Pursuit of economic growth leaving millions of Canadians behind
Today, the Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW) released its third national report, which shatters the persistent myth of “trickle down.” From 1994 to 2014, Canada’s GDP grew by 38 per cent while national well-being only rose 9.9 per cent. What’s more, the 2008 recession stole our living standards, our leisure and volunteer time, even our sleep — and we never got them back.
Based at the University of Waterloo, the CIW tracks 64 indicators representing eight domains of vital importance to Canadians’ quality of life. Where GDP counts money circulating in the economy, the CIW captures fluctuations in community vitality, democratic engagement, education, environment, healthy populations, leisure and culture, living standards and time use to describe how we’re really doing.
Take this year’s Fort McMurray wildfires for example. Firefighting, evacuation and rebuilding costs all contribute positively to GDP. Yet GDP will never capture the negative impacts on the environment, on residents’ physical and mental health or on their living standards. Nor will GDP ever positively account for the increased sense of community that can stem from tragedy. The CIW can.
At the national level, the picture that emerges over the past 21 years is a GDP rebounding post-recession but Canadians literally continuing to pay the price. From 1994 to 2008, the living standards domain rose 23 per cent. Then it plummeted almost 11 per cent and has yet to recover. Gains made on reducing long-term unemployment and improving the employment rate were lost. Income inequality is rising. And, despite increases in median family incomes, millions of Canadians struggle with food and housing costs. When living standards drop, community, cultural and democratic participation follow suit. Surely, this is not our vision of equality and fairness in Canada.
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/com...wth-leaving-millions-of-canadians-behind.html
Today, the Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW) released its third national report, which shatters the persistent myth of “trickle down.” From 1994 to 2014, Canada’s GDP grew by 38 per cent while national well-being only rose 9.9 per cent. What’s more, the 2008 recession stole our living standards, our leisure and volunteer time, even our sleep — and we never got them back.
Based at the University of Waterloo, the CIW tracks 64 indicators representing eight domains of vital importance to Canadians’ quality of life. Where GDP counts money circulating in the economy, the CIW captures fluctuations in community vitality, democratic engagement, education, environment, healthy populations, leisure and culture, living standards and time use to describe how we’re really doing.
Take this year’s Fort McMurray wildfires for example. Firefighting, evacuation and rebuilding costs all contribute positively to GDP. Yet GDP will never capture the negative impacts on the environment, on residents’ physical and mental health or on their living standards. Nor will GDP ever positively account for the increased sense of community that can stem from tragedy. The CIW can.
At the national level, the picture that emerges over the past 21 years is a GDP rebounding post-recession but Canadians literally continuing to pay the price. From 1994 to 2008, the living standards domain rose 23 per cent. Then it plummeted almost 11 per cent and has yet to recover. Gains made on reducing long-term unemployment and improving the employment rate were lost. Income inequality is rising. And, despite increases in median family incomes, millions of Canadians struggle with food and housing costs. When living standards drop, community, cultural and democratic participation follow suit. Surely, this is not our vision of equality and fairness in Canada.
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/com...wth-leaving-millions-of-canadians-behind.html
