What could we do with fifty billion dollars? Oh, I know. We could use it to adapt to climate change. It might help Canada transition from fossil fuels to alternative clean energy. There is no end of good uses for that sort of money.
British Labour MP, Clive Lewis, is asking the same question. "Why are taxpayers subsidising the oil and gas companies that are jeopardizing our future?"
Does this sound familiar?
Last October, the world’s most renowned climate scientists warned governments that humanity has just 12 years to prevent climate catastrophe. The UK government faces three choices to deal with carbon-heavy fossil fuels: force people to stop using them immediately; facilitate a rapid transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy; or hope business-as-usual market forces solve our problem for us. Strip away the rhetoric, and the Tory government is still relying on the latter option.
... British taxpayers will now subsidise multi-billion-pound companies in accelerating the collapse of our natural world. Extinction Rebellion recognises this threat, and is protesting outside the Treasury today. It questions why we continue to subsidise the very companies that jeopardise our future. I stand in complete solidarity with it.Deja Vu, anyone?
These tax reliefs have not brought any tangible benefit in protecting and creating jobs. They simply subsidise big business and facilitate and encourage further North Sea exploitation. As John McDonnell outlined when speaking in Scotland recently, any government intervention must be to secure the creation of new, green, sustainable jobs. The public accounts committee asked the government whether its “support for oil and gas may become incompatible with its long-term climate change objectives”. “No” would be the honest answer.
Beto ORorke has an idea. Take the subsidies away from the oil cartel and use it to finance his version of a green deal.
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ReplyDeleteThat's what I was suggesting, Rumley.
All while retired people born before and during the WWII are living on a subsistence allowance. These people could be living a much better life. Increasing the GIS is a travesty. It is the OAS that needs to be increased to a living wage instead of clawing back should someone in the 70"s have to go back to work. What an insult keeping the population mostly women living 10,000 dollars below the poverty line in a country like Canada. Even China treats its retired people better than this. Anyong
ReplyDeleteanyong....with respect
ReplyDeleteOAS plus GIS plus Alberta housing supplement(owners and renters)$280 equals $1814 per month/$21,768 per year.
Plus refunds for medical trips,prescription caps, some household replacements and other refunds
verses
poverty line for single in Canada $20,389
source
https://milescorak.com/2018/08/21/canadas-official-poverty-line-what-is-it-how-could-it-be-better/
and the same for a woman as a man
OAS is universal .....your retired parliamentarians with their $10,000 a month pension get it plus any increase,
I guess it depends upon the province, and your not living any screaming high life at the poverty line, but hey
health care ,food and clothes and a roof?, library, internet and .....CANADA...better off than 90% of the world in any jurisdiction.
mike
Tell me why people take a trip to Mexico to see dentists? They cannot afford in this country and it gives them a change to save a little while away for six months. "According to a report card on seniors' poverty, the province has the worst rate in Canada — 8.8 per cent of seniors in B.C. live in poverty compared to a national average of 6.6 per cent." If a person is making a little over 22,000 a year they are 10,000 below the poverty line. Ever tired to rent my friend Mike? See what you get. My parents paid rent after the end of the IIWW and were able to save enough in 3 years to build a four bed roomed house mortgage free...try that now huh???
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ReplyDeletewith respect
as a senior i am allowed $5000 dental from age 65 to 70 and then another $5000 is added at 5 year intervals and work is discounted by about 60%.
I keep googling "canadas poverty line" and it keeps coming up as about $20,000.
A two bedroom here is about $750 but here is not downtown Vancouver. Like i told a friend of mine ...you can't retire to hollywood no matter how entitled to be there you feel,
unless of course you are like a lot of my married high school friends who bank about $9000 pension combined between them....
I don't know what to say....I can save fairly consistently on my $1814...tho ya more would be better.
You just don't want to hear. Give your head a shake.
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