Poverty

& Living Standards

Quality of Life & Standards of Living Include:

health levels of nutrition

life expectancy
literacy rate

the status of women and children

freedoms, rights, and a clean environment to
live in

What kinds of programs does Canada have to help with quality of life and standard of living?

health care income assistance

access to education
old age security

etc.

the Human Poverty Index

measures poverty in developing and developed countries differently for developing countries
Probability at birth of

for selected OECD countries

Probability at birth of

A long healthy life not surviving until age 40 not surviving to age 60 Knowledge
Adult literacy rate

% of adults lacking

functional literacy skills

% of population not
using an improved water source

A decent standard % of children % of people living below the poverty line of living underweight for age Deprivation of a decent
standard of living Not included as a dimension

Social exclusion

Long-term

unemployment rate

OECD - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; used to represent developed countries.

Measuring Poverty in Canada

Statistics Canada uses a Low Income CutOff (LICO) to determine poverty

LICO = a household that spends more than

70% of income on food, clothing, and shelter.

Statistics Canada vs. The National Council of Welfare

Stats Canada LICO is measured using before-tax income The National Council of Welfare

LICO is measured using after-tax income

Measuring Poverty in the United States

measured against the cost of a minimum
adequate diet multiplied by 3

The Different Faces of Generational Poverty

unable to economically meet basic human needs less likely to have education fear of authority figures often treated in a negative way

poverty felt by individuals from families that have been in poverty for more than one generation.

Working Poor

live paycheque-to-paycheque fear of losing work (laid off, cut hours) rarely own property little-to-no money for extras

continued
Working Class

less likely to suffer from poverty, though pay rate can vary and some depend on hourly wage may own homes might hope at least one child attends post-secondary

Immigrant

may leave home country in search of better opportunities
some are refugees, coming with little or nothing experience language and cultural barriers seem to do better than those born into poverty in Canada

What Issues Dealing with Economics and Poverty Have you Noticed in the News in the Recent Past?