Archive for the ‘Social Security’ Category
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Ottawa unlikely to rescue Ontario’s basic income pilot project
Wednesday, October 24th, 2018
Ontario’s basic income pilot project — seen as a key test of potential remedies to reduce poverty — appears destined to end prematurely as the federal government suggests it’s not going to rescue a program axed by the province… while… Ottawa is open to sharing data with provinces launching income initiatives, “ultimately the design of provincial social programs, such as a basic income, is up to provincial governments.”
Tags: budget, economy, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, poverty, standard of living, tax
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Cancellation of Ontario’s basic income project sparks global outrage
Saturday, October 20th, 2018
In Canada, all federally-funded social science research involving human subjects must adhere to strict ethical standards outlined in a 218-page policy document… The policy mandates respect for human dignity through three core principles of “respect for persons, concern for welfare, and justice”… Provincial lawyers may have inserted “escape clauses” in contracts Ontario’s basic income participants signed, but they can’t override basic ethics
Tags: budget, economy, featured, globalization, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, poverty, standard of living
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Social murder and the Doug Ford government
Monday, October 8th, 2018
In 1845, Friedrich Engels described the phenomena by which working-class residents in Manchester died prematurely because of their living and working conditions. He did not simply label the occurrence as we usually do today: “Premature deaths due to unfortunate circumstances,” but rather coined the term “social murder” to make explicit the source of these premature deaths. This extensive quote from his Condition of the Working Class in England begs careful attention in relation to the austerity agenda of Premier Doug Ford.
Tags: budget, featured, Health, housing, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | 2 Comments »
Ending the scourge of poverty
Thursday, October 4th, 2018
The basic income pilot gained the attention of the international community and Canada because its aim was to eliminate poverty — the scourge of humanity for centuries. This hope was dashed, not because the project failed but because it was terminated before it finished. McLeod did not have hard facts to justify the cancellation; it was done on ideological grounds… the government simply dismissed further discussion by saying the project would “take away the incentive to work” and it did not fit with their vision of the future.
Tags: budget, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
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Canada’s First Poverty Reduction Strategy: Opportunity For All
Friday, September 21st, 2018
The strategy builds on investments made by the Government since 2015 that support children, seniors, lower-wage workers and other vulnerable Canadians, which include: The Canada Child Benefit… The Canada Workers Benefit… Canada’s first National Housing Strategy… The increase to the Guaranteed Income Supplement by up to $947 per year… for close to 900,000 low-income seniors; and, Restoration of the age of eligibility for Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) from 67 to 65.
Tags: featured, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
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Poverty in Canada: Experiences and Perceptions
Friday, September 21st, 2018
The first part of the study defined and quantified poverty in Canada by asking people whether and how often they have struggled economically. The study created four segments of the population based on the responses… the second part of the study reveals, nearly two-thirds of Canadians believe their federal and provincial governments should be doing more to address poverty (65% and 64% respectively), but public opinion is divided on what policies would be most effective.
Tags: economy, featured, poverty, standard of living
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Ottawa must pick up the ball on basic income project
Sunday, September 9th, 2018
The findings of the $150-million project would have provided hard evidence for governments of all stripes to justify either implementing or dismissing the idea… First, the well-being of those who participated in the pilot project is at stake… Second, as the mayors argue, it makes sense to ensure the money invested in the program so far isn’t wasted… Third, the savings potential for governments in Canada, alone, could be in the billions of dollars if the pilot shows that a basic income works
Tags: budget, disabilities, economy, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | 1 Comment »
Mayors ask Ottawa to take over Ontario’s basic income pilot project
Friday, September 7th, 2018
Four Ontario mayors are urging the federal government to take over the province’s basic income pilot project, saying many participants in their communities were thriving and that the research from it would provide “critical information.” … “This was an opportunity for us to have a fact-based, evidence-based evaluation” of how such an approach can improve lives, and potentially save money down the road on things like health care,
Tags: budget, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, poverty, standard of living
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How a universal basic income benefits society
Friday, August 31st, 2018
Receiving a basic income turned my life around. I’ve left unhealthy housing, re-entered the workforce and started repaying debts and retraining. Basic income works. It’s also essential in our automated, outsourced world of scarce employment. One universal basic income program would end poverty, reduce health-care spending and replace broken Ontario Works, Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and ODSP systems. It would save taxpayers billions.
Tags: budget, disabilities, economy, featured, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
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What’s good and what can be improved in the national poverty strategy
Wednesday, August 29th, 2018
… there is still a lot that can be improved in the new strategy. First, there is no new money for any existing or new policies included… Clearly more money around issues such as housing is desperately needed… we also need strategies for important sections of the population, including Indigenous peoples, that are made together with them as partners… We have to keep updating the LIM so we can compare ourselves to other countries…
Tags: budget, economy, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | No Comments »
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