CCPA Policy Note

Entries Tagged as 'Poverty, inequality & welfare'

Congratulations to Jagrup Brar: Time to raise welfare rates

February 3rd, 2012 · · No Comments · Poverty, inequality & welfare

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 [...]

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BC dead last on inequality: BC Stats

January 30th, 2012 · · 2 Comments · Poverty, inequality & welfare

Last Friday BC Stats, the BC government’s statistical agency, weighed in on the topic of income inequality.  The CCPA has talked about this subject for years and it is nice to see that BC Stats has not only acknowledged the problem but says that: Compared to other provinces, BC ranked dead last in 2009, with [...]

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Top 10 Reasons for Upper-Income Tax Increases

January 17th, 2012 · · 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 [...]

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Tackling inequality means rethinking upper-income tax rates

December 23rd, 2011 · · 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 [...]

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Reflections on the year past and the year to come: Inequality explodes into the public discourse

December 22nd, 2011 · · 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 [...]

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Business dominated think tank winds up with report showing little progress in BC

December 19th, 2011 · · Comments Off · Economy, Poverty, inequality & welfare

The British Columbia Progress Board came out with its last report today. Gordon Campbell started the think tank in 2001 and now Christy Clark has ended it. The report shows progress, but often in the wrong direction. You can find the whole report here but it will take patience. It weighs in at a hefty [...]

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Growing support for cities to adopt living wage

November 16th, 2011 · · 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 [...]

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Living Wage Policy: Why Municipal Governments should lead the way

October 25th, 2011 · · 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 [...]

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Occupy Canada: media pundits vs. reality

October 24th, 2011 · · 13 Comments · Media, Poverty, inequality & welfare

The Occupy Wall Street/Occupy Canada protests seem to be occupying – and perhaps unhinging – the minds of media pundits – at least, those who are mired in the dogma of “free market” fundamentalism. One recent example from CBC Television came in the form of a personal attack on author Chris Hedges. A well-known American [...]

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BC’s Top 1%: Doing fabulous, thank you

October 11th, 2011 · · 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, [...]

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