Child Poverty and Guaranteed Income in Canada Research Paper - 1

Child Poverty and Guaranteed Income in Canada - Research Paper Example The disagreements around a guaranteed income seem to focus around the concepts of charity vs entitlement. These disagreements, rest upon differing perspectives of child poverty and guaranteed income. For the purposes of this paper, we will agree on a definition of poverty that has been cited by 111 books, from 1962 to 2008, according to the Google search listing of citations, for search phrase, â€Å"child poverty†. The poor shall be taken to mean persons, families and groups of persons whose resources (material, cultural and social) are so limited as to exclude them from the minimum acceptable way of life in the Member State in which they live (Vieminclox and Smeeding, p. 34). This is a fair definition when speaking about poverty in general, or world poverty, because it assumes differing living standards in all countries, differing national priorities, and the multiple aspects of resources rather than limiting the concept to money. Countries, of course, generally state a spec ific monetary level, below which is poverty, and above which is not poverty. This legalistic definition is less pragmatic, however, because people’s circumstances differ greatly and resources vary with a range of circumstances beyond income. For example, a healthy family living with three homeschooled children in a rural intentional community will require fewer resources, per capita, than a young executive couple with a staggeringly high mortgage, a parent with Alzheimer’s, maintained in a nearby facility, three family members in psychoanalysis, a high-interest credit card balance and two children in private school. The needs of each family are quite different. Highlighting the quoted definition for poverty, and adjusting it to focus on child poverty, is a suitable definition by Canadian standards also, because Canada does not specify an official poverty line but uses a lower income cut-off (LIC), relative to situational factors, below which the standard of living woul d be challenged, but not necessarily fitting the definition of poverty (Segal). The National Council of Welfare and most social policy researchers use the LIC as their preferred measure of poverty, even though it was never intended to be used that way and even though doing so gives a greatly inflated picture of people’s discretionary income (Goldberg). Considering this idea of poverty relativity, it is intriguing to note that Canada is one of the richest nations in the world, yet is ranked extremely low, by comparison with other developed nations, for child well-being. This is in spite of the Canadian government’s ratification of the 1991 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Free the Children; Howe and Covell), in which the elimination of child poverty was articulated as a foremost priority. Of course, ratification is not legally binding or enforceable, but it does indicate public and formal political agreement and obligation to cooperate with other na tions to eliminate child poverty, and focus attention and action on this issue. It has meaning. I will address questions of why Canada is still ranked low for child well-being; whether poverty is income based and what the key variables are in urban and rural poverty in Canada; which groups are most affected; and what are the outcomes of child poverty. I will discuss evidence of social and political motivation to end child poverty in Canada and will raise social change scenarios to direct

WRITE A 1,500 WORD ARTICLE WHICH COULD BE FEATURED IN A PARENTING Essay - 1

WRITE A 1,500 WORD ARTICLE WHICH COULD BE FEATURED IN A PARENTING MAGAZINE ABOUT DISPOSABLE NAPPIES VS REAL NAPPIES - Essay Example Everyone appreciates the nostalgia for the genuine, old-fashioned article, but is it really true that real nappies are better for you and your baby> There are four major criteria that spring to mind when considering your nappy buying options: price, effectiveness, and the delicate problem of napkin dermatitis, or nappy rash as it is more commonly called. Starting with price, there is an immediate issue of short and long term planning. You will have to make an initial investment in real nappies, since retail price comparisons show that you need to spend about  £250 on reusable nappies. You will also have to think about a plastic bucket with a lid (about  £7) and a supply of special nappy cleansing fluid . This seems like a lot of money initially, but over time, nappies work out as the cheaper option. Washing the nappies over a period of two and a half years will cost about  £80 bringing that the real nappy option for one baby to a total cost of around  £330 - £400 depending on how often you use a tumble dryer. In comparison, disposable nappies cost approximately  £600 over the same period. If you are planning to have another child, then your savings will be even greater, especially if you dry the nappies in the fresh air rather than in a tumble dryer. It seems, then, that real nappies are cheaper than disposables and for bigger families, clearly the economical option. You might be wondering which type of nappy works best. There are so many size and style options available that comparisons in this area are much harder to make. Leakage is a problem with all nappy types, and the more active your baby is, the bigger a problem this is likely to be. The advantage of real nappies is that they can be easier to adjust to your baby’s individual shape. Different technologies in disposable nappies can give you a range of absorbency levels, and so there is no real problem