A family making $60,000 or less has a higher standard of living in Canada than in the U.S., although individuals in the upper tiers of the tax brackets in Canada do pay more (Speirs 1999). There is also a national 'sales' or consumption tax, similar to Europe's VAT (value-added) tax in Canada, and higher estate taxes than the United States. Canada is also more willing to use public policy 'carrot' tax cuts to encourage good behavior, including a tax credit for using public transportation (About the tax credit for public transportation, 2009, Canadian government website).
Canada generally provides more financial support to students for education, again with an eye upon shaping social policy. For example it encourages apprenticeships and other educational initiatives for 'self-improvement,' in the belief that fostering education helps all of society. "The Apprenticeship Incentive Grant (AIG) is a taxable cash grant available to registered apprentices once they have successfully completed their first or second year/level (or equivalent) of an apprenticeship program in one of the Red Seal trades" (Apprenticeship, 2009, Canadian government website). Educational scholarships exist for PhD and Master's students who have graduated with distinction, not simply those in the direst of financial need, as well as for women, students with dependents, in-course students, students with high levels of need, and engineering students (Education, 2009, Canadian government website). These groups are seen as especially deserving of public assistance, or in employment that is especially important for society in the future. Higher education in Canada is cheaper at the undergraduate and graduate level than a private education in the United States, and the high quality and international reputation of Canada's universities with their low cost is the reason that many Americans try to gain admission to institutions like McGill or the University of Toronto.
Come critics...
In many regards. Of the major industrialized nations in terms of social welfare support, Canada tends to rank exactly in the center, with Sweden at the high end, and the U.S. At the lower end (Lightman 2003, p. 2; 26). Also, like America, its policies towards its native populace in the past have come under fire, which questions the idea that Canada's policies are always 'equalizing' for all of its citizens. However, while acknowledging such blindness regarding Native Americans, and religious and ethnic minorities in the past, Canada as a whole has shown a greater willingness to embrace equality as an ideal than the United States, in contrast to merely promoting the rhetoric of equal opportunities.
Works Cited
About the tax credit for public transit (2009). Canadian government website. Retrieved May 6,
2009 at http://www.transitpass.ca/about_e.asp
Apprenticeship grant. (2009). Canadian government website. Retrieved May 6, 2009 at http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/goc/apprenticeship.shtml
Education. (2009). Canadian government website. Retrieved May 6, 2009 at http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/subjects/education/index.shtml
Finkel, Alan. (2006). Social policy and practice in Canada: A history. Wilfrid Laurier University
Press
Lightman, Ernie. (2003). Social welfare policy in Canada. Oxford University Press.
Speirs, Rosemary. (1999, November 6). Tax surprise: Most of us pay less than Americans
Toronto Star. Retrieved May 6, 2009 at http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/taxes.htm
Tanner, Michael D. (2008, April 25). Health care around the world: Canada. Healthcare economist. Retrieved May 6, 2009 at http://healthcare-economist.com/2008/04/25/health-care-around-the-world-canada/
