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Bonnie Reilly Schmidt, Ph.D.

~ History Provides Context

Bonnie Reilly Schmidt, Ph.D.

Tag Archives: Charitable Giving

Are the Working Poor Working Hard Enough?

30 Fri Jan 2015

Posted by Bonnie Reilly Schmidt in Social Justice, Society

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Tags

Charitable Giving, Poverty in Canada, Poverty Line in Canada, Working Poor

Sometimes we don’t mind donating money toward helping people who are struggling with addiction or mental illness. But when we talk about helping the “working poor” questions are raised about their worthiness to receive that help.

Most Canadians are descendants of immigrants who came to Canada looking for a better quality of life. In many cases, their ancestors worked extremely hard to gain the economic prosperity that they enjoy today. So, it is not unusual for them to question why the working poor need assistance; shouldn’t they just work harder to get ahead?

Source-www.aflcio.org

Source-www.aflcio.org

Although the working poor maintain employment they remain in poverty. In 2001, they numbered 653,000 Canadians. Young people, single parents, recent immigrants, Aboriginal people, persons with a long-term illness, seniors, and workers whose spouse is unemployed, make up the majority of the working poor. Additionally, 1.5 million persons, usually dependent children, are directly affected by the low income their parent(s) earn.[1]

The working poor can be self-employed or may work full- or part-time at contract, temporary, or seasonal jobs, usually at the minimum wage level. Most will earn less than $20,000.00 per year, $10,000.00 below the poverty line.[2] None of them have benefits such as medical, dental, pension, or life insurance which contributes to their poverty.

Family plays the greatest role in the economic uncertainty of the working poor. The greater the number of dependents, the higher the probability of a worker earning wages below the poverty line. A disabled spouse, partner, or child to support is also a factor. The level of education a wage earner has acquired is a determinant, as is a person’s ability to integrate into the labour market.

Why don’t they just work harder to get ahead?

In Canada, the working poor are exerting a significant amount of effort toward improving their lives. According to government researchers, “In 2001, most low-income workers demonstrated a significant work effort: 76% of them stated they had had 1,500 hours or more of paid work during the year. This percentage is slightly lower than that of workers who were not in a low-income situation in 2001 (88%).”[3] The working poor are working hard, many of them at more than one job each year.

Yet most find it difficult to make ends meet. They are a growing number of Canadians who work but find it necessary to visit food banks, soup kitchens, used clothing stores, and charities that provide food. It is no longer unusual to see entire families in line waiting for a nightly meal.

Source-publichealthwatch.wordpress.com

Source-publichealthwatch.wordpress.com

So, please consider the working poor the next time you make a charitable donation. Don’t assume that the people who use the services provided by charitable organizations are lazy or uninterested in bettering themselves. The lives of the working poor are more complicated and challenging than that, and they deserve to live with dignity and respect despite their income level.

[1] Dominique Fleury and Myriam Fortin, “Research Briefs – Canada’s Working Poor,” Social Development Canada, 22 July 2013. http://www.horizons.gc.ca/eng/content/research-briefs-canada%E2%80%99s-working-poor.

[2] “The Canadian Policy Research Networks defines a low-paid worker as someone who works full time throughout the year but who earns less than $20,000.” Fleury and Fortin, “Research Briefs,” f.n. 3. Statistics Canada determined that the Low Income Cut-Off (poverty line) was $30,487.00 after taxes in 2011. See http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/75f0002m/2012002/lico-sfr-eng.htm.

[3] Fleury and Fortin, “Research Briefs,” f.n. 3.

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Giving Tuesday – A National Day of Giving

02 Tue Dec 2014

Posted by Bonnie Reilly Schmidt in Social Justice

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Tags

Black Friday, Charitable Giving, Child Poverty, Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday

In the wake of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, I’m overloaded with the continuous demands placed on me to spend money. The commercialism associated with gift-giving appeals to the side of us that values self-gratification before the needs of others. Advertisers and retailers are well aware that in North America more altruistic pursuits are often secondary on our list of priorities.

There is a way to take back the holiday season and to refocus our energies on what is really important. Giving Tuesday, December 2 is a national day of volunteering and giving back to our communities.

The need is great. According to Global TV News, 30,000 people in Canada are homeless. Children represent 36% of food bank users in this country. One in seven children live in poverty in Canada, despite goals set by politicians in 1989 to eradicate child poverty by 2000. Visit http://globalnews.ca/news/1699146/16×9-25-years-later-canadas-child-poverty-rate-remains-unchanged/ to watch Global TV’s video on poverty in Canada.

You can give back by volunteering or by making a financial donation to one of the many charitable groups in Canada who are in need of finances to conduct research, heal disease, provide clothing, treat PTSD, feed children, drive a senior, supply drinking water, buy toys, cook a Christmas dinner, or to simply keep in operation.

Follow the Giving Tuesday link to find a charitable organization in Canada that needs your financial help http://givingtuesday.ca/. Or visit http://nightshiftministries.org/.

Wherever or however you give, I hope that you’ll give back in some way this holiday season and throughout 2015.

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