This paper will discuss why social rights should be human rights. Poverty, capitalism, and government will be the motives used to explain why social rights should be considered human rights and be enforceable in a court of law. Although the costs of social rights would result in higher taxes, the benefits would far exceed the costs. It would greatly reduce the majority of poverty and crime as well as improve overall health within our society. Various aspects of social rights will be examined which include rights to food, health care, childcare, post-secondary education, housing and basic income. This paper will begin by examining poverty and the role social rights could play. This will be followed by examining capitalism and its effects on society. By identifying the negative impact capitalism has on society and how social rights can alleviate some of the socially destructive aspects of it. Lastly, the impact of the government and its policies that have contributed to the demise of social rights and social programs and why social policy should be made a human right on par with civil rights and political rights.
Poverty
Poverty is increased when basic income is not a right. Social assistance in Canada is viewed as a last resort; meaning that in order to qualify you may not have assets or savings. This forces individuals into a downward spiral, making it almost impossible to escape poverty. Social assistance benefits offer very low payments to applicants, payments that only cover the basic needs of the individual. There is increasing evidence that supports the idea that social assistance does little to improve or maintain the quality of life of the applicant, as a matter of fact it may do the opposite with applicants often feeling...
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...itizen’s a place among the world leaders in the human rights field.
References
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Chong, D. (2009). Five challenges to legalizing economic and social rights. Human Rights Review, 10(2), 183-204. doi:10.1007/s12142-008-0094-y
Clapman, A. (2007). Human rights: a very short introduction. New York: Oxford University Press.
McNally, D. (2006). Another world is possible: globalization and anti-capitalism. Winnipeg, Canada: Arbeiter Ring Publishing
Raphael, D. (2007). Poverty and policy in Canada: implications for health and quality of life. Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press
Zweig, M. (2000). The working class majority: americas best kept secret. New York: Cornell University Press
Though, Professor Armstrong makes very good connections between health care policy reforms and its impact on women, all of these connections are eclipsed by the values encompassed within the Canada Health Act of 1984. Health care to this day is provided on the basis of need rather than financial means, and is accessible to all that require it. Professor Armstrong’s argument is hinged upon the scope of services provided under the public health insurance system, and the subsequent affect of these reforms on women as the main beneficiaries of these services and as workers in these industries. However, these reforms were made to balance the economy, and the downsizing and cutbacks were necessary steps to be taken with respect to this agenda. Moreover, as aforementioned the access to medical services ultimately comes down to need, and the reforms to date are not conducive to an intentional subordination of female interests in the realm of health care. Therefore, I find Professor Armstrong’s critique on Canada’s public health insurance system to be relatively redundant because the universal access to care encompassed within the Canada Health Act transcends the conditional proponents of her arguments of inequality. In other words, I believe she is
In Canada there is no official, government mandated poverty line. It is generally agreed that poverty refers to the intersection of low-income and other dimensions of ‘social exclusion’, including things such as access to adequate housing, essential goods and services, health and well-being and community participation. In Canada, the gap between the rich and poor is on the rise, with four million people struggling to find decent affordable housing, (CHRA) and almost 21% of children in BC are living in poverty it is crucial to address poverty (Stats Can). In class we have considered a number of sociological lens to examine poverty. Structural-functionalists maintain that stratification and inequality are inevitable and
Why am I Poor? First Nations Child Poverty in Ontario. Canada: Best Start Resource Center,
Poverty is a serious issue in Canada needs to be addressed promptly. Poverty is not simply about the lack of money an individual has; it is much more than that. The World Bank Organization defines poverty by stating that, “Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time”. In Canada, 14.9 percent of Canada’s population has low income as Statistics Canada reports, which is roughly about two million of Canadians in poverty or on the verge of poverty. In addition, according to an UNICEF survey, 13.3 percent of Canadian children live in poverty. If the government had started to provide efficient support to help decrease the rates of poverty, this would not have been such a significant issue in Canada. Even though the issue of poverty has always been affecting countries regardless of the efforts being made to fight against it, the government of Canada still needs to take charge and try to bring the percentage of poverty down to ensure that Canada is a suitable place to live. Therefore, due to the lack of support and social assistance from the government, poverty has drastically increased in Canada.
Poverty is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as a lack of something or when the quality of something is extremely low. All over the world, poverty is present. Charles Darwin once said in the Voyage of the Beagle: “if the misery of our poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions” (Charles). First Nations across Canada are being put into a position of poverty and the Canadian Government are to blame. The Canadian government is only worsening the problem, rather than helping our First Peoples. The First Nations are disconnecting them from their traditional way of living, not funding their given lifestyle and not raising any awareness of the issue of Aboriginal poverty. But why should Canadian’s help the Aboriginals?
