Chapter 8: Taxation and Social Programs

REQUIRED RESEARCH: TAXATION & SOCIAL PROGRAMS

Before you embark on your expedition, we need to make sure you have all the
background knowledge necessary for the mission to be successful. When we reach our
destiny, we will need to plan the political, economic and social structures for the new
colony, so your understanding of this content is vital. For that reason, you will be tested.
Only the best recruits, who test successfully, will be chosen for the expedition.
PERSONAL RESPONSE: WHAT ARE YOUR PERSONAL THOUGHTS?
1. To begin, independently list programs you think the new government should provide
(dental, career training, young offenders, programs for reintegrating)
Dental
Career training
Health care
Pension
Young offenders rehabilitation
Policing
Army
Fire Department
Rangers
Jury/Legal system
Road services
Utilities (power lines, gas, plumbing)
Welfare
2. In a group of 3: Rank the top 3 programs that your group feels are the most important
for the new colony.
1. Career Planning
2. Health care
3. Legal system
1. Which programs are vitally important to quality of life? (How happy you are with
your life, based on how your needs are met: Happiness, leisure time, health,
social satisfaction.)
Education
Health care/dental
Utilities
Legal system
Rehabilitation for people with additions and for offenders.
Transportation
Pension
2. Which are ineffective and can be discontinued?

Chapter 8: Taxation and Social Programs

Welfare
Military
Pension
Rehabilitation

3. How would the new government fund these programs?

Taxes (All equal no matter how rich or poor you are)
Sell important resources on planet
Fines for all crimes from speeding to higher crimes
4. How will we determine which ones are important and which ones arent?
What are we using?
Our values (what we believe is right and wrong)

VOCABULARY: DO YOU KNOW THE REQUIRED VOCABULARY?

Use your resources (textbook) to fill in the required vocabulary.
Black Market: Another term for underground economy
Goods & Services Tax (GST): A federal sales tax in Canada
Health Insurance: An agreement by a company to pay for your health
services, in exchange for a fee that you pay each
month of each year
Income Tax: Tax based on percentage of a persons income
Median: A concept in statistics that means the middle number in a set of
data organized in order of least to most
Private Health Care: Health care paid for by individuals
Profit: Money made from a product or service above and beyond
the cost of providing the product or service
Public Health Care: Health care paid for by taxes
Sales Tax: Tax paid at the time of buying a product or service, and
based on a percentage of the price of the product or
service
Tax Base: All the economic activity in a society, which government taxes to
pay for services.
Tax Evasion: Misrepresenting what you earn to avoid paying taxes
Taxation Model: Government policies about taxation, such as what to tax
(ex. Incomes, purchases), how much to tax and how to spend taxes.
Underground Economy: Economic activity based on buying or selling
products and services illegally.
VALUES: WHAT VALUES DOES OUR CURRENT CANADIAN GOVT. HOLD?
Read the following excerpt entitled What are Values?
Values are beliefs about whats important for example, beliefs about democracy,
respect, accountability and peace. They influence your opinions and help you make
decisions about issues that affect your quality of life.
Values are influenced by many factors such as family, school, religion, media and life
experiences. Your values can change over time, because of new information and
experiences. Societies, such as Canada, are based on shared values that shape laws

Chapter 8: Taxation and Social Programs

and things like social programs.

List 3 things that you value the most.

Free health care
Leisure time
Life Expenses

List the 3 factors that have influenced your values.

School
Media
Life experiences

List 3 things that you think are valued by the government of Canada.
Free health Insurance
Dental Care
Safety

SOCIAL PROGRAMS: WHAT PROGRAMS DOES CANADA CURRENTLY HAVE?

(Issues for Canadians p. 271)

Social programs are services provided by government and paid for by taxes.
They aim to reduce economic inequalities in society and promote the well being
of all citizens.

Views differ on what programs might count as social programs. The list can
include health care, pensions for senior citizens, income assistance,
education, affordable housing, child protection services, employment insurance,
child-care, and other programs administered or supported by government.

