Archive for the ‘Social Security Policy Context’ Category
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Mayor looks for ‘big idea’ to tackle poverty in Calgary
Wednesday, June 29th, 2011
June 28, 2011
While it’s true that much of this is in the responsibility of the federal and provincial governments, somebody has to take leadership. [Nenshi] “I’m not interested in endless buck passing on this.”… “Poverty reduction is not about money,” Richter said. “Poverty reduction is about quality of life and access to the economy and allowing people to help themselves; just create a level playing field as opposed to creating equal results. “That would really challenge a lot of assumptions about what poverty reduction is and about . . . the role of a municipal government in that.”
Tags: featured, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
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The Big Society
Monday, May 23rd, 2011
May 19, 2011
Until Cameron, Britain — like the U.S. — had one party that spoke on behalf of the market (the Conservatives) and one party that spoke on behalf of the state (Labour). But Cameron is initiating a series of policies, under the rubric “Big Society,” that seek to nurture community bonds, civic activism and social capital… Cameron has unveiled a series of measures to decentralize power to local governments, to increase government transparency and to disburse welfare provisions to a variety of delivery mechanisms.
Tags: economy, ideology, participation
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Canada’s corporate tax policy sustains child poverty
Sunday, April 10th, 2011
Apr 10 2011
Canada already has one of the lower corporate tax rates in the western world. Now the Conservatives want to lower it even further. Canada also has one of the highest rates of child poverty in the western world. Why can’t we be one of the lowest? It’s a question of priorities — fiscal priorities. Surely that is the nub of the question… The most recent reduction in Canadian corporate taxes will by itself deplete the federal treasury by $6 billion annually and that figure will increase significantly as the economy grows over time… Canadians are going to have do without… what economists call social goods.
Tags: budget, featured, poverty, standard of living, tax
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Quebec takes lead in pension reform
Friday, March 18th, 2011
Mar. 17, 2011
Quebec is hoping to pave the way for the rest of Canada by introducing sweeping changes to how Quebeckers plan for retirement, including a new pension program for workers who don’t have private plans…. Under the voluntary plan, employees will be enrolled automatically but will be given the option to withdraw. Employers will be forced to offer the plan but will not be required to contribute. The money collected in each workplace will be pooled and managed by financial institutions.
Tags: budget, participation, pensions, standard of living, tax
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Top court rejects Quebec’s call for cash [expanded welfare services]
Saturday, March 5th, 2011
March 3, 2011
Quebec began court action against the federal government in 1996, asking the Federal Court of Canada to force the feds to send more money to Quebec City for social service programs in schools, programs to help people with disabilities and programs geared at juvenile delinquents. It took 12 years to have the case heard and get a first judgment. The Federal Court, and then the Federal Court of Appeal, ruled against Quebec… the court found that the expanded welfare services Quebec wanted money for did not have an “anti-poverty purpose.”
Tags: poverty, rights, standard of living
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Tearing apart the British welfare state: Tories impose jobs on the ‘workshy’
Saturday, November 13th, 2010
Nov. 12, 2010
Almost a century after the modern welfare state was created… Britain’s Conservative-Liberal coalition government are hoping to tear it apart completely in a radical act of cost slashing… At its core is a far more controversial effort by the Conservative-led government to push a large population of uneducated, perpetually unemployed Britons… into the labour force.
Tags: poverty, standard of living
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Support for seniors
Sunday, August 1st, 2010
Jul. 31, 2010
While the lion’s share of support for low-income seniors comes from federal programs, most provinces have top-up programs to provide extra support to those receiving the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS). The provincial benefits kick in automatically through the tax system, except in Alberta and New Brunswick, where you must apply. Manitoba is unique in offering supplements to those as young as 55. The benefits are usually automatic to those receiving the Old Age Security (OAS)… No central source pulls this information together, so finding the various provincial programs was a bit of a hunt.
Tags: pensions, poverty, standard of living
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How the Tories will make working pay as those on benefits can keep more of what they earn [U.K.]
Saturday, July 17th, 2010
July 16, 2010
The biggest shake-up of Britain’s welfare system for decades will end the scandal of millions of people being paid to stay out of work. Ministers are preparing to offer a radical ‘make work pay’ guarantee that will ensure that around 40p in every extra £1 that claimants earn stays in their pocket… Currently, some families lose more than £1 in benefits for every extra £1 they would earn in employment… a perverse disincentive to the jobless who might find work, or part-time workers offered extra hours.
Tags: ideology, participation, poverty
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Retire at age 70? Young people may have to under plan [U.S.]
Monday, July 12th, 2010
July 9, 2010
Young Americans might not get full Social Security retirement benefits until they reach age 70 if some trial balloons that prominent lawmakers of both parties are floating become law. No one who’s slated to receive benefits in the next decade or two is likely to be affected, but there’s a gentle, growing and unusually bipartisan push to raise the retirement age for full Social Security benefits for people born in the 1960s and after.
Tags: economy, pensions
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In From the Margins: A Call to Action on Poverty, Housing and Homelessness
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010
December 8, 2009
“As our research evolved, so too did our frustration and concern as we repeatedly heard accounts of policies and programs only making living in poverty more manageable – which essentially entraps people.” (Sen. Art Eggleton)
“The Committee’s recommendations demonstrate the crucial difference between spending, and spending wisely. By breaking the cycle of poverty once and for all, we will be investing in human empowerment – which will drive the health and prosperity of our cities and yield benefits for all of us.” (Sen. Hugh Segal)
Tags: housing, poverty
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