In Edmonton, approximately 140,000 workers are identified as low income earners (earning below $16.31 per hour), according to the Edmonton Social Planning Council (source, page 79). Four in five of these workers are over the age of 20 and 60% are women. The Canadian Payroll Association’s annual survey of Canadian workers identifies that in anyContinue reading “Living Wage IN a Livable Economy”
Category Archives: Income Inequality
Collective Impact as Uprising
I have written in the past about what I call the pendulum swing or the bandwagon effect. I think this is what has happened with respect to collective impact over the past 10 years. I suggest it also occurred in the late 1980s when outcome measurement rode into town on its stallion named Logic Model.Continue reading “Collective Impact as Uprising”
Mandatory Winter Tires and Poverty
Yes, perhaps an odd title for a posting, but bear with me. I was on my way back home from meeting downtown with Alberta Government colleagues who also work in the poverty reduction arena and I heard this call-in show about winter tires and more to the point about whether or not winter tires shouldContinue reading “Mandatory Winter Tires and Poverty”
I am angry about poverty
As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest. – Nelson Mandela I have been doing research for a keynote I am doing next month on the socio-economics of poverty. I am speaking inContinue reading “I am angry about poverty”
A very short treatise on the wealth gap
Pretend. There are 300 people in the world. 180 are workers. The rest are children, seniors, and stay at home parents. The economy generates $5 million per year in wealth. That averages $27,777 per worker. However… 90% of the wealth is owned by 20% of workers. In other words… 36 of the 180 own $4.5Continue reading “A very short treatise on the wealth gap”
How to End Poverty
You might expect a post by this title would include narrative about income, jobs, housing, child care, transportation, education, health services and so on. It is true we need to address these areas (and more!) if we are to end poverty. But the challenges we face are less about the actions above and the barriers weContinue reading “How to End Poverty”
Guaranteed Minimum Annual Income in Alberta?
The Mayors of Edmonton and Calgary are talking about it (read). Many agree with them and I am one; it’s worth a good look. In fact, I suggest that a guaranteed annual income be considered as a foundational strategy to lift hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty. Whether or not it will workContinue reading “Guaranteed Minimum Annual Income in Alberta?”
Pictures tell the story: Income Inequality
“The top 10 per cent of earners have seen their share of income rise from 34 per cent in 1982 to 42.5 per cent in 2007. At the very top, the highest one per cent of earners in Canada accounted for almost one-third of all income growth from 1997-2007. “At the bottom of the income scale,Continue reading “Pictures tell the story: Income Inequality”
The Charity Slam: Enough Already
It’s been going on for quite some time to be honest. Often it’s just subtle derision producing comments like “charities need to be more business-like” or “My goodness, how many charities do we really need?” Other times the charity slam manifests as a rant against “poverty pimps” or a rail against artists who create thingsContinue reading “The Charity Slam: Enough Already”
Heretical Propositions: Toward Democratic Philanthropy (Part Two)
(CONTINUED… If you missed Part One in this series, you can find it here.) It is well documented that those countries where the Income Gap between the wealthiest and poorest citizens tend to have a higher degree of crime, incarceration, mental illness, and health problems. Both the United States and Canada have wide gaps betweenContinue reading “Heretical Propositions: Toward Democratic Philanthropy (Part Two)”
Expanding our Thinking about Poverty
For the majority of us, the experience of poverty is unimaginable. We intuit it must be difficult; we can read the reports of its impact and have some understanding, but in the end, we do not know poverty to the degree and depth those who live with it do. That said, think about the decisionsContinue reading “Expanding our Thinking about Poverty”
