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We must address homelessness
Sunday, October 14th, 2012
Oct. 02, 2012
… part of the solution lies in raising welfare rates, creating more housing and creating jobs that match people’s capacity… a rising number of homeless means increasing health-care costs, increasing social services costs, increasing clinical costs, increasing emergency shelter costs, increasing unemployment services, increasing mental health services, increasing addictions services — all of which will come from taxpayers money anyway.
Tags: budget, Health, homelessness, ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Delivery System | 2 Comments »
Feds trim funding for disabled groups
Saturday, September 8th, 2012
September 06, 2012
Over the next three years, the amount of directed grant and community inclusion initiative funding will decrease to 65% of current levels in 2013-2014 and 35% in 2014-2015… It appears as though the Harper government is no longer content to just go after groups like the environmental lobby. It now feels it necessary to go after groups which advocate on behalf of people living with disabilities.
Tags: budget, disabilities, ideology, participation, poverty, rights, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Delivery System | No Comments »
OAS changes will hurt disabled
Friday, April 6th, 2012
April 05, 2012
Between 45 and 60% of those on social assistance have a disability and this number continues to rise. Many have been, and will continue to be, excluded from the current labour market unless significant new initiatives are created to remove barriers to employment… Disabled people tend to have a lesser life expectancy. Should an exemption be made for persons with disabilities in regard to a change in age eligibility for OAS and CPP? The other long-term option as advocated by the Council of Canadians with Disabilities is for a greater federal role in a basic income support program for people with disabilities who have been excluded from the labour market. A “first step” would be to make the Disability Tax Credit refundable.
Tags: budget, disabilities, pensions, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Tax breaks the same as spending
Tuesday, January 17th, 2012
Jan. 14, 2012
… the main appeal of loopholes to politicians isn’t what they do for culture, the economy or fairness but for re-election prospects… Loopholes amount to nearly 60% of net revenue. If all this were counted as the spending it really is, instead of dishonestly entered as a frugal, small-government reduction in revenue, federal budgets would top $350 billion, a quarter over their on-paper $280 billion. And if it didn’t exist, personal income tax rates could be slashed by a third. (The 67 corporate ones worth about $26 billion, against just over $30 billion in net revenue, are even worse.)
Tags: budget, ideology, tax
Posted in Governance Policy Context | No Comments »
Helping homeless helps reduce crime
Sunday, August 7th, 2011
August 2, 2011
So what do lower crime rates actually mean? To me it means we are doing better at caring for people… Does that mean we should hire more police and pass tougher laws? Maybe. Does it mean we should expand our support for those in poverty? Probably. Do we need more prisons? No, because we put too many non-violent offenders in prison… What I do know is lifting people out of poverty will only continue to drop our crime rates.
Tags: budget, corrections, crime prevention, disabilities, homelessness, ideology, poverty
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »
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