Author Topic: BC provincial election  (Read 11148 times)

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Re: BC provincial election
« Reply #45 on: June 27, 2017, 09:56:29 pm »
I'm going to ask for a citation on that poverty rate comparison between the 1990's and present.

Hard to come up with consistent data but the numbers I am seeing show that it is lower today than it was during most of the 1990's and lower than in the early 2000's.

Sure.  But please note that I referenced BCs poverty rate relative to the rest of Canada, not to the 1990s.  BC used to be at the national average, and lower than other provinces, but now is among the worst in terms of number of people living in poverty.

BC poverty rate has declined a bit since the 90s, but is now the second highest in Canada.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/reality-check-b-c-s-child-poverty-rate-1.1307393



Other provinces have done better in reducing poverty since 1990s
Between 1990 and 1996, BC's poverty rate tended to be at or around the national average and lower than many other provinces.
http://www.ccsd.ca/factsheets/fscphis2.htm

Other provinces have reduced their poverty rates, while BC has not - this table shows poverty rates to 2010.   
https://cpj.ca/files/docs/poverty-trends-scorecard.pdf

This trend continues to 2016:
http://campaign2000.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/2016-BC-Child-Poverty-Report-Card.pdf

As BC's poverty rate has increased, while employment and overall wealth has gone up, taxes have gone down: 
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/taxes/tax-season-2015-where-in-canada-do-you-pay-the-most-tax-1.2507059

In summary, BC increases it's overall wealth, decreases taxes and does nothing to alleviate poverty.

As for life being more affordable in the 1990s, it was possible to find a place to rent or buy - even in the lower mainland and even at the lower end of the middle-income level.   This is because while housing (and all) costs have risen substantially since the 1990s, income has not risen proportionately.
http://globalnews.ca/news/2531266/one-chart-shows-how-unprecedented-vancouvers-real-estate-situation-is/
http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/as-sa/97-563/p1-eng.cfm

Once again, low taxes do not imply a successful economy or a well-functioning society.

By the way, it's not necessarily that I think Liberals are "responsible" for this state of affairs; I just object to the simple minded notion that any political party can be held entirely responsible for what the economy does during it's tenure.  Nonetheless, in a province that we're told constantly is doing so 'well' economically relative to the rest of Canada, why is our poverty rate so high?   Why isn't the government willing to share the fruits of our labor with those who are temporarily out of work or those who are simply unable to work?