Posts Tagged ‘tax’
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It’s time the feds got off the health-care escalator
Rather than the old game of fiscal federalism — Ottawa raises the taxes for the provinces to spend — the federal government should instead offer to convert the existing transfer into “tax points,” Ottawa cutting its own taxes to make room for the provinces to raise theirs. The sums involved would be roughly the same, but it would at last be clear just who was paying for what, and should answer to whom. I believe this principle is called responsible government.
Tags: budget, disabilities, featured, Health, jurisdiction, mental Health, tax
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Rewriting the health-care script
“Why would you make a tough decision if somebody is going to give you more money to keep the status quo? … The money did not go to change.” “Big” reform will only occur when the provinces and territories are given the flexibility to experiment on how to do things differently and have the incentives to do so. Ottawa’s role should involve fewer strings, not more. This should include repealing the sections of the Canada Health Act that prohibit patient cost-sharing.
Tags: budget, economy, Health, jurisdiction, mental Health, tax
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
America’s Sorry State Is No Accident
America is a mess. The world’s sole superpower seems cleaved by race, income disparity and social divisions. Worse, a disturbing number of Americans subscribe to beliefs that are ill-informed, insane or just plain wrong… The only plausible explanation for such aberrant American public opinion is that people in the U.S. are exposed to a vastly different worldview. A misinformation campaign of a scale enormous enough to account for the enfeebled U.S. zeitgeist speaks to how much some special interests gain in investing in and promoting such systemic ignorance.
Tags: economy, featured, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, poverty, privatization, standard of living, tax
Posted in Equality Policy Context | 1 Comment »
Mayors form alliance to push for housing cash
At the summit, the big-city mayors will be requesting that most of the available $20 billion in federal money for “social” infrastructure be dedicated to public and affordable housing… Premier Kathleen Wynne’s government has not yet committed to a substantial investment, beyond the $42.9 million announced in April for energy retrofits for social-housing towers. But Toronto is facing a $2.6-billion backlog in social housing repairs… [which] has led to the closure of hundreds of units… and put thousands more at risk of being shuttered.
Tags: budget, homelessness, housing, jurisdiction, standard of living, tax
Posted in Governance Debates | 1 Comment »
Big tax evaders must be brought to justice
Perhaps CRA would have more resources available to go after the big fish if it didn’t spend quite so much time and effort harassing hard-working, moderate-income Canadians who may have missed a deadline or a decimal point… bringing money-launderers and tax evaders to justice carries little political cost and would go a long way toward making the tax system fairer for everyone.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, globalization, ideology, participation, standard of living, tax
Posted in Governance Debates | 1 Comment »
Should the government rethink the way it deals with charities?
If we accept that there’s a place for charities, and support at least some limits on their political activities, where does that leave us? In short: in need of a complete overhaul of the sector. Rather than one set of rules applying to all charities (regardless of their size and purpose), we need targeted rules that apply differently to different organizations… In all cases, a clearer definition of “political activities” is required and partisan activities should remain strictly off limits.
Tags: ideology, jurisdiction, philanthropy, poverty, tax
Posted in Governance Policy Context | 2 Comments »
Medicare should be strengthened, not torn down
If patients who can afford private insurance are allowed to buy themselves out of the public system, it will create the two-tier structure that Canadian medicare advocates have been fighting to head off for decades… It’s fundamental to medicare that all should be treated equitably. If you’re moved ahead in the queue it should be because your condition requires it. Not because you can fatten the pocketbooks of health care providers.
Tags: budget, featured, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, mental Health, participation, privatization, rights, standard of living, tax
Posted in Health Policy Context | 1 Comment »
The taxman versus the charity, and vice versa
What the CRA’s auditors found, instead, was that Canada Without Poverty was devoting a fulsome 98.5% of its financial resources to politically partisan activity… Who doesn’t hate poverty? But what donor, regardless of political stripe, wants his or her charitable donation going almost wholly to fighting politicians rather than fighting poverty?
Tags: budget, economy, Health, ideology, participation, poverty, rights, tax
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
Charter Challenge for Freedom of Expression Launched
The question is, having accepted relief of poverty as a charitable purpose, is the government permitted, under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, to restrict our members from speaking out about the changes to laws and policies that are necessary for our purpose to be achieved,” Ms Farha stated. “We think that’s an infringement of freedom of expression and association for people living in poverty and that’s why we filed this case.”
Tags: budget, featured, ideology, participation, poverty, rights, standard of living, tax
Posted in Inclusion Policy Context | No Comments »
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