Chapter 8: Taxation and Social Programs

QUlITY OF LIFE ON THE TESTTTT!!!!!

QUlITY OF LIFE ON THE TESTTTT!!!!!
QUlITY OF LIFE ON THE TESTTTT!!!!!
More money you can afford better foods, or cooking, enough time, important to
your hapiness
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)
Career training
Health care
Dental
Pension
Young offenders Rehabilitation
Programs
Army
Rangers
Policing
Fire department
Legal system
Road services
utilities (Power lines, gas, plumbing..)
Supporting Immigrants
Welfare
Transportation

2. In a group of 3: Rank the top 3 programs that your group feels are the most important
for the new colony.
1. Health care (prevention and treatment)
2. Career Training, transportation / utilities / army / education
3. Legal system

Chapter 8: Taxation and Social Programs

1. Which programs are vitally important to quality of life? (how happy you are with you
life based on how your needs are being met: happiness, leisure time health, social
satisfaction,)
- Education
- Health care / Dental
- utilities
- legal system
- Rehabilitation for people with addictions and for offenders
- Transportation
- Pension
- Welfare
2. Which are ineffective and can be discontinued?
- Welfare (Thomas Hinson)
- Military (Aiden Booker)
- Pension (Eleonora Samori)
- Road Services
- Rehab
3. How would the new government fund these programs?
- Taxation (Thomas Hinson) (percentage of income by proportion)
- Sell resources found on planet
- Fines for all crimes speeding to higher crimes)
4. How will we determine which ones are important and which ones arent?
- What are we using
- Our Values

VOCABULARY: DO YOU KNOW THE REQUIRED VOCABULARY?

Use your resources (textbook) to fill in the required vocabulary.
Black Market:

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

a concept in statistics that means the

middle number in a set of data organized in order of least to most

Median:

Private Health Care: health care paid for by individuals

Profit:

Public Health Care: health care paid for by taxes

money made from a product or service above and beyond

the cost of providing the product or service

Chapter 8: Taxation and Social Programs

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,
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

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
and things like social programs.

List 3 things that you value the most.

List the 3 factors that have influenced your values.

List 3 things that you think are valued by the government of Canada.

SOCIAL PROGRAMS: WHAT PROGRAMS DOES CANADA CURRENTLY HAVE?

Chapter 8: Taxation and Social Programs

(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.

SUMMARY: FILL IN THE BLANKS

Canada has free health care which means that citizens or taxes pay for it.
The US has private health care which means that
________________________________ of their own medical needs.
As a result, most people in the US buy _____________________________________ 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.

Chapter 8: Taxation and Social Programs

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

The federal and provincial governments have different
_________________________________. For example, the provinces have responsibility
for ___________________________________. The federal government has
responsibility for _____________________, _____________________, and
__________________________________.
Health care must be:
______________________________________ - run by government for no profit
Comprehensive provided by all areas, including hospitals, physicians, surgeons
___________________________ - available for everyone.
Portable available _____________________________
____________________________ - available within reasonable time and
_______________________.

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

(Issues for Canadians p. 273)

Chapter 8: Taxation and Social Programs

C)

SOCIAL PROGRAMS IN THE US (2007)

(Issues for Canadians p. 275)

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?

Chapter 8: Taxation and Social Programs

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

ARTICLE #2

Chapter 8: Taxation and Social Programs

ARTICLE #3

PERSONAL RESPONSE: SUPPORT YOUR POSITION

MY POSITION:
The article I support the most.

SUPPORTING DETAILS
Detailed reasons I support this position.

WHATS THE CONNECTION BETWEN TAXATION & SOCIAL PROGRAMS?

(Issues for Canadians p. 281)

Within Canada, both the federal and _________________________ governments collect

taxes. The federal government ____________________________ some of the taxes to
the provinces to use for social services. Citizens pay 2 kinds of taxes:
_________________________________ and ______________________________. 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 _________________________________ in
the form of the ____________. In Canada, the average family earned
$_______________ a year and had to pay 17% or $_______________ in taxes.

Chapter 8: Taxation and Social Programs

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

What should be done to those individuals who evade paying 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
Party

Liberal Party

Wild Rose
Alliance Party

New
Democratic
Party

Alberta Party

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10

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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11

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?

How might the choice of Douglas as a great Canadian reflect Canadian values
and identity?

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