plan
Wednesday, October 13th, 2010
October 8, 2010
The social safety net that once kept the bottom from falling out from under the most poor and vulnerable Canadians is shredding. Homelessness is one of the most visible ways we see this. Solutions cost money and housing is particularly expensive -as anyone who makes a capital investment in property knows all too well. But homelessness is even more expensive. Over the past two decades, Canadians have been living and paying for the ever increasing cost of our collective failure to keep up the public investment in affordable housing.
Tags: crime prevention, Health, homelessness, housing, ideology
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The welfare state should be tough but fair
Monday, October 11th, 2010
October 11, 2010
… the elimination of social benefits for middle- and upper-income families should be seen as a major transformation of the British welfare system… rethinking the concept of universality seems both appropriate and necessary. Why provide benefits to people not in need?… Despite the current enthusiasm for universal full-day kindergarten in Canada, for instance, those scarce resources would be better directed toward low-income families. Federal tax breaks for children’s fitness expenses or public transit bear an even-more tenuous connection to need.
Tags: budget, ideology, poverty
Posted in Inclusion Debates | 1 Comment »
Food banks: Don’t stop at giving
Saturday, October 9th, 2010
Oct 09 2010
Food banks represent the best and worst in our society. It is inspiring that so many give so generously… But it is appalling that such individual altruism is needed to overcome our collective failure to address this most basic need through government programs… talk to your politicians. Ask them why food banks, charities and churches have become so critical in the lives of those who cannot get decent jobs. Urge them to take action on affordable housing, inadequate welfare rates and an employment insurance system that provides no help to many jobless workers in Ontario.
Tags: featured, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Debates | 6 Comments »
Strike multiculturalism from the national vocabulary
Friday, October 8th, 2010
Oct. 08, 2010
Multiculturalism should be struck from the national vocabulary. Instead, Canada needs to refocus the debate, and have the courage to build a successful society around the concept of citizenship. Canadians should not be afraid to articulate – to the native-born and to newcomers – a sense of what defines the country and the idea that citizenship brings with it responsibilities, not just rights.
Tags: ideology, immigration, participation
Posted in Inclusion Debates | 1 Comment »
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