at least in principle, eliminate poverty entirely as low-income households
eventually see their income rise above the threshold level.
With a relative definition of poverty, however, there will always be some
families defined to be poor. For example, suppose households are defined
to be poor whenever their income is less than 50 percent of the
economy’s average household income. Since any realistic distribution of
income will contain some households whose income is less than 50
percent of the average, there will always be some poverty when it is
defined this way. Advocates of a relative measure of poverty argue that
poverty is more than just the absence of enough food and clothing—it is
also the social exclusion from mainstream society that typically comes
from having much lower income than most households. (Recall our
discussion of income inequality in Chapter 14 .)
Whatever the precise definition, all experts agree that many Canadians
live in poverty. Canada has several income-support programs designed to
address this important problem. First, we will discuss welfare and child
benefits, both designed to assist individuals and families whose incomes
are deemed to be too low to provide an adequate standard of living. Next,
we will look at employment insurance, which is designed to assist those
in need because of temporary job loss. Finally, we examine retirement
benefits designed to provide income assistance to the elderly.
Welfare