Hi Jeff,
I have a comment re: "how do you build in legal protections to prevent future
(reactionary) politicians from tampering with the GLI? [One possibly might be
to make it a Charter right.]"
First allow me to clarify that I agree a GLI should be established as a fundamental Canadian and human right in terms of welfarist architectual design.
The Charter, however, is not a suitable protection for GLI. The Charter is intended to protect negative rights. It is not designed to demonstrate positive promotion of rights. The Charter became effective post-1982 because it enab led the judiciary's to strike down legislation that violates rights/freedoms. While the courts may be able to strike down future bills that may deter GLI, the courts would will not be able to push for legislation that promotes GLI (a positive right).
I envision GLI as being most effective if introduced as a national program that is cost-shared between the federal and provincial governments. The federal government would need to make a significant contribution to uphold national standards. This GLI philosophy would reflect equalization payments that the feds already conduct and would reflect the Medicare tactic of upholding CHA principles through cost-sharing (although history demonstrates that reduced federal committments in the form of shrinking financial transfers wield the national government little power for enforcing standards).
Rahul Mediratta
----- Original Message ----
From: Jeff Denis <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Monday, December 4, 2006 3:47:35 PM
Subject: Re: [SDOH] minimum wage bills
I agree. A guaranteed livable income (GLI) would be at the core of my "ideal"
welfare state - along with universal public programs, such as health care,
child care, education, etc. But there are two questions you'll inevitably get
(particularly from economists), and I'd love to hear your responses:
1. How do we set GLI levels? Specifically, can we create a GLI that is high
enough to eliminate poverty, while at the same time not so high that it reduces
work incentives and risks economic collapse?
[I think the answer lies in some combination of education, active labor market
policy (i.e., job (re-)training), and faith in human goodness. But I'm not sure
this will satisfy all critics.]
2. Assuming we can agree on an appropriate GLI level, what do we do with other
related policies? For example, would the GLI simply replace the minimum wage,
social assistance, and possibly even employment insurance and public pensions?
Or would some of these things be retained or modified? If you advocate complete
replacement, how do you build in legal protections to prevent future
(reactionary) politicians from tampering with the GLI? [One possibly might be
to make it a Charter right.] Also, note that if you advocate complete
replacement, then this becomes a question of more than "a single change." But
if you don't replace some of these other policies, then the required tax
increases would be infeasible in the foreseeable future.
Nevertheless, if we can develop good answers to these questions, then I think we
can safely start the revolution. :-)
Jeff
--
Jeff Denis
PhD Student
Department of Sociology
Harvard University
"The principle of organizing our society for the benefit of all the people and
not for a privileged few - that is still here and that is a principle to which
we adhere." - Tommy C. Douglas
Quoting Chrystal Ocean <[log in to unmask]>:
> I agree with the comment that "people are more likely to implement a single
> change rather than a package." However, I disagree that that single change
> should be a new, livable minimum wage.
>
> Instead, we should concentrate on bringing in a guaranteed annual income for
> all (GAIA) - sometimes referred to as a guaranteed livable income (GLI). By
> focussing on the GAIA, we include EVERYONE: men, women, children, the
> differently abled, those receiving payment for their work and those who are
> not.
>
> Ocean, WISE Coordinator
> http://www.wise-bc.org/
>
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