A Memorial University Economics professor says she’s not surprised with the $500 dollar one-time cost of living benefit announced yesterday.
Dr. Lynn Gambin says other provinces have implemented similar measures and says the move represents an easy and quick fix.
She says government is trading off doing something quickly with as little administrative burden as possible, versus a more detailed, targeted, and means-tested policy to address needs in the community.
Gambin says governments are limited in many ways in dealing with inflationary forces that are global in scope, however there is some wiggle-room in terms of taxes and how they’re applied, but again, it’s a trade-off.
She says making tax cuts on certain goods and services which create revenue for social programs and services like health care, make those decisions more difficult.
Activist Says Benefit Doesn’t Go Far Enough
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Social activists in Newfoundland and Labrador welcome the $500 one-time relief cheque but say it does not go far enough.
Not only that, but they question the fairness of giving two people who each make $98,000 and live in the same household the same amount as a household whose income is $30,000 total.
Anyone earning $100,000 or less will get $500 while people who earn between the first threshold and $125,000 will receive a lesser amount based on a sliding scale.
Premier Andrew Furey is tapping into extra cash from high oil prices, a move tagged by the opposition parties as too little, too late.
Labour activist Alyse Stuart is surprised with the $100,000 threshold as such relief programs would normally target people who earn a lot less.
She wonders what will be available for low-income earners after the $500 cheque because the cost of living is not going down anytime soon.
