University of British Columbia Press
Bootstraps Need Boots
One Tory’s Lonely Fight to End Poverty in Canada
Distributed for University of British Columbia Press
Bootstraps Need Boots
One Tory’s Lonely Fight to End Poverty in Canada
For more than four decades, Hugh Segal has been one of the leading voices of progressive conservatism in Canada. A self-described Red Tory warrior who disdains “bootstrap” approaches to poverty, he has always promoted policies, especially a basic annual income, to help the most economically vulnerable. Why would a life-long Tory support something so radical? In this revealing memoir, Segal shares how his life and experiences brought him to this most unlikely of places, beginning with his childhood in a poor immigrant family in Montreal to his time as a chief of staff for Prime Minister Mulroney and to his more recent work as an advisor on a basic income pilot project for the Ontario Liberal government. This book is a passionate argument not only for why a basic annual income makes economic sense, but for why it is the right thing to do.
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Table of Contents
Foreword by Andrew Coyne
Preface
1 The Cheery Edge of Poverty
2 The Missing Toy Box
3 Happiness, Anger, Religion, and Hockey
4 A Special Assembly at School
5 Starting the Political Voyage
6 Clear Choices Emerge
7 Policy Linkages and a New Idea
8 Sinews of Impunity
9 Learning from the Best
10 On the Davis Team
11 From Public to Private and Back
12 Learning from Mulroney
13 The Battle in the Senate
14 Testing a Better Way
15 Courage and Fairness Matter
Appendix; Selected Bibliography; Index