Archive for the ‘Social Security Policy Context’ Category
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You know, there’s a reason no one’s put in a guaranteed annual income yet
Monday, November 20th, 2017
The idea of a “guarantee” is uncontroversial enough: we’ve already accepted that Canadians are entitled to a certain minimal standard of living. Why not make that implicit guarantee an explicit one? … Unless you’re willing to advocate for a drastic increase in taxes, the responsible thing to do is abandon the impossible GAI dream and focus on what is possible with current levels of tax revenues.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, poverty, standard of living, tax
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Ontario should move quickly on welfare benefits
Sunday, November 5th, 2017
For a group so fond of proclaiming its commitment to social justice, the Wynne government has done remarkably little to help some of the very poorest people in Ontario… The report given to Jaczek last week recommends increasing that basic amount by 24 per cent over the next three years, to $893 by the year 2020. This is the minimum the government should do. It would still leave tens of thousands of people living in state-sanctioned poverty…
Tags: budget, disabilities, featured, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
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Canada needs a bigger change in pension system
Friday, October 27th, 2017
Defined benefit pension plans like the one at Sears have been declining for many years, at least in the private sector… part of the problem is greedy corporations… But… private pension plans are struggling because of more fundamental issues. Retirees are living much longer and interest rates have been at record lows for years. That forces companies to make up the shortfall at a time when they may be fighting for their very survival.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, pensions, standard of living
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Expanding CPP is best way to protect pensions
Friday, October 27th, 2017
In a targeted benefit plan, the employer agrees only to try to provide predictable pensions. If it can’t, pensioners will get less than they were promised… outside of the public sector, there is little hope for real company pension plans. Their time has come and gone… Changing the bankruptcy laws to put pensioners at the front of the queue, as both the New Democrats and Bloc Québécois suggest, is a fine idea. But it doesn’t deal with the fact that the company pension plan such a move would protect is a thing of the past.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, participation, pensions, standard of living
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Ottawa aims to continue anti-poverty measures in 2018
Thursday, October 26th, 2017
Further moves aimed at low-income Canadians are expected to be announced soon as part of a new, multibillion-dollar national housing strategy… Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Jean-Yves Duclos, suggested that more anti-poverty measures could be announced in the 2018 budget… “However, the poverty-reduction strategy itself will be announced after Budget 2018”
Tags: budget, child care, economy, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, poverty, standard of living, youth
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7 things the Census teaches us about income inequality
Wednesday, September 20th, 2017
Ontario is becoming more polarized. The labour market might be rewarding families in the upper end of the income spectrum, but the bottom half of families raising children in Ontario saw its share of earnings fall to 19 per cent of the income pie… While income inequality hasn’t gotten dramatically worse since the Great Recession of 2008-09 — most of the damage happened between 1976-2006 — it’s not magically reversing on its own. It will take public policies to help close the gap.
Tags: economy, ideology, jurisdiction, poverty, standard of living, tax
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CPP changes will disqualify 243,000 from Guaranteed Income Supplement: report
Thursday, August 24th, 2017
Higher CPP benefits mean some low income seniors will no longer qualify for the GIS, a component of the Old Age Security program… unlike CPP, OAS spending must be found from government revenues at a time when demographic change will mean less tax revenue as a share of GDP. “This is going to be a real problem,” he said. “The governments in the future are going to be facing more and more of a constraint.”
Tags: economy, pensions, standard of living, tax
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Focusing on rights can help us eliminate poverty
Tuesday, August 8th, 2017
Politicians and governments at all levels are not the only ones responsible for protecting rights. Businesses, non-profit and community organizations, and individuals all have a role to play. The recognition of our shared obligation to ensure all of our rights is at the heart of our social contract… In the language of human rights, we must work towards “progressive realization.” … we need to set effective and meaningful targets and measure if and how our efforts are having an impact.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, poverty, rights, tax
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A Renewed Voice for Social Canada
Tuesday, August 1st, 2017
The federal government’s promised poverty reduction strategy must be more than a one-time commitment. It must provide for independent continuing appraisal and reappraisal of where we are and where we need to be, as the economy and society change. This paper proposes that the Government of Canada, as part of its poverty reduction strategy, put in place a new ‘institution’ provisionally called the Canadian Council on Inclusion and Wellbeing.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
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Ontario to change child support law to give adult children with disabilities access to parental cash
Saturday, July 8th, 2017
In his precedent-setting decision, Justice William Sullivan agreed with Robyn Coates that Ontario’s Family Law Act discriminates against adult children with disabilities because it denies them access to child support. Under provincial law, which governs unmarried parents, adult children are eligible for child support only if they are in school full-time. But under the federal Divorce Act, an adult child who is unable to live independently due to disability, illness or other cause is also eligible for support as long as they need it.
Tags: disabilities, featured, ideology
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