Archive for the ‘Social Security’ Category
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The reality of health care and homelessness
Friday, August 12th, 2016
Mr. Levy costs the health-care system thousands of dollars. He is what we call in medicine the “social admission:” a patient whose care and discharge are complicated not by medical factors, but by factors such as difficult living situation or financial condition… If we cannot adequately care for our city’s most vulnerable members, then we must accept responsibility for their enormous care costs. Otherwise, we can choose to invest in more homeless shelters, tackling the issue at its core.
Tags: budget, disabilities, Health, mental Health, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | 1 Comment »
Canadians think guaranteed income good, but too expensive and it makes people lazy: survey
Thursday, August 11th, 2016
… 67 per cent of respondents backed a guaranteed income set at $30,000, provided that the payment would “replace most or all other forms of government assistance.” … 66 per cent said they would not be willing to pay more taxes to support such a program, and 59 per cent said it would be too expensive to implement… Canadians are generally not satisfied with the status quo on the country’s current welfare system. Three quarters of respondents said that Canada’s system of employment insurance and income assistance is “ineffective.”
Tags: budget, economy, featured, ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | 1 Comment »
Poverty has drastic impact on health, especially in rural Ontario
Tuesday, August 9th, 2016
Years of government consultations on housing and poverty, along with marginal changes to social policy, have done little to mitigate the detrimental effect of rising income inequality in Ontario… While a basic income guarantee, currently being studied in Ontario, could reduce poverty, the province needs to take immediate action, such as increasing social assistance and minimum wage, addressing housing and food insecurity, and ensuring equitable access to health and social services across the province.
Tags: budget, featured, Health, housing, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | 1 Comment »
Basic income? How about basic services?
Tuesday, July 19th, 2016
Could a provincial basic income approach federal levels of income support, knowing even $15,000 a year is far below the poverty line for a single person? Basic math shows this is unlikely… how could we use this initiative to create a policy win? By expanding the public services from which anyone can benefit, irrespective of the amount or source of income… a basic income and a basic service model put more money in people’s pockets, one with a cash transfer, one by offsetting the costs of necessities.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living, tax
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Canada Pension Plan: The New Deal
Thursday, June 30th, 2016
… details of the promised changes are as yet unknown… Another aspect of the CPP affecting low-wage earners is the continued freeze of the minimum contribution – at $3,500 since 1996. It now amounts to only about $2,400 (in constant 2016 dollars). But if it had been indexed to the cost of living, this year it would come to $5,100. We question why the minimum contribution should be frozen when all other aspects of the CPP are indexed to real wages or the Consumer Price Index.
Tags: economy, ideology, pensions, poverty, standard of living, tax
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | No Comments »
Province aims to boost support for low-income residents
Monday, June 27th, 2016
… when we say income security, we are talking about all low-income people, not just the welfare wall and the disincentives to getting off social assistance.” … Former Conservative senator Hugh Segal… was appointed last Friday to help design the pilot, including possible test sites, delivery models and evaluation methods. Segal’s discussion paper is due at the end of the summer… Income security reform and the basic-income pilot are happening in parallel because “one needs to inform the other”
Tags: budget, disabilities, featured, Health, housing, ideology, mental Health, participation, poverty, standard of living
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CPP expansion a compromise worth celebrating
Wednesday, June 22nd, 2016
… fewer than six in 10 Canadians voluntarily contributed to a retirement savings plan in 2014, and even those, on average, invested a paltry $3,700. During the same time, just one in 10 put away the maximum $5,500 in a tax-free savings account. The failure of these solutions confirmed that the best way to forestall the looming retirement income crisis was an expanded mandatory pension program… the new deal, achieved through the leadership of a more co-operative federal government, seems to have obviated the need for the provincial program.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, pensions
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What CPP expansion means to you
Wednesday, June 22nd, 2016
… under the new scheme, at maturity, a Canadian earning slightly less — $50,000 in constant earnings throughout a working life — would receive a yearly pension of $16,000. That compares with the current maximum of $12,000 at that income level. Bear in mind that “at maturity” is a euphemism for about 40 years of work. And few people get the maximum. The average CPP pension is about 60 per cent of the maximum amount… Who benefits most? Young people and those in mid-career.
Tags: economy, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, pensions, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | 1 Comment »
Bill Morneau’s clever Canada Pension Plan deal
Wednesday, June 22nd, 2016
It mollifies recalcitrant provinces, such as Saskatchewan, by postponing the full cost of CPP improvements for almost a decade. It appeals to business groups because it kills Ontario’s plan to go it alone on the pension front. It wins kudos from labour because it substantively increases the payout to retirees… no one will be getting rich on the CPP. The new scheme does, however, promise to make it somewhat easier for those currently in their 20s and 30s to eventually stop working when they get old.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, pensions
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Social Policy and Social Rights in Canada: Historical Reflections
Tuesday, June 21st, 2016
This article traces Canada’s legislative progress following the federal government’s ratification of the two Covenants that codified the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 40 years ago – the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The author urges the new federal government to restore its commitment to these two Covenants and the re-integration of social rights within legislation and programs
Tags: budget, featured, globalization, homelessness, ideology, poverty, rights, standard of living
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