The decision by a government to provide, or not provide, social programs comes

from different economic philosophies and different values. In Canada,
governments generally support the idea of using taxes to provide services to
citizens. In the U.S., governments support this idea less.

HEALTH CARE: WHAT IS CURRENTLY PROVIDED FOR CANADIANS?

(Issues for Canadians bottom of p. 271)

Canada has public health care. This means that public funds taxes pay for
it. The U.S. has private health care. This means individual citizens cover the
costs of their own medical needs. It also means that health care is more like a
business, where people can offer health services to make a profit.

In the U.S., many people buy health insurance to cover the costs of care. They
pay money to a company on a regular basis, whether they are sick or not. If they
become sick, the insurance company covers their medical costs. For many
Americans, health insurance like health care costs more than they can
afford.

Chapter 8: Taxation and Social Programs

SUMMARY: FILL IN THE BLANKS

Canada has public health care which means that Public funds or taxes pay for it.
The US has private health care which means that Individual Citizens cover of their
own medical needs.
As a result, most people in the US buy Health Insurance in order to cover the cost of
care. They have to make regular payments whether they need assistance or not. For
more many Americans, health insurance costs more that they can afford.

WHAT ARE GOVT RESPONSIBILITIES & SOCIAL PROGRAMS IN CANADA?

(Issues for Canadians p. 274)

Different levels of government provide and fund social programs in Canada. This is
because, under Canadas constitution, the federal and provincial governments have
different responsibilities.

The provinces have responsibility for health care. This ensures citizens in
different provinces can have a role in shaping health care to fit their
unique views, perspectives and needs.

The federal government has responsibility for peace, order and good
government. It can pass laws, such as the Canada Health Act, that affect
the way provinces carry out their responsibilities.

FILL IN THE BLANKS

Chapter 8: Taxation and Social Programs

The federal and provincial governments have different Responsibilities. For example,
the provinces have responsibility for Health Care The federal government has
responsibility for Peace, order and good government.
Health care must be:
Publicly Administrated - run by government for no profit
Comprehensive provided by all areas, including hospitals, physicians, surgeons
Universal - available for everyone.
Portable available everywhere in Canada no matter where you make your home in
Canada.
Accessible - available within reasonable time and Distance.

OVERVIEW OF SOCIAL PROGRAMS IN CANADA & THE USA (2007)

(Issues for Canadians p. 273)

C)

SOCIAL PROGRAMS IN THE US (2007)

(Issues for Canadians p. 275)

Chapter 8: Taxation and Social Programs

GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE USA: HOW IS IT DIFFERENT ?

Under the US Constitution, federal and state governments can make laws regarding
social programs. The constitution does not identify particular federal or state
responsibilities in this area which is different than in Canada. In general, however,
federal laws determine principles regarding social programs.

SHOULD WE HAVE HEALTH CARE AS A SOCIAL PROGRAM: YES OR NO?

Read the 3 articles below. Choose the article that you agree with the most. Give 3
reasons why you agree with that article.

ARTICLE #1

Chapter 8: Taxation and Social Programs

ARTICLE #2

ARTICLE #3

Chapter 8: Taxation and Social Programs

PERSONAL RESPONSE: SUPPORT YOUR POSITION

MY POSITION:
The article I support the most.
Article 1

SUPPORTING DETAILS
Detailed reasons I support this position.
Health care in the U.S is getting too
expensive some people cannot get medical
attention.
Its so expensive that some people get their
life savings wiped out because of their cost
of their medical bill.
Wasteful lawsuits are unreasonable, they
are taking doctors jobs away.

WHATS THE CONNECTION BETWEN TAXATION & SOCIAL PROGRAMS?

