A Critical Review of Ontarios Growing Gap - Book Report/Review Example

The author arranges her work into five sections as she analyzes the growing income disparities in Ontario. In the first section, she compares the after-tax disparities shown in Ontario against Canadian trends. The section compares the income disparity trend between the richest 10% and the poorest 10% of families raising children against Canadian trends (Yalnizyan 5). The section shows that that Ontario’s gap has outgrown Canada’s average and the trend does not seem to reverse. The second section provides a damning statistic about Ontario. It is home to the highest number of millionaires and billionaires in Canada. The section explains how the actions of the rich in the province can have a myriad of economic effects that affect the entire population of the province. In her third section, the author observes that economic growth has not diminished the levels of poverty in Ontario. The author notes that Ontario’s economy is now four much times bigger than it was in 1981. Despite the economic growth, the rich only appeared to gain while the family’s that lie in the bottom 40% of the province’s income spectrum fell back further. What is more troubling for the province’s economic statistic is that poverty levels have continued to rise when compared to a generation ago. The author provides an analysis of how poverty has increased in Ontario when compared to a generation ago in her fourth section. Her final section notes that government intervention has helped to check the income disparities within the province. The section notes that families within the 40% bottom earnings would be worse off without government income support and taxes (Yalnizyan 17).

Author’s main arguments

            In her article, Yalnizyan argues that the government has a key role to play in narrowing the income disparity gap seen in Ontario. The author is bewildered by the fact that Ontario is experiencing widening income disparity, yet the nation’s economy is strong and has not experienced a recession in recent times. The author notes that families have pulled their weight regarding improving their incomes and despite sustained economic growth in the nation, families in the province’s 40% poor remain trapped in poverty. The families in the bottom 40% have lost ground in reducing the income disparity gap against those families in the 40% top income earners. The author argues that the government has assisted in reducing the gap by employing a tax and transfer system. However, this is not enough to ensure that the gap is reduced at a faster rate. The government should realign its view on poverty as not only an income problem. The author argues that the government through legislation and regulatory frameworks should intervene in the province’s markets to ensure that extreme market distortions are alleviated. The author argues that the other role the government can employ is through redistributing incomes to levels that are acceptable to society. The government should carry out projects that aim to make the basic needs affordable to families (Yalnizyan 21). This, according to the author would ease financial constraints on families that are already walking a tight financial relief. The author argues that the government should borrow a leaf from the projects conducted by the governments in Quebec and Newfoundland in their bid to reduce income disparities within their provinces. She argues that it is time for government leaders in Ontario to stand up and make decisions that will help to fast-track the reduction in income disparities within the province.

Criticism and analysis

            Yanilzyan’s article provides an in-depth analysis of the income disparities experienced by families raising children in Ontario. The author’s work is well arranged into clear sections that provide a bottom-up approach to her main argument. This makes it easy for the reader to understand her argument. The author backs up her study with data, charts, and graphs that help to back up her claims about income disparities within Ontario. The use of data is essential in portraying the real picture of the scenario in Ontario.

             As much as the author employs the use of data in her study, it can offer a distraction for the reader. The presentation of such data causes the reader to wander back and forth in ascertaining the author’s claims and this proves a distraction. This requires the reader to take much time in understanding the overall study.

Value of the work

            Yalnizyan’s work in studying the income disparities among families raising children in Ontario can be useful to economists and policymakers. The work provides valuable data that can get used by both economists and policymakers in analyzing the underlying issues that trouble the province’s income disparities. Policymakers can use the data to employ solutions towards solving the widening income disparity in the province. Readers can also learn about the determining factors that cause income disparities within economies.

Conclusion

            In her article, Yalnizyan is critical of the widening income disparities among families with children in Ontario yet the nation is experiencing strong economic gains. Her analysis shows that economic growth has little impact in reducing poverty or the gap between the rich and poor families in the country. She calls on the government to undertake further measures that will assist the province in reducing the gap.