SINGLES NEED A FINANCIAL “RUTH BADER GINSBURG” TYPE HERO

(These thoughts are purely the blunt, no nonsense personal opinions of the author about financial fairness and discrimination and are not intended to provide personal or financial advice – financialfairnessforsingles.ca).

EXAMPLES OF RUTH BADER GINSBURG’S FIGHT AGAINST GENDER DISCRIMINATION

https://www.history.com/news/ruth-bader-ginsburgs-landmark-opinions-womens-rights-supreme-court

Brilliant judge and lawyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, has built her career on the fight for women’s rights and gender discrimination.  Before her days as a judge, she acted as general counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), where she argued over 300 gender discrimination cases—six before the Supreme Court—and cofounded the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project. As a civilian, Ginsburg earned a reputation as a dogged advocate for gender equality. As a judge, first during 13 years as a U.S. Court of Appeals judge, then more than 25 years as a Supreme Court Justice, she’s built upon that legacy.

A case that hinged on gender discrimination and government benefits was Frontiero v. Richardson. The 1973 case was the first Ginsburg argued before the Supreme Court. When a woman in the U.S. Air Force applied for benefits for her dependent husband, she was told she’d have to prove he was a dependent, even though men in the Air Force didn’t have to prove that their wives were dependent on them.

https://time.com/5247283/ruth-bader-ginsburg-rbg/

She made her mark on gender discrimination jurisprudence with a male client.  In the case Weinberger v. Wiesenfeld (1975), Weisenfeld was a self-employed consultant and male homemaker, who was denied his late wife’s Social Security benefits to support their son because that money only went to mothers.  Stephen Weisenfeld brought a lawsuit, which Ginsburg argued, charging that this provision of the Social Security Act denied him equal protection and violated the due-process clause of the Fifth Amendment….“It is no less important for a child to be cared for by its sole surviving parent when that parent is male rather than female,” the court ruled. The unanimous decision in Wiesenfeld’s favor led to a new class of Social Security payments.

IT COULD BE ARGUED THAT RBG CASES ARGUED AS MUCH FOR MARTIAL STATUS RIGHTS AS FOR GENDER DISCRIMINATION

In the first case the person was married and female.  In the second case the person was widowed and male.

In the Frontiero v. Richardson case, the woman who applied for benefits for her dependent husband, she had to prove he was a dependent, even though men in the Air Force didn’t have to prove that their wives were dependent on them.  In this case the person was married and female.  As for single marital status persons, were the benefits that single persons received equivalent to married persons benefits where applicable?

In the Weinberger v. Weisenfeld case, Weisenfeld was a self-employed consultant and male homemaker, who was denied his late wife’s Social Security benefits to support their son because that money only went to mothers.  In this case, the person was widowed and male.

WHO WILL BE THE FINANCIAL HERO THAT WILL FIGHT FOR FINANCIAL DISCRIMINATION AGAINST SINGLES?

We have shown many times in this blog how singles are financially discriminated against in many different ways.

It has been shown that a single person with a 2019 $50,000 Alberta gross income ($25/hr. and 2,000 worked hours) and $11,000 tax, CPP and EI deductions results in a net income of $39,000 ($19.50/hr.).  This is a bare bones living wage that does not allow for savings, vacations or entertainment.   It is impossible to maximize $9,000 RRSP and $6,000 TFSA contributions (35% of $39,000 with tax reductions for RRSP) even though many believe $50,000 is a good income for unattached individuals and single parents.  As seniors these singles will likely be living only on CPP and OAS benefits.  There is no median income family that spends 35% of their income on savings and 10% for emergencies.

Some of these financial discrimination issues for singles have been submitted to the Canadian Human Rights Commission   (DISCRIMINATION OF SINGLES). They said they couldn’t help. If they can’t, who can and who will?  Who will be the financial hero?

(These thoughts are purely the blunt, no nonsense personal opinions of the author about financial fairness and discrimination and are not intended to provide personal or financial advice – financialfairnessforsingles.ca).

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