Is Basic Income Within Reach?
Is Basic Income Within Reach?

Author: Wayne Simpson

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-02-22

Total Pages: 314

ISBN-13: 3030660850

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book examines the evolution of basic income policy and research in advanced economies and is divided into two parts. The first section considers the development of basic income as a social policy initiative in advanced (OECD) nations from the 1960s to today. It reviews what the negative income tax experiments accomplished, their limitations, and what they can lend to the design and implementation of basic income pilots or a full blown basic income program today. It also considers important developments and research in poverty and economic inequality and in technological change and labour market adjustment over the last half century. The second section focuses on the Canadian case, where the prospects for basic income are perhaps among the most promising. In addition to a review of Mincome and its lessons and limitations, this section considers important developments in poverty research by the Economic Council of Canada and the Canadian Senate in the 1960s, attempts at welfare reform, and the policy initiatives to develop a basic income for elderly Canadians that has endured to this day. Many of the important social and technological developments that are reviewed in the first part will be discussed in more detail with specific reference to the Canadian case. The evolution of the important policy innovations―the National Child Benefit and its successors and the Poverty Reduction Strategy―are outlined in detail and linked to other, more modest, income support initiatives such as the federal sales tax credit that provide a potential foundation for a comprehensive basic income plan in Canada. Research, including recent microsimulation studies of a basic income, are critically reviewed. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has increased interest in basic income to support those hardest hit, the book argues for careful design of basic income policies in its aftermath rather than simplistic adoption of emergency pandemic measures.

New Poverty
New Poverty

Author: David Cheal

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 1996-06-30

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 0313389063

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Cheal argues that the sociology of poverty has entered a new postmodern phase. The new poverty is about loss of faith—in relationships that were once believed to last a lifetime, and in government programs that we used to think would last for generations. The new poverty is about the economic fall of individuals and countries who used to be affluent and who once dreamed that their affluence would go on forever. It is about the experience of free-falling, without a parachute and without much of a safety net. The new poverty is about people who lose their jobs when their company downsizes. It is about people whose hours of employment are cut in half when the work runs out. And it is about couples who separate, thereby plunging one of them—and probably their children—into a low income level that they had never anticipated. What is new about the new poverty is the sense of surprise—that poverty can hit so suddenly, that people can fall so far before they are caught and lifted up, that the poverty of children still troubles us after a century of progress. The new poverty is about our loss of faith not only in relationships that were once thought to last a lifetime, but also in government programs that we believed would last for generations. Cheal translates the experience of the new poverty into sociological theory and into social statistics. His purpose is to provoke serious, critical reflection about families today and the risks of being poor. An important study for scholars and researchers involved with family issues and social policy.

Social Policy and Practice in Canada
Social Policy and Practice in Canada

Author: Alvin Finkel

Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press

Published: 2012-05-09

Total Pages: 398

ISBN-13: 1554588863

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Social Policy and Practice in Canada: A History traces the history of social policy in Canada from the period of First Nations’ control to the present day, exploring the various ways in which residents of the area known today as Canada have organized themselves to deal with (or to ignore) the needs of the ill, the poor, the elderly, and the young. This book is the first synthesis on social policy in Canada to provide a critical perspective on the evolution of social policy in the country. While earlier work has treated each new social program as a major advance, and reacted with shock to neoliberalism’s attack on social programs, Alvin Finkel demonstrates that right-wing and left-wing forces have always battled to shape social policy in Canada. He argues that the notion of a welfare state consensus in the period after 1945 is misleading, and that the social programs developed before the neoliberal counteroffensive were far less radical than they are sometimes depicted. Social Policy and Practice in Canada: A History begins by exploring the non-state mechanisms employed by First Nations to insure the well-being of their members. It then deals with the role of the Church in New France and of voluntary organizations in British North America in helping the unfortunate. After examining why voluntary organizations gradually gave way to state-controlled programs, the book assesses the evolution of social policy in Canada in a variety of areas, including health care, treatment of the elderly, child care, housing, and poverty.

The Pension Puzzle
The Pension Puzzle

Author: Bruce Cohen

Publisher: John Wiley and Sons

Published: 2008-02-15

Total Pages: 238

ISBN-13: 0470156414

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

An "owner's manual" for every Canadian with a pension plan. Millions of Canadians are covered by pension plans in one form or another-whether that's CPP or a company plan, or personal RRSPs. But pensions are the benefit least understood by employees. They're confusing and complex, but understanding pensions is crucial to every Canadian's financial security in retirement. Since its initial publication, The Pension Puzzle has become the definitive book on the subject. Now completely revised and updated, The Pension Puzzle remains a true owner's manual for anyone with a pension plan. The Pension Puzzle is not just for those about to retire. It's for every working Canadian who needs to make decisions about their pension plan and how it affects their financial future.

Aging and Ethnicity
Aging and Ethnicity

Author: Leo Driedger

Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann

Published: 2014-05-20

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13: 1483141985

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Aging and Ethnicity: Toward an Interface provides a framework for comparison in aging and ethnicity. This book examines the ethnic factor and its importance for the study of the elderly. Organized into five chapters, this book begins with an overview of the general demographic characteristics underlying the social structure of the ethnic elderly. This text then explores the extent to which elements of assimilation and modernization affect the lives of Canada's ethnic elderly. Other chapters consider the existing social policies as they pertain to ethnic groups and present a research agenda to guide basic and evaluation research. This book discusses as well the role of primary group relations for maintaining ethnic identity and for preventing loss of status within the family. The final chapter deals with methodological issues to be considered when studying the ethnic elderly. This book is a valuable resource for sociologists, ethnic assimilationists, medical specialists, and gerontologists.

Poverty, Inequality, and the Future of Social Policy
Poverty, Inequality, and the Future of Social Policy

Author: Katherine McFate

Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation

Published: 1995-03-30

Total Pages: 769

ISBN-13: 1610446682

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

"Extremely coherent and useful, this much needed volume is concerned with the current status of the poor in Western industrial states. Its closely linked essays allow comparisons between case studies and are often themselves cross-national comparisons....The essays also comment on the meaning of globalization for social policy." —Choice "Excellent and tightly integrated articles by a group of prominent international scholars....A timely and important book, which will surely become the basic reference point for all future research on inequality and social policy." —Contemporary Sociology The social safety net is under strain in all Western nations, as social and economic change has created problems that traditional welfare systems were not designed to handle. Poverty, Inequality, and the Future of Social Policy provides a definitive analysis of the conditions that are fraying the social fabric and the reasons why some countries have been more successful than others in addressing these trends. In the United States, where the poverty rate in the 1980s was twice that of any advanced nation in Europe, the social protection system—and public support for it—has eroded alarmingly. In Europe, the welfare system more effectively buffered the disadvantaged, but social expenditures have been indicted by many as the principal cause of high unemployment. Concluding chapters review the progress and goals of social welfare programs, assess their viability in the face of creeping economic, racial, and social fragmentation, and define the challenges that face those concerned with social cohesion and economic prosperity in the new global economy. This volume illuminates the disparate effects of government intervention on the incidence and duration of poverty in Western countries. Poverty, Inequality, and the Future of Social Policy is full of lessons for anyone who would look beyond the limitations of the welfare debate in the United States.