(Issues for Canadians p. 281)

Within Canada, both the federal and provincial governments collect taxes. The federal
government transfers some of the taxes to the provinces to use for social services.
Citizens pay 2 kinds of taxes: Income tax and Sales tax. As grade 9 students, you will
most likely not have to pay income tax because you do not earn enough income, but you
will be paying GST in the form of the ____________. In Canada, the average family
earned $67 000 a year and had to pay 17% or $11 000 in taxes.

HOW DOES NOT PAYING TAXES AFFECT SOCIAL PROGRAMS & QUALITY
OF LIFE?

Chapter 8: Taxation and Social Programs

(Issues for Canadians p. 283)

THE ISSUE OF TAX EVASION

Tax evasion means to avoid paying the taxes you owe.

In all countries, including Canada, its against the law to avoid paying taxes.
Canadians must report what they earn, so government can determine and collect
the tax they owe.

The economic activity that governments tax is called the tax base. The tax base
pays for the services provided by government, such as social programs.

Tax evasion involves not reporting your economic activity, so government cannot
collect the tax you owe.

People who work without paying taxes are part of the underground economy
underground because it functions in secret from the government. The
underground economy is also called the black market.

PERSONAL RESPONSE QUESTIONS:

How can tax evasion affect programs and quality of life?

Tax evasion can affect programs and the quality of life because it will effect
the people who do pay their taxes. The facilities will not be as great if not
everyone contributes to the payment of new facilities to use.
What should be done to those individuals who evade paying taxes?
I think that these individuals who do not pay their taxes should not be
allowed to use the facilities (hospitals, schools, and getting a job) until they
pay their taxes.

RESEARCHING POLITICAL PARTIES

(Issues for Canadians p. 287)

POLITICAL PLATFORMS

A political platform describes the official policies of a political party. It reflects

a variety of issues, including those linked to social programs and taxation
models.

Political parties create platforms to reflect the values of their members. Parties
also consult constituents in electoral ridings to learn more about issues that
concern voters.

Parties add and remove policies as issues become more or less important to
their members and to voters. Issues can change in response to local, national
and world events.

A provincial election has been called. Research the political platforms of the following five
major parties in Alberta.
PARTY
PLATFORM

Progressive
Conservative

Liberal Party

Wild Rose
Alliance Party

New
Democratic

Alberta Party

Chapter 8: Taxation and Social Programs

Party

10

Party

EDUCATION

HEALTH CARE

TAXATION

ENVIRONMEN
T
CRIME

SENIOR
CITIZENS
CHILD CARE

YOUR POLITICAL STANCE:

Choose which political party you agree with the most and EXPLAIN why.
choose ideas from the chart on page 288 or on page 10 of this document.

You can

THE CONNECTION BETWEEN VALUES, POLICIES AND THE ECONOMIC

CONTINUUM (Issues for Canadians p. 288)
Economic policies come from values and form part of the platforms of political parties.
The policies within platforms indicate where parties fit on the economic continuum. The
following are examples of party platforms.

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Here is where these three parties fit on the economic continuum.

RESEARCHING U.S. POLITCAL PARTIES

Research the platforms and policies of the Democratic and Republican parties.
PARTY
PLATFORM
EDUCATION
HEALTH CARE
TAXATION
ENVIRONMEN
T

DEMOCRATIC PARTY

REPUBLICAN PARTY

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12

CRIMINAL
JUSTICE
DEFENSE
SOCIAL
PROGRAMS

COMPARING POLITICAL PARTIES

Connect the 2 main parties in the USA to one of the Canadian parties with the most
similar values and platform. Explain why you choose that party.
Democratic Party
Explanation:

Canadian Party:

Republican Party
Explanation:

Canadian Party:

CASE STUDY: TOMMY DOUGLAS- THE FATHER OF PUBLIC HEALTH CARE

(Issues for Canadians p. 291)

Chapter 8: Taxation and Social Programs

What did Tommy Douglas accomplish?

He accomplished to build the health care system which was paid by everyone
using their tax dollars.
How might the choice of Douglas as a great Canadian reflect Canadian values
and identity?

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