Poverty is the state for the majority of people in this world. In Canada there are over 4.5 million people living in poverty. Poverty is not only an issue in canada but an issue that needs to be focused on all over the world. About 14% of canada is living under the yearly income threshold which means they are living in poverty.
Raphael, D. (2007). Poverty and Policy in Canada: Implications for Health and Quality of Life. Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press Inc.
Poverty among Aboriginals entails poor living conditions on reserves, health and well-being struggles, and financially unstable families; relatively speaking to the majority of Aboriginals who are living in impoverished communities, these hardships usually commence in some way, shape, or form. The Canadian Feed the Children Charity (2017) notes that “Indigenous children in Canada are over two and a half times more likely to live in poverty than non-Indigenous children.” This number is quite high and is extremely unfortunate for children to have a potentially traumatic and unpleasant upbringing resulting in challenges throughout adolescent and adulthood years. Furthermore, statistics from a study conducted years before, in 2013 with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives state the rate at which Aboriginals in Canada are living in poverty. It was determined that 50 percent of status First Nations children in the Canadian context live in poverty based on the Low Income Measure (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, 2013). With Manitoba being the highest percentage from this resource, sitting at 62 percent living in poverty, it is evident that Aboriginals in Canada are struggling
Wealth is the many fortunes that billions of people have never gotten a glimpse of. In contrast, poverty has drenched the lives of over three billion people; 270 million of these people are Indigenous. The 15 percent of the world’s indigenous poverty resides in Canada. Issues such as land usage, lack of employment, internal conflicts, poor education, and racism are well known factors of poverty. The Indigenous peoples of Canada are predominantly controlled by the issues derived from poverty.
Poverty in Canada is rising and it needs to stop now! According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development or the OECD the poverty rate in Canada has been on a steady rise in the mid 1900’s until the late 2000’s. The two most affected types of people are children at 38 percent and aboriginal or First Nations people at 11 percent. The rest of the population stands at 4.3 percent on the scale of poverty in Canada said Food Banks Canada. There are tons of reasons why poverty is rising and why people are living in poverty, like drug or alcohol addiction. There are many more reasons why the poverty rates are so high, a recent poll indicated that 51 percent of people living in poverty are not in control of the reason why they are poverty, 11 percent of people do not know why or unsure of why people live in poverty and 37 percent of people say that people living in poverty aren’t doing enough to help themselves. There are also a lot of ways to help stop poverty or help the people who are living in poverty, for example make a video about it and help make people aware that poverty in constantly around them. Another way to help people living in poverty is by volunteering at a food bank like the Salvation Army. Poverty is all over the world but as Canadians we are concerned and should help make a change and stop the rise of poverty in Canada. (Tapscott & Officer)
This paper will examine and analyze the underlying causes of poverty and homelessness, the difficulties that the new immigrants experience in Canada, and what can we do in order to prevent and overcome those problems. According to the dictionary, poverty can be defined as the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions. It has been an important issue for hundredths of years because it can leave people homeless and hungry. Both, Canadians and the new immigrants to Canada are experiencing many financial difficulties, and there are people who are struggling to live, to find a shelter and to provide the most basic needs to themselves and their families.
Curtis, J. E., Tepperman, L., & Albanese, P. (2012). Sociology: A Canadian perspective(3rd ed.). Don Mills, Ont: Oxford University Press.
In today 's society, there is 1 in 7 people living in poverty which is costing Canadian citizens’ money as they are paying for taxes. There are many standpoints in which people examine the ways poverty affect society such as Marx’s conflict theory. Marx’s conflict theory goes over how social stratification being inevitable and how there is a class consciousness within people in the working class. Another way that poverty is scrutinized is by feminization. Feminization is the theory that will be explored throughout this essay. Poverty will be analyzed in this essay to determine the significance of poverty on the society and the implications that are produced.
Social and economic rights are protected in several international human rights instruments, the most comprehensive of which is the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR or Covenant). In fact the approach commonly adopted to identify such a right is to assess whether it is included in the ICESCR.
Social issues are problems in the society today that are described as wrong, widespread and changeable. A category of conditions that people believe need to be changed. Poverty is a serious social issue in the society today. According to Peilin (2012), poverty brings hardships to families and individuals as well as political thereby negatively affecting the social stability and social development and posing a severe threat to human security (p. 243). This paper focuses on poverty as a social issue in today’s society. First, it gives a succinct introduction of the social issue, and then describes how it fits into the field of sociology. It also evaluates the sociological theories and terminology that relate to the social issue. The section that follows evaluates what is known and unknown about the particular social issue. This is followed by a discussion regarding the value of sociological research into the issue determining the available or possible practical implications of the sociological inquiry. The information presented here is strongly supported by the concepts and theories derived from reliable sources.