.@althiaraj asks why not a universal $2K benefit, instead of rolling out wk x wk revisions to programs to fix problems coming to the attention of the government, delaying receipt for those who need it most.
Great question.
PMJT with (appropriately) complicated answer
Here's mine
Great question.
PMJT with (appropriately) complicated answer
Here's mine
Not everyone has been impacted. Of 19M workers, some are working from home, some are deemed "essential". The groups out of luck include those who lost jobs, lost hours of paid work, or were hoping to work this summer (seasonal workers, students, people finishing EI claim) /2
The "anthropology" of the economic emergency response, as one technocrat called it, goes like this:
First the Emergency Care Benefit
Then the CERB - for those who lost their jobs.
Then a wage subsidy, which when implemented may reduce the draw on CERB. /3
First the Emergency Care Benefit
Then the CERB - for those who lost their jobs.
Then a wage subsidy, which when implemented may reduce the draw on CERB. /3
This got the most money to the people who were first hardest hit by Covid19, and then the process of widening the net started.
The first obvious problem with the law was that if people lost work, but not all of it, they were out of luck.
This is being addressed. /4
The first obvious problem with the law was that if people lost work, but not all of it, they were out of luck.
This is being addressed. /4
Remember, we still have and we will still need people working. So part of this will have to be providing protections for those whose essentially needed work involves personal interface, and better pay for many, since CERB may provide even more than they make. /5
Finally, a basic income still wouldn't reach the most vulnerable because there is no magic wand/transmission mechanism that gets it to everyone*, so you'd still be finetuning the program after announcing it, with all sorts of unintended consequences to boot.
/6
/6
*about 10% of Canadians don't file taxes, so not automatically reached through tax system; around 6% don't have a savings or chequing account.
Arguably, these are the groups most vulnerable in the first place.
Arguably, these are the groups most vulnerable in the first place.
Last in this thread: everything we've talked about here atkinsonfoundation.ca/atkinson-fello… and here thestar.com/opinion/contri… we're still tracking, still pushing for.
We will continue to make sure we are #InItTogether and MAKE IT THROUGH TOGETHER.
We will continue to make sure we are #InItTogether and MAKE IT THROUGH TOGETHER.
