On Tuesday, BC MLA Jagrup Brar wrapped up his month living on a basic welfare income of $610. He has returned to his family and a comfortable home. But we owe him great thanks. And kudos as well to the folks at Raise the Rates, who issued the challenge that MLAs try living on welfare [...]
Seth Klein’s Blog Posts
Seth Klein is the BC Director of the CCPA. Seth’s research deals primarily with welfare policy, poverty, inequality and economic security. A social activist for over 20 years and a former teacher, Seth is a founding board member with the Vancouver-based Centre for Native Policy and Research. He is also an advisory board member for the Columbia Institute’s Centre for Civic Governance, and an advisor and instructor for Next Up, a leadership program for young people committed to social and environmental justice.
Congratulations to Jagrup Brar: Time to raise welfare rates
February 3rd, 2012 · Seth Klein · No Comments · Poverty, inequality & welfare
Tags: child poverty·poverty·welfare
Kevin Falcon’s narrow take on tax options
January 28th, 2012 · Seth Klein · 3 Comments · Economy, Provincial budget & finance, Taxes
BC Finance Minister Kevin Falcon says he is keen to take a fresh look at the BC tax system. He is welcoming new ideas, and he even wants your opinion. He has struck an “expert” panel to review BC’s tax regime, and in early January the government launched an online tool that the public can [...]
Top 10 Reasons for Upper-Income Tax Increases
January 17th, 2012 · Seth Klein · 21 Comments · Poverty, inequality & welfare, Taxes
Some feel we shouldn’t increase taxes on upper-income folks. After all, people know best how to spend their money, whereas the government will only waste it on needless activities. Well then, I humbly submit the following Top 10 list of reasons for upper-income tax increases (in descending order). #10: Ridiculous real estate. Check out Vancouver’s [...]
Tags: inequality·Taxes
Making health care funding sustainable
January 13th, 2012 · Seth Klein · Comments Off · Health care
The BC Legislature’s Select Standing Committee on Health is currently investigating the sustainability of BC’s health care system (with a focus on demographic / aging trends), and asked for written submissions of peer-reviewed studies on the subject. Here’s what I just submitted: Submission to the BC Legislature’s Select Standing Committee on Health From: Seth Klein, [...]
Tags: budget·health care costs
Tackling inequality means rethinking upper-income tax rates
December 23rd, 2011 · Seth Klein · Comments Off · Poverty, inequality & welfare, Taxes
2011 was the year rising inequality finally exploded into the mainstream discourse. A few year-end reading recommendations: Victoria Times-Colonist editorial writer Paul Willcocks wrote a terrific piece on the subject (you can find it here); and similarly, a group of UBC economists (including CCPA research associate David Green) authored a series on inequality for the [...]
Tags: inequality·Taxes
Reflections on the year past and the year to come: Inequality explodes into the public discourse
December 22nd, 2011 · Seth Klein · 2 Comments · Climate change, Poverty, inequality & welfare
If this past year – marked by the Arab Spring and the fall arrival of the Occupy movement — has taught us anything, it is that we never know when historic moments come. And when they do, that which seemed political impossible is suddenly in play. Many of us found the explosion of the Occupy [...]
Growing support for cities to adopt living wage
November 16th, 2011 · Seth Klein · Comments Off · Employment & labour, Municipalities, Poverty, inequality & welfare
New developments since my recent post calling on municipalities to lead the way on adopting living wage policies: First, over just over 100 candidates have responded to the Open Letter issued by the Living Wage for Families campaign, covering almost every Lower Mainland municipality. Almost all have expressed support for this proposal or at least [...]
Tags: living wage·Municipalities·poverty
Living Wage Policy: Why Municipal Governments should lead the way
October 25th, 2011 · Seth Klein · Comments Off · Employment & labour, Poverty, inequality & welfare
By Michael McCarthy Flynn and Seth Klein The Living Wage for Families Campaign, along with 54 organizations representing over 300,000 British Columbians, recently issued an Open Letter calling on all municipal election candidates to help low-income families in their cities by passing a Living Wage policy if they are elected (available here). Many families are [...]
BC’s Top 1%: Doing fabulous, thank you
October 11th, 2011 · Seth Klein · 9 Comments · Poverty, inequality & welfare, Taxes
Occupy Wall Street has shone new light on the growing gap between the richest 1% and the rest of us (the 99 percenters). But that’s the U.S. right? Surely, our reality is different, eh? As the occupy movement comes to Canada in the coming week, we don’t really have reason to copy these American trouble-makers, [...]
Tags: inequality·tax cuts·Taxes
NDP propose BC Poverty Reduction Act
June 2nd, 2011 · Seth Klein · 3 Comments · Poverty, inequality & welfare
Today in the BC Legislature, the Official Opposition (MLA Shane Simpson) introduced a private member’s Bill proposing a BC Poverty Reduction Act. That Act, were it to be enacted, would see the government develop a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy, and legislate specific targets and timelines to reduce the breadth and depth of poverty within one [...]
