Photo Credit Quinn Dombrowski Flickr CC PERSISTENT POVERTY Statistics Canada 1 in 7 Canadians live below the poverty line UNICEF 13 children ranking Canada 24 in a list of 35 developed countries ID: 578003
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Slide1
IS POVERTY ERADICATION POSSIBLE?
Photo Credit:
Quinn
Dombrowski
, Flickr CCSlide2
PERSISTENT POVERTY
Statistics Canada: 1 in 7 Canadians live below the poverty line
UNICEF: 13% children, ranking Canada 24 in a list of 35 developed countries
900,000 use food banks every month (38% children)
Four million in need of decent affordable housing
Thousands of homeless struggling with street lifeSlide3
PERSISTENT POVERTY (2)
“Poverty makes us sick”: CMA Lowest income quartile have twice the health care costs as highest quartile
1 in 7 children go to school hungry every day
Dreadful living conditions for much of the Aboriginal population
Greater vulnerability to poverty of Aboriginals, Disabled, Single Parents, New Immigrants, People of
Colour
How shameful in such a rich country - a member of the G7 industrial nations Slide4
POVERTY COSTS US ALL
$30 Billion (public costs) a year according to study by Food Banks (Ontario) in 2007 and guided by Don
Drummond, Judith Maxwell, John Stapleton and James
Milway
Homeless
: 3 to 4 times more costly to leave someone on the street than to give them housing with supports
Biggest cost is the toll on people’s lives, loss of dignity, marginalization, stress/anxiety - pay rent or buy food.
We can’t afford poverty anymore
.Slide5
CURRENT SUPPORT SYSTEMS FAILING
Provincial Welfare, Disability Allowances, Working Income Tax Benefits (WITB) are failing to lift
people out of poverty. They are frequently trapped in the system.
Senator David
Croll (1970): “We are pouring billions of dollars every year into a social welfare system that merely treats the symptoms of poverty, but leaves the disease itself untouched”.Slide6
RISING INEQUALITY
A wide gap in wealth and income levels has evolved in the past three decades. Our society is becoming more unequal.
Example: The top 100 CEOs make an average of $9.2 million a year which is 195X the average Canadian salary of $
47,400. In
1980 it was 40X
.20% of population controls 68% of wealth. City neighborhoods becoming more polarized
–
A threat to our social fabricSlide7
LABOUR MARKET CHANGING
Globalization/Outsourcing
New Technology
Loss of manufacturing/blue collar jobs
Demographic challenge – aging
“We are in the midst of the greatest, most thorough economic transformation in all of history”Prof
. Richard Florida, University of TorontoSlide8
Growing Anxiety
Poverty/Inequality
Feeble Economy
Growing stress by those in low, moderate, and middle income levels about making ends meet
Precarious employment - part time, short term work with little or no benefits
Anxiety of living pay
cheque
to pay
cheque
-almost half the population
Insufficient pensions, too much debtSlide9
SOLUTIONS?
Five Transformative Ways to Combat Poverty/Inequality
Icon made by
flatcoin
from www.flatcoin.comSlide10
LOCAL LEADERSHIP ON POVERTY
Best practices come from individuals and community groups with passion and the human touch
Mayors and City Councils adopt poverty reduction plans – action and advocacy
Exchange ideas with other cities. Examples:
Hamilton: Pay Day loans
Calgary: Fair Fares, Fair Access Cards
Medicine Hat: End Homelessness
New Westminster: Living Wage Slide11
STIMULATE THE ECONOMY
Focus on job creation: OECD places Canada 20 out of 34 countries.
Invest in physical and social infrastructure
Low and moderate income people will spend (they need to) thereby recycling money back into the economy
Robert Reich (former Secretary in U.S. cabinet): “The real job creators are customers...people with money in their pockets.....not the big corporations”. Slide12
EDUCATION IS A GREAT ENABLER
Overall Canada ranks high in post secondary education but there are issues and pockets of the population that need attention:
Aboriginals (half don’t complete High School)
Literacy/Skills Training
Early Childhood Learning
Apprenticeship And let’s stop letting children
go to school hungry Slide13
GET SERIOUS ABOUT TAX REFORM
Last major overhaul: Carter Commission in 1970s.
Tackle Tax Havens (Panama Papers) and loopholes
Prime Focus should be:
Fairness and Progressivity
Tax not a bad word. It meets our collective needs. It ensures a civilized society. Slide14
EXPLORE BASIC INCOME
All Canadians should have sufficient income to pay for the necessities of life – food, clothing, and decent shelter
A Basic Income won’t provide for the ‘good life’, but it should provide a better foundation to lift people out of poverty
It should move people off the costly welfare rolls and the indignities involved to an income tax managed formulae, known as a negative income tax.
Current systems aren’t working, time for a new way
Slide15
CURRENT BASIC INCOME TYPE PROGRAMS
Seniors – guaranteed income supplement (GIS)
GST/HST Rebate
Canada Child Benefit
Working Income Tax Benefit (WITB)
Slide16
THE MINCOME EXPERIMENT
In the 1970s, a basic income program in Manitoba, particularly in the City of Dauphin
Hospital visits dropped 8.5%. Fewer mental health costs (less stress)
Workforce attachment remained strong. Only new mothers and teenagers worked less. Youth spent more time in school and graduated in higher numbers.
Slide17
THE COST OF BASIC INCOME
Pilot project cost depends on program design.
Mincome
cost $17.3 Million
Cost of Poverty Income Gap according to the National Council on Welfare: $12 Billion annually across Canada
A common estimate for national implementation is $30 Billion a yearWhile there will be transitional costs, overall we don’t need to spend more money, we need to spend smart, more efficiently and effectively. Slide18
SUPPORT PROGRAMS STILL NEEDED
Basic
Income would replace provincial welfare and probably Working Income Tax
Benefit (
WITB). Others could be added.
Still need housing, child care, employment supports such as training and adult re-education, and supports for disabled and seniors.Slide19
WHERE FROM HERE?(1)
Faith Communities - Ability to inspire and mobilize human resourcesSlide20
WHERE FROM HERE?(2)
Volunteer for social service programs – food banks, homeless facilities, school nutrition programs – to mention a few
Establish Social Enterprises
Add affordable housing to property of religious institutions
Join local poverty reduction roundtables-employ
Collective Impact measuresSlide21
WHERE FROM HERE?(3)
Establish a Committee or task force, & develop a plan to increase understanding and commitment by your elected representatives
Join political parties and the teams of municipal council members, of your choice, & work your way into their inner circles
Organize to Develop
Political WillSlide22
WHERE FROM HERE?(4)
Arrange meetings with elected representatives to discuss poverty issues.
Seek their support to advance solutions in their respective Caucus groups and in the
Legislatures and
Parliament
Follow up with regular meetings and plan updatesSlide23
FINAL THOUGHTS
“It takes 10% of the population working in the same direction to bring about change”
-Malcom Gladwell (Tipping Point)Slide24
FINAL THOUGHTS
“Overcoming
poverty is not a gesture of charity; it is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life
.”
-Nelson Mandela