| Course | MSW 548 Comparative Social Welfare Policy |
|---|---|
| Week | 5 |
| Paper type | Financing model comparison |
| Length | About 510 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Chamberlain University |
| Program | Master of Social Work (MSW) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MSW 548 Week 5
Financing Model Comparison for Unemployment Benefits in Canada and Washington State: Back to the Payslip, the Employer and Worker Split, Ceilings That Change the Answer, Who Holds the Money and What a Low Earner Hands Over
Student Name
Chamberlain University
MSW 548: Comparative Social Welfare Policy
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Financing Model Comparison for Unemployment Benefits in Canada and Washington State: Back to the Payslip, the Employer and Worker Split, Ceilings That Change the Answer, Who Holds the Money and What a Low Earner Hands Over
Back to the Payslip
Canada: Employment Insurance premiums appear on every employee's pay stub. In 2026 the worker pays C$1.63 per C$100 of insurable earnings, up to maximum insurable earnings of C$68,900 (Employment and Social Development Canada, 2025). The employer pays 1.4 times the worker's premium. Washington: nothing appears on the employee's stub for unemployment insurance. The employer pays a state unemployment tax at an experience-rated rate on wages up to the taxable wage base, $78,200 per employee in 2026, plus a federal unemployment tax.
The Split Nobody Sees
In Canada, the worker sees about 42 percent of the combined premium; in Washington, the worker sees none of it. Economists generally expect much of an employer payroll tax to be passed back to workers through lower wages over time, so the split on the stub is not the same as the split in fact. I note the question rather than settle it.
Ceilings Change the Answer
Canada's premium stops at C$68,900 of earnings. A worker earning C$140,000 pays the same premium as one earning C$68,900, so the premium is a smaller share of the higher income. Washington's state tax stops at $78,200 per employee. The federal unemployment tax stops much lower, at $7,000 of wages per employee, and after the usual state credit its rate is 0.6 percent, at most $42 per worker a year.
A Standing Fund or an Annual Vote
Canada's premiums go to the Employment Insurance Operating Account, and the premium rate is set each year so the account breaks even over seven years. Washington's taxes go to the state's unemployment trust fund, with rates adjusted through a formula tied to the fund's balance and each employer's layoff history. Neither is voted as an annual appropriation.
Both funds are standing funds, which means benefits do not depend on a yearly budget fight; both can, however, run short in a deep recession and borrow.
What a Low Earner Hands Over
D. in Hamilton, earning C$21,965, pays about C$358 a year in premiums and receives, if laid off, at least 55 percent of earnings. D.'s twin in Spokane pays nothing visible and receives at least the state minimum of $383 a week (Washington State Employment Security Department, 2026).
What the Comparison Shows
Canada spreads the visible cost between worker and employer and caps it; Washington puts the visible cost on the employer and caps it at a higher wage. The same lone parent is covered in both, but pays directly only in one.
References
Employment and Social Development Canada. (2025). Employment Insurance: Important notice about maximum insurable earnings for 2026. https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/ei/ei-list/ei-employers/premium-reduction-program/2026-maximum-insurable-earnings.html
Washington State Employment Security Department. (2026). New average annual wage estimates adjust unemployment insurance and paid leave benefits. https://esd.wa.gov/node/1254
MSW 548 Week 5 instructions, in plain terms
The financing comparison works backward from a payment to whoever paid for it. For each system, state what the charge is called, who pays it, at what rate, up to what earnings ceiling and which body holds the money. Show how ceilings change the burden across incomes. Raise who ultimately bears an employer's share, even if you cannot settle it. Say whether the money sits in a standing fund or is voted each year. Do not treat a program's name as a description of its financing. Close with what one low earner pays in each system. Compare like with like: rates with rates, not a rate in one country with total spending in the other.
How the MSW 548 Week 5 example is put together
The payslip section gives Canada's 2026 premium rate and maximum insurable earnings, citing Employment and Social Development Canada (2025), with the employer paying 1.4 times, and Washington's employer-only state tax up to $78,200 plus the federal tax. The split section notes the worker sees about 42 percent of Canada's combined premium and none in Washington, and raises who bears it. The ceilings section shows a C$140,000 earner paying the same premium as one at C$68,900, and the federal tax capped at $42 per worker. The fund section describes Canada's operating account and Washington's trust fund. The low earner section gives D.'s premium of about C$358 and cites the Washington minimum benefit.
MSW 548 Week 5 rubric: what full points look like
Markers look for rates, ceilings and holders named for both systems. A paper that reports headline rates without ceilings loses the most. Credit goes to a payslip view of each system, the employer and worker split, ceilings shown to change the burden, the fund described and one low earner's contributions computed. Raising who bears the employer share earns credit even without a settled answer. Each rate needs its year and an APA citation. Comparing a rate in one country with spending totals in the other is penalized because it answers no question either system raises. A worked example for one earner shows the reader what the rules mean in practice.
MSW 548 Week 5 help from the desk
Financing papers most often slip by leaving out the earnings ceiling, which makes a capped charge look like a flat one. Another common gap is treating the employer's share as costless to workers. Some papers assume a program called insurance is financed like insurance. Others compare unlike measures. If one system has several layers of tax, show each layer with its own rate and ceiling. A comparison that ends with exactly what one low-wage worker hands over in each place lets a reader feel the design rather than only read about it. Find the earnings ceiling for every charge before writing; it is usually on the same agency page as the rate.
Get a MSW-548 Week 5 example written to your instructions
Send the instructions and rubric your classroom posted, with the two systems and program area if assigned, and a custom MSW-548 Week 5 comparison comes back inside 24-48h with rates, limits and collecting bodies sourced and dated. The first one is free, and where your section asks for a table shell filled in, the desk builds to that shell rather than substituting its own.
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MSW 548 Week 5 questions, answered
Does this need tax law detail?
Only as much as changes what a household pays or receives. The rate, the base it applies to, the ceiling and the collecting body will carry the assignment. Exemptions and reliefs matter where they alter who is covered, and not otherwise. A write-up that reproduces the structure of a tax code has spent its length on material the rubric is not asking about.
Where does the employer contribution actually land?
Economists mostly argue it is passed back into wages over time, though not fully and not immediately, and the shape of the labor market matters. You are not required to settle that. You are usually required to notice it, because a write-up that adds the employer share to the worker share and calls the total a burden on workers has assumed the answer to a live question.
Do co-payments count as financing?
Yes, and putting them here rather than in a separate paragraph often sharpens the comparison. A charge at the point of use is money collected from people while they are using the service, which distributes cost quite differently from a payroll contribution collected while they are working. Report the amount, any cap, and who is exempt.
Where can I find a free MSW 548 Week 5 sample paper?
The complete MSW 548 Week 5 comparison of unemployment insurance financing in Canada and Washington State is reproduced lower down.
Why do ceilings matter in the MSW 548 Week 5 sample?
Because a charge that stops at an earnings limit takes a smaller share of higher incomes; Canada's premium stops at C$68,900 and the federal unemployment tax at $7,000 per worker.