Chapter 8 Flashcards
Who actually pays for social programs? How?
Citizens
by paying taxes
The decisions the government makes on what to do with taxes affects what?
Quality of life
what are two things that the US and Canada are alike in social programs? What is one difference?
Some people receive income support, paid for by taxes/
(Food banks receive support from voluntary donations and from government.)
support provided for people in distress to who can’t meet their basic needs/
different positions on supporting senior citizens
What are values?
Beliefs that are about what is important
Beliefs that are about what is important
Family, school, religion, media, life experience
What can happen to values? Why?
They can change over time because of new information and experiences
What is the aim of social services?
To reduce economic inequalities in society and promote the well-being of all citizens
What can be considered social programs?
Health care, pensions, income assistance, education, affordable housing, child protection services, Employment insurance child care
What are the social programs that this chapter focuses on?
Health care, pensions, income assistance
What determines whether the government provides for social programs?
Different economic philosophies, different values
What does Canada generally support and the US, less so?
Use of taxes to provide services
How do Canadians have their Health care paid?
By taxes
How do AMericans have their healthcare paid?
privately (with their own money)
Private health care means?
Individual citizens cover the costs of their own medical needs
What do they do in the US to cover these health care costs?
Health insurance
What is the downside of Health insurance
, like health care costs more than they can afford
Different ____________________ provide and fund social programs in Canada.
Levels of government
The provinces have the 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 the 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
Name the 5 principles of the Canada Heath Act.
- Publicly administered: run by government for no profit.
- Comprehensive: for care provided by hospitals, physicians and surgeons.
- Universal: available to everyone.
- Portable: available everywhere in Canada, no matter where you make your home in Canada.
- Accessible: available within reasonable time and distance.
What areas do the Princples of health care apply to?
These principles apply to services provided by hospitals, physicians and surgeons.
They do not apply to other health services, such as
dental care and eye care.
What are the 3 key social programs in Canada?
health care, pensions for seniors, income assistance
The US constitution does not do what when it comes to social programs?
Does not identify particular federal or state responsibilities
Name three issues with public health care.
Waiting times/spiralling health care costs/privatization
What does the government do to provide social programs?
Collects taxes
Who collects taxes in Canada?
Federal govt. and prov. Govt.
What are 2 kinds of tax that citizens pay?
Income tax
Sales taxes
What are income taxes:
is based on what you earn: the more money you earn,
the more tax you pay.
What are sales taxes?
are based on what you spend on products and services: the more you spend, the more tax you pay.
GST stands for?
Goods and Services Tax
What was the median income for Canadian families in 2005?
$67000
At that rate of income, app. How much in taxes would you pay?
(Median for famillies: $67000
$11000
What part of the federal budget (2007) occupied 1% of the budget?
Environment
What was the biggest part of the federal budget?
Social services
The 2 largest sections by percentage in the provincial budget are?
Health care
education
Who has the biggest debt charges? Federal or Provincial governments?
Federal
What is a taxation model?
A policy that describes what to tax, how much to tax and how to spend taxes
What makes up the taxation mode?
Jobs and Income + Individuals + Taxes + Government + Programs and Services for Everyone
What is against the law in all countries when it comes to taxes?
To avoid paying taxes
What does the tax base pay for?
Services provided by the government
What does tax evasion involve?
Not reporting economic activity
What is a political party platform?
The official policies of a political party
What do the platforms reflect?
The values of their members
Why do parties add or remove policies as issues?
Issues sometimes change in local, national or world
and/ or they become less important to members
Economic ________ come from ______ and form part of the platform of political parties. The parties within __________ indicate where parties fit on the economic __________.
Policies/values/platforms/continuum
Who was the ‘father’ of the Canadian health Care system?
Tommy Douglas
social programs
services provided by government to reduce economic
inequalities and promote the well-being of citizens
health insurance
an agreement by a company to pay for your health
services, in exchange for a fee that you pay each
month or each year
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
Goods and Services Tax (GST)
a federal sales tax in
Canada
median:
a concept in statistics that means the middle number in a set of data organized in order of least to most
black market
another term for underground economy.
tax base
all the economic activity in a society, taxed by government to pay for services
tax evasion
misrepresenting what you earn to avoid paying taxes
taxation model
a policy of a political party or government about what to tax (e.g., incomes, purchases), how much to
tax and how to spend taxes
underground economy
economic activity based on buying and selling products and services illegally
Why do Different levels of government provide and fund social programs in Canada?
This is because, under Canada’s constitution, the federal and provincial governments have different responsibilities.
Under the U.S constitution, what can federal and provincial government:
can make laws regarding social programs
In general, however, federal laws determine principles regarding social programs.
Which governments can collect taxes?
Both the Federal and provincial
What is the process for collecting taxes by the federal and provincial government
The federal government transfers some of the taxes it
collects to the provinces.
For social programs, these transfers
include the Canada Health Transfer and the Canada Social Transfer.
Who pays the federal goods and services tax?
The federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a sales tax that everybody in Canada pays.
In 2005, Canadian families paid, on average of how much percentage?
17%
Spending by Canada’s Government, 2007
16% Other
2% Transportation and Communication
32% Social Services (e.g., affordable housing and pensions for senior citizens and monies transferred to the provinces through the Canada Social Transfer)
12% Protection of Persons and Property (e.g., defence, policing)
4% Resource Conservation and Industry
2% Recreation and Culture
10% Health (transferred to provinces through the
Canada Health Transfer)
3% Foreign Affairs and International Assistance
1% Environment
3% Education (e.g., universities, colleges)
15% Debt Charges (money to pay back loans)
For Canada’s government in 2007, what was percentage of “DEBT CHARGES” ( money to pay back loans)
15%
For Canada’s government in 2007, what was percentage of “Education”:
3%
For Canada’s government in 2007, what was percentage of “Environment”:
1%
For Canada’s government in 2007, what was percentage of “Health”:
10%
For Canada’s government in 2007, what was percentage of “Social Services”:
32%
2007 Provincial alberta spendings:
6% Transportation and Communication
15% Social Services (e.g., affordable housing, child
protection, and income assistance)
3% Protection of Persons and Property (e.g., policing,
firefighting)
7% Resource Conservation and Industry
2% Recreation and Culture
33% Health
2% Environment
25% Education (i.e., kindergarten to Grade 12)
2% Debt Charges (money to pay back loans)
Spending
Provincial spendings for Social services:
15%
Provincial spendings for debt charges:
2%
Provincial spendings for Environment:
2%
Provincial spendings for Education:
25%
Provincial spendings for Health:
33%
What is tax evasion:
Tax evasion is to stop paying the taxes you owe.
Tax base:
The economic activity that governments tax is called the tax
base.
