| Date Published: | May 1, 1999 |
| Author(s): | Joel Emes Andrei Kreptul |
| Research Topic(s): | Poverty & Welfare |
| Year after year, social-action groups report that the total benefits available to welfare recipients are not enough to get these people above the "poverty line": the implication is that recipients cannot cover the cost of the basic necessities of life. The claims that welfare incomes in Canada are inadequate are typically based on a comparison to Statistics Canada's Low Income Cut-Offs (LICOs), often misrepresented as Canada's poverty lines. Chris Sarlo, in his book Poverty in Canada (1996), explains why LICOs are not a good measure of poverty and points out that Statistics Canada consistently warns against their use as such. The main problem is that LICOs are relative measures: as average income rises, LICOs also rise. Using LICOs to define poverty makes it impossible to eliminate poverty because no matter how well off Canadians are, some will always fall below the average. Professor Sarlo offers an alternative to LICOs, the Basic Needs Lines (BNLs). Basic Needs Lines are determined by a painstakingly constructed measure of what it costs to buy the basic necessities in Canada. The Basic Needs Lines include what it costs to maintain long term physical well-being: a nutritious diet, shelter, clothing, personal-hygiene needs, health care, transportation, and a telephone. | |
| ISBN: | 4180-3666 |
| Type: | Studies & Reports |
| Free Download: | Download |
| Files: | Complete Publication |
| Buy Now | |
