welfare wall
n.— «Flaherty’s target is a situation often called “the welfare wall.” As a result of increased taxes and reduced income support from government programs, a typical single parent with one child who takes a low-income job can lose almost 80 cents of each dollar earned, according to a policy paper the finance minister released in November. In addition, the parent could also lose benefits such as subsidized housing and prescription drugs while at the same time being weighed down with new expenses arising from his or her job, the paper noted. “There are situations where somebody receiving social benefits will go to work and the net benefit for them will be $1.08 an hour.”» —“Working poor to get tax break in budget” by Les Whittington in Ottawa Toronto Star (Canada) Feb. 28, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
There was a time when William Shakespeare was just another little seven-year-old in school. Classes in his day were demanding — and all in Latin. A new book argues that this rigorous curriculum actually nurtured the creativity that later flourished...
She sells seashells by the seashore. Who is the she in this tongue twister? Some claim it’s the young Mary Anning, who went on to become a famous 19th-century British paleontologist. Dubious perhaps, but the story of her rise from seaside...