High poverty with no plan

[The Green Barbarian]

I dont' think GB was referring to "poor" in the monetary sense but rather a soft, sentimental sense. Something we're unaccustomed to from him.

LOL

[The Green Barbarian]

And it isn't their fault. They weren't born into a World they asked for. These childern need strong role models and will inside of them to see what's around them and make a decision to break free from the chains of poverty. .

So are you saying that these kids should be taken out of their lazy welfare-addicted homes and put in homes with poor people who work for a living? You might be on to something there.

[The Green Barbarian]

• In 2012, the bottom 30% of Canadians accounted for less than 1% of all
wealth; the bottom 50% combined controlled less than 6%.

is this information taken from tax returns? There are a lot of Canadians who live quite well and yet don't earn a lot of money, as they are dependent on their spouse/partner to make the money, while they raise the kids/work on their novel/watch Price is Right all day. This is the same issue with the "study" that came out by an "anti-poverty" group who said that 50% of kids in BC who are "children of divorce" have at least one parent "living in poverty". This stat was ridiculous, as a lot of parents live off of their non-taxable child support and non-taxable child tax benefits (I know this as I know several people who are doing this now). So thus would be considered "living in poverty" while not actually do this at all.

[Queen K]

No, I'm referring to everyone who meets these children needs to be stronger than average role models in a non-judgemental way.

[fluffy]

...is this information taken from tax returns?

I gathered it from a few sources actually, government reports, thinktank reports and media articles. I was trying to search out a figure for the percentage of Canadians dependent on social assistance, a difficult figure to find so it seems.

I was surprised however to find that the median income for the country was so close to the poverty line, and that while I occasionally bounce into the "top 10%" category, I do not see myself as what you'd call well-off. On the same token, I don't find it particularly difficult to survive the lean years although even the lean years are considerably above the median income line. Even as a single person with relatively low living costs I can't imagine having to get by on $30K/year, let alone nudging up against the poverty line.

[Queen K]

The key is shelter costs or lack thereof. If one doesn't have to pay either in any significant way, it's a lot easier to get by on $30K/yr.

[fluffy]

True. I bought a modest house over twenty years ago and my mortgage payment is less than half what rent would be on a similar house. When I'm laid off from work I practice for retirement by leaving my savings account alone and living off EI, which checks in around the poverty line,and the odd side job. It's a reality check at times I wouldn't be able to pull it off on EI alone.