Archive for the ‘Social Security’ Category
« Older Entries | Newer Entries »
Region supports basic income guarantee
Saturday, February 6th, 2016
… councillors voted… in favour of a motion calling on provincial and federal governments to work towards developing a guaranteed basic income – adding their support to a motion approved by the City of Kingston in December… “We know that working is no longer a pathway out of poverty, when working full time at minimum wage means that you are still living below the poverty line.” She said automation is replacing human labour, and it’s taking away many people’s livelihoods.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Minister eyes guaranteed minimum income to tackle poverty
Friday, February 5th, 2016
The federal Liberals have made ambitious promises to tackle poverty and to work with the provinces on improving Canada’s social safety net in areas such as skills training and employment insurance. Any major reforms would require the co-operation of the provinces, given the overlapping responsibilities for dealing with poverty… versions of the idea have appeal across the political spectrum, as it could lead to a larger or smaller role for government depending on the model.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Why our outdated pension plans need a fix now
Tuesday, January 26th, 2016
Ontario is now going its own way… the biggest new social program in a generation: 4 million working members and $6 billion in annual contributions will make the pension an economic powerhouse once it peaks… Despite the shrill anti-pension rhetoric, recent polling shows that 70 per cent of Ontarians strongly support the ORPP’s goals… Given that two-thirds of Ontarians lack a workplace pension, and CPP payouts average a skimpy $6,900 a year, broad public support for reform is hardly surprising.
Tags: economy, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, pensions, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Policy Context | No Comments »
Hey Finland! Canada Tried Guaranteed Income Once, and It Worked
Monday, January 25th, 2016
… the Finnish plan wouldn’t claw back pensions or other benefits. The 800 euros would be pocket change for the affluent, but (protected from inflation) a lifesaver for the poor. They could enjoy a degree of control over the kinds of jobs they’re willing to accept, and the kinds of services they would spend their money on… Feeling out of control of one’s own life is a demoralizing experience that triggers stress, which in turn triggers antisocial behaviour and self-medication.. This is precisely why unequal societies tend to have higher levels of violence and incarceration and shorter life expectancies than equal societies, as researchers like Richard Wilkinson have documented.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Ottawa Must Get Serious about Poverty Reduction
Friday, January 22nd, 2016
Despite Ottawa’s responsibility for more than three-quarters of income security payments in the country, it had not assumed leadership on this front over the past ten years… a National Poverty Strategy… can set important goals, create mechanisms to monitor progress, and improve coordination of the government departments and non-governmental organizations involved in the multiple routes to poverty reduction – including training, literacy programs, affordable housing and reformed social assistance.
Tags: budget, featured, housing, ideology, jurisdiction, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Ontario pension plan will launch in 2017 regardless of CPP changes, Kathleen Wynne says
Tuesday, January 5th, 2016
“whatever enhancement to CPP is put on the table — has to be as good what we’re proposing for ORPP,” said Wynne. “It has to solve the problems that we’ve identified, which (include the) adequacy of the benefit, and target the people who don’t have workplace pension plans…” Starting next year, workers at companies with 500 employees or more that do not have registered workplace pension plans will be forced to earmark 0.8 per cent of their pay toward an ORPP contribution… matched by employers
Tags: ideology, participation, pensions, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Prospect of minimum income gaining steam as Canada clamours for new ways to manage welfare and benefits
Monday, December 28th, 2015
Unusually for an economic policy, guaranteed income is popular on the economic left and right, on libertarian grounds, or for efficiency or institutionalized fairness… For Canada, it would be unusually dramatic. But as official policy of the ruling party, it is set to get a serious hearing.
Tags: disabilities, economy, featured, globalization, ideology, poverty, standard of living, tax
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
The ugly truth: Many Canadians didn’t have enough food this year
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2015
Over 4 million Canadians, including 1.15 million children experience some level of food insecurity… adults in more severely food-insecure households are more likely to report chronic health conditions as well as receive diagnoses of multiple health conditions… total healthcare costs – including inpatient hospital care, emergency department visits, physician services, same-day surgeries and home care services – increase significantly with the level of household food insecurity.
Tags: featured, Health, housing, ideology, mental Health, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Delivery System | No Comments »
Child poverty on the decline
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2015
Campaign 2000 is crudely measuring income inequality, not poverty. Statistics Canada explicitly considers LIM a measure of low income and not poverty… A more telling measure examines the ability of a household to afford basic needs such as food and housing… referred to as the basic needs poverty line (BNL)… the BNL shows that the child poverty rate has actually dropped by a third — down from 8.3 per cent in 1986
Tags: featured, ideology, poverty, youth
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Finance ministers keep options open for CPP reforms
Monday, December 21st, 2015
Ottawa and the provinces agreed that officials will start working right away on various options and the ministers will review that work early in the new year. A more formal meeting would take place in June to review the work again, which would set the stage for potential decisions when the finance ministers hold their annual December meeting… Reforming the CPP requires the support of Ottawa plus seven of the 10 provinces representing two thirds of the Canadian population.
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, pensions, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Recent Comments