Tag: guaranteed income

Basic income guarantee: this is a health issue!

Basic income guarantee: this is a health issue!

The post below comes from Dr Tim Woodruff, rheumatologist and long-serving President of the Doctors Reform Society.

Tim Woodruff told Croakey, The intellectual stimulus for this article was the book ‘ Utopia for Realists ’ by Rutger Bregman. The emotional stimulus (tears and anger) was the movie ‘ I, Daniel Blake’ directed by Ken Loach. At first blush, the concept of supplying every adult with a basic income, whether or not they work, seems counter-intuitive and expensive, but, as you will learn by reading on, there is more evidence for the health and social benefits of doing this, than for […]

Inflation set to hit pensioners especially hard

Inflation set to hit pensioners especially hard

Retirees will be particularly hard by soaring inflation in coming years, new research from Which? Money has revealed.

We’ve looked beyond the headline rates of inflation to identify the particular goods and services that impact retirees’ monthly budgets.

As you can see below, all of the items in our retiree basket have risen in price by more than the rate of CPI inflation in May 2017 (2.9%). Annual price rise (May 2017) MOTORING EXPENDITURE Car insurance 11% Diesel 8% Petrol 7% FUEL AND LIGHT Liquid fuels (heating oil, kerosine) 22% Electricity 8% HOUSEHOLD GOODS Coffee machines, tea makers 7% Purchase […]

Vrdolyak lawyers: Indictment ‘deceptive, irrelevant and sinister’

Vrdolyak lawyers: Indictment ‘deceptive, irrelevant and sinister’

Former Alderman Edward Vrdolyak leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on Nov. 22, 2016. | Santiago Covarrubias/Sun-Times Attorneys for Edward Vrdolyak are asking a judge to remove several details contained in the former Chicago alderman’s 2016 federal indictment, arguing that they are “deceptive, irrelevant and sinister sounding allegations.”

In a motion to strike filed Friday afternoon, Vrdolyak’s lawyers argue that much of the indictment “will confuse the jury and prejudice Vrdolyak.”

A grand jury hit Vrdolyak last November with a 19-page indictment that outlined his alleged role in a scheme to pocket millions from Illinois’ $9.3 billion settlement with tobacco companies nearly […]

Policy-makers and the public in Canada and around the world are eyeing the basic guaranteed income scheme again, buoyed by an evolving labour landscape and technological advances that have left them wondering if today’s social services are enough. (CP)

Policy-makers and the public in Canada and around the world are eyeing the basic guaranteed income scheme again, buoyed by an evolving labour landscape and technological advances that have left them wondering if today's social services are enough. (CP)

Policy-makers and the public in Canada and around the world are eyeing the basic guaranteed income scheme again, buoyed by an evolving labour landscape and technological advances that have left them wondering if today’s social services are enough. (CP)

Few debates highlight the many complex issues around how governments should share a nation’s wealth and resources as much as the current discourse on basic income. Also referred to as a citizen’s income, the policy generally refers to the unconditional and universal payment of a regular sum of money to a country’s residents, usually as a replacement for a range of […]

CPP at age 65 is affordable, for now

CPP at age 65 is affordable, for now

Advisor.ca staff, with files from The Canadian Press

Your employees’ retirement plans are affected by how long they stay in the workforce. Whether or not they work past 65 often depends on government policy, which ultimately affects all Canadians no matter their ages.

The previous Conservative government raised the eligibility age for the old-age security benefit to 67 from 65 to save on costs and prod people to work longer. The Liberals reversed the decision in their first budget, but have stuck by the need to keep older Canadians in the workforce longer.A spokesperson for Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said […]

Tory critic says old age security report shows need to rethink age requirement

OTTAWA — Record-high spending forecasts for the old age security program show a need to rethink the age of eligibility, among other measures to keep it sustainable, the opposition Tories say.

The chief actuary’s report forecasts spending to hit about $247 billion by 2060 — five times what it is slated to be this year — due to a coming wave of retirements and people living longer, meaning they draw on old age benefits longer than the program originally envisioned.

The previous Conservative government raised the age of eligibility for OAS to 67 from 65 to save on costs and prod […]

It’s time gov’t revisited idea of a guaranteed basic income

On first hearing about introducing a guaranteed basic income, I was skeptical, thinking it could bankrupt the country. That was 30 years ago. Today I believe its time has come and that it could even save billions of dollars in health care and thousands of lives every year.

Between 1974 and 1979, an experiment called "Mincome" was conducted in Dauphin, Man. Residents of this small city near Winnipeg were selected as subjects for a project that ensured basic annual incomes for everyone. Over three years, monthly cheques were delivered to the low-income residents of Dauphin, with no strings attached.

What happened […]

Basic income allows for the living of a decent life: Dr. Danielle Martin

Basic income allows for the living of a decent life: Dr. Danielle Martin

A family doctor says basic income policy represents an acknowledgment “of the right to live a decent life.”

Dr. Danielle Martin, a family physician and Vice President Medical Affairs and Health System Solutions at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, says increasing social assistance amounts would not achieve that goal because of the punitive way the welfare system operates.

“Rather than loading all kinds of rules onto people about their eligibility and policing their behaviour,” basic income allows for the living of a decent life that “decouples income support from complex eligibility rules.”A basic income guarantee ensures everyone an income sufficient to […]

The Siren Allure of a Universal Basic Income

The Siren Allure of a Universal Basic Income

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo: Associated Press Silicon Valley is correct in advocating for a universal basic income (UBI) as a solution, but it is fighting the wrong problem (“ Why a Universal Basic Income Would Be a Calamity ,” By Dan Nidess, op-ed, Aug. 11). The biggest threat to the future of productive employment is the growth of government, not automation. If unconstrained by the tentacles of government, human ambition and incentive will find a way to handle a surplus of labor. This has always been the case since the Luddites.

We already live in a country where there […]

Canada pays OAS to seniors with over $100K in income. It shouldn’t, economists say

Canada pays OAS to seniors with over $100K in income. It shouldn’t, economists say

Canada’s government pension program is wasting precious resources on seniors who don’t need financial help, some economists argue. The cost of Old Age Security (OAS), Canada’s largest seniors benefit program, is about to skyrocket, according to the latest review by the country’s chief actuary. Recent changes to the Canada Pension Plan introduced by the Liberal government will help curb those expenses a bit – but not by much, said the report.

Total annual OAS expenditures are projected to grow from $49 billion in 2016 to an eye-popping $247 billion by 2060.

READ MORE: Rising old age security spending curtailed by […]