Income Security | Open Policy Ontario

17Dec 2017 by johnastapleton

Out of the business after 125 years: Ontario municipalities no longer sharing costs of public assistance to the poor

In 1793, no poor law was introduced into Upper Canada with the settlement of Muddy York. After all, it was supposed to be a Utopia. Forty Four years later in 1836, two years after the reform of the British Poor Law, the first declaration of public responsibility for poverty was made, 2 years after the incorporation of Toronto as a city. Toronto continued to pay for relief but only by subsidizing charities. The façade of Lachlan Lodge at 87 Elm Street (now the YWCA) records the date of the establishment of the first large Poor House in the City: 1837. In 1848, it was re-branded as a House of Industry or “Work House” also recorded on the façade. Nineteen years later, Confederation clarified nothing for municipalities on the social welfare…

08Nov 2017 by johnastapleton

Ontario Roadmap for Income Security Reform proposes redress in first 3 years

Just 29 years ago, the Social Assistance Review Committee delivered its 674 page report called Transitions on September 6, 1988. It was groundbreaking as it devised other programs that would replace the role of welfare. That only partially came to pass with child benefits and the small Working Income Tax Benefit. In the years from 1988 and 2012, there were five other significant reports to provincial governments concerning social assistance reform concentrating on the 40% of the poor living on social assistance: Back on Track: 1991 Time for Action: 1992 Turning Point: 1993 Deb Matthews Report: 2004 Brighter Prospects: 2012 On November 2, 2017, the Income Security Reform Working Group released its 188 page report named A Roadmap for Income Security Reform. We propose social assistance rate increases that will…

16Jun 2017 by johnastapleton

New social assistance asset test welcome news

The 50 year experiment forcing welfare recipients and low income persons with disabilities into financial destitution finally appears to be over. In Charles Sousa’s Budget 2017, asset limits for single welfare recipients will be raised from $2,500 to $10,000 for a single person and to $11,000 for a lone parent with two children. Persons with disabilities will have their asset limits raised from $5,000 to $40,000 for singles and from $7,500 to $50,000 for couples. The amount families will be able to donate to family members receiving assistance will go from $6,000 a year to $10,000. This is welcome news after the initial moves in 2013 that quadrupled asset limits for single welfare recipients from the equivalent of one month’s assistance (about $650) and allowed families to donate money to…

15Feb 2017 by johnastapleton

A better way to save 2.6%

Late last year, some colleagues and I released a report on called ‘The Cost of Poverty in Toronto’. We found that poverty costs the Toronto economy between $4.4 and $5.5 billion per year. For this discussion, I will use a figure of $5 billion. Since Toronto has never been poverty-free and there is no comparable city that has ever eradicated poverty, it is a difficult figure to calculate. In the absence of hard evidence, we looked at poverty-related costs incurred by the poorest 20 per cent of people in Toronto (the lowest quintile) compared to the cost profile of the next quintile of people (the second lowest quintile). The second lowest quintile pays higher taxes while incurring far fewer costs related to healthcare, the courts and justice system. If the…

03Apr 2016 by johnastapleton

A young person’s guide to a guaranteed or basic income: part 7

Keeping what’s good from the past “There is a fire burning over the earth, taking with it plants and animals, ancient skills and visionary wisdom. At risk is a vast archive of knowledge and expertise, a catalogue of the imagination, an oral and written language composed of the memories of countless elders and healers, warriors, farmers, fishermen, midwives, poets and saints – in short , the artistic, intellectual, and spiritual expression of the full complexity and diversity of the human experience. Quelling this flame, this spreading inferno, and rediscovering a new appreciation for the diversity of the human spirit as expressed by culture, is among the central challenges of our time.”[1] Wade Davis- The Wayfinders - 2009 In this seventh and final meditation on a guaranteed annual or basic income for…

27Feb 2016 by johnastapleton

A young person’s guide to a guaranteed or basic income – Part 5

The problem of work for a guaranteed or basic income “Although the practical implementation challenges make a GAI reform implausible in Canada, evidence from five North American experiments with a negative income tax style GAI provides some valuable insights. A negative income tax discourages recipients from working because it subsidizes leisure and reduces the marginal benefit of working. The results from the experiments generally point to a reduction in hours worked by recipients, reinforcing the concern about work disincentives.”[1] - The Fraser Institute: The Practical Challenges of Creating a Guaranteed Annual Income in Canada; Jan 6, 2015 “Progress isn't made by early risers. It's made by lazy men trying to find easier ways to do something.” ― Robert A. Heinlein[2] Well there you have it! Implement a guaranteed annual…

26Feb 2016 by johnastapleton

A ‘Robin Hood’ Budget for 2016 in Ontario

“Robin Hood, Robin Hood, riding through the glen Robin Hood, Robin Hood, with his band of men Feared by the bad, loved by the good Robin Hood, Robin Hood, Robin Hood.” In the Budget lockup yesterday, I started to silently sing the Robin Hood song that I learned back in the 1950’s as a kid. Robin Hood was the mediaeval archer who took from the rich and gave to the poor. Robin Hood was brave and Kathleen Wynne may be even braver. There are lots of new sin taxes and levies on the better off that became the fodder for 680 News over the evening and morning hours. There were some great interviews with ‘objective’ listeners who were “unhappy” or who thought the Budget was “ridiculous”. Cigarettes up by three…

21Feb 2016 by johnastapleton

A young person’s guide to a guaranteed annual or basic income –Part 4

Differences in contributions, services and need Now it’s time to talk about rights and human dignity – but I want to set the table first. I’m also not going to repeat too much from the first three entries. I am going to assume you have read them if you are now reading entry #4. In the previous three parts of this series, I talked about unicorns, contribution vs. needs based programs and the role of emotion and values in the design of our income security system. In this entry, I want to start by talking about the essential character of our existing income security programs. They basically divide into three categories: Monetary contribution based programs: CPP, Worker’s Compensation, EI and workplace programs Service based programs: OAS and Veterans’ benefits; and…

15Feb 2016 by johnastapleton

A young person’s guide to a guaranteed annual or basic income – Part 3

What to do with our emotionally charged income security system To many, a GAI or basic income looks like a bauble or a confection. It’s up there with solving gridlock, reducing global warming and curing cancer. Easy to want and easy to say – wicked hard to do! The problem with a GAI is not unlike the problem of unicorns - they are beautiful but don't exist. Bringing a GAI or BI into existence would be extremely difficult as a horrendous load of problems face designers within the first minute of study. Growing a horn on a horse might well be easier. More than anything, the GAI suffers the same problem as 'world peace' in that it is an absolutely pure idea that would, in one fell swoop, make us all…

14Feb 2016 by johnastapleton

A young person’s guide to a guaranteed annual or basic income –part 2

A Valentine’s Day gift for benefit designers – a tale of two GAI’s Last week, I self-published: A young person’s guide to a guaranteed annual or basic income[1]. In the Toronto Star on Saturday February 12, there was a lead editorial[2] on Guaranteed and basic incomes that set out the usual cautions about beautiful unicorns that don’t exist. I won’t go into the details here. Instead, I want to build on my essay of one week ago and talk about two real people – two seniors - that already have guaranteed annual incomes. One is comfortable and the other is poor. The first is my father and the second is a woman for whom I have advocated. Her name is Linda Chamberlain. Let’s start with my father. He is 96…