Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Drew Brown discusses how the Libs’ claim to represent – or even understand – the interests of Canada’s middle class is disappearing. And Steven Chase and Robert Fife expose Bill Morneau’s broken promise to set up a blind trust for his assets while
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Accidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – The Economist examines the latest research showing the amount of money stashed in tax havens is even higher than previously estimated. And the Guardian calls for action on the IMF’s conclusion that we’ll all end up better off if the wealthy pay
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – The Star argues that a crackdown on tax evasion and avoidance is a crucial first step in reining in inequality. Susan Delacourt wonders when, if ever, Chrystia Freeland’s apparent interest in inequality will show up in her role in government. And Vanmala Subramaniam
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Sunday reading.
– Christopher Ingraham points out that while many luxuries are getting cheaper with time, the necessities of life are becoming much more difficult to afford:
Many manufactured goods — like TVs and appliances — come from overseas, where labor costs are cheaper. “International, global competition lowers prices directly from lower-cost imported goods, and indirectly by forcing U.S. manufacturers to behave more competitively, with lower prices, higher quality, better service, et cetera,” Perry said.
On the flip side, things like education and medical care can’t be produced in a factory, so those pressures do not apply. Compounding it, many Americans are insulated from the full costs of these services. Private and public insurance companies pay most medical costs, so there tends to be little incentive for individuals to shop around for cheaper medical care.In the case of higher education, the nation’s massive student loan industry bears much of the upfront burden of rising prices. To the typical 18-year-old, a $120,000 tuition bill may seem like an abstraction when you don’t have to start paying it off until your mid-20s or later. As a result, the nation’s college students and graduates now collectively owe upward of $1.3 trillion in student loan debt.
“Prices rise when [health care and college] markets are not competitive and not exposed to global competition,” Perry said, “and prices rise when easy credit is available.”
Hence, our current predicament. We can afford the things we don’t need, but we need the things we can’t afford.
– Alex Usher notes how one of the same cost pressures applies in Canada, as universities losing public funding are squeezing students for massive tuition increases. And Lindsay Kines reports that the Clark government’s decision to make life less affordable for people with disabilities in British Columbia has led to 3,500 people giving up their transit passes.
– Natalia Khosla and Sean McElwee discuss the difficulty in addressing racism when many people live in denial of their continued privilege.
– Paul Wells comments on SNC Lavalin’s long track record of illegal corporate donations to the Libs and the Cons.
– Finally, Gerry Caplan points out how Justin Trudeau is dodging key human rights questions. And Mike Blanchfield reports that the Libs’ willingness to undermine a treaty prohibiting the use of cluster bombs represents just another area where they’re leaving the Cons’ most harmful policies untouched.
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Bell is lobbying the Canadian government for a “free pass” from new customer protection rules
Bell Canada (BCE Inc.) is rolling the dice on a political gamble that, if successful, will mean the death of affordable Internet access for Canadian households and businesses.
On October 21, The…
OpenMedia.ca: Huffington Post: Cord-Cutting In Canada 7 Times Faster Than Last Year, But Telcos May Have A Bigger Problem
Cord-cutting in Canada keeps increasing. How many of you still have cable TV? Article by Daniel Tencer for the Huffington Post Canadian TV viewers have been ditching their cable and satellite TV subscriptions at a pace that’s nearly seven times faster than last year, a new analysis shows. read more
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Telus to cut 1,500 jobs but hike dividend 5%
Hmm… Wireless customers fleeing the company. Profits up. 1,500 jobs cut. And shareholders getting a 10% hike? Looks like this telecom giant isn’t putting its eggs in the “good customer service” basket anytime soon… Article by The Canadian Press for CBC News Telus Corp. says it’s planning to reduce its
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Rabble: It’s time for Canadians to demand the local and community media policy we deserve
Tomorrow is the deadline for Canadians to tell the CRTC how it should update its local and community TV policy. It will determine what will happen to $150 million that Canada’s big cable and satellite companies collect that is supposed to support “community TV.” Canadians should get the local media policy
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Who are the key Ministers responsible for our digital future over the next 4 years?
It’s three months to the day since Canada’s election officially started – and today, after a gruelling 11-week campaign and 2-week transition period, Canada finally has a new Prime Minister. Justin Trudeau was officially sworn in as Canada’s 23rd Prime Minister earlier this morning. He also named his new Cabinet
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Globe and Mail: New York probes broadband speeds
Hey, Canada could sure use something like this: Article by Sarah N. Lynch for The Globe and Mail New York state’s attorney general is probing whether three major Internet providers could be shortchanging consumers by charging them for faster broadband speeds and failing to deliver the speeds being advertised, according
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: CBC: Why Canadians are spending more on wireless and internet services
Wireless prices increased at over three times the rate of inflation. Here’s why: Article by Aaron Saltzman for CBC News Consumers are spending more on communication services but they aren’t getting any more for their money, according to a prominent critic of the telecom industry, who says the spending increases
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: National Post: New CRTC report may show the landline and the traditional TV set are going the way of the Dodo
One thing we learned from the latest CRTC report is that Canadians are spending more on telecom services each year. Article by Monika Warzecha and Jonathon Rivait for the National Post read more
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: The Province: Canadians spend more on wireless, Internet services; prices up more than inflation
“OpenMedia.ca, a non-profit consumer advocacy group, said the report shows that Canada has a long way to go to create more affordable telecom options.” Speak out now for faster, cheaper Internet at UnblockCanada.ca Article by BRIAN MCKENNA, THE CANADIAN PRESS published by The Province OTTAWA – Canadians are paying more
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Canadians look to newly-elected government for action as CRTC report confirms huge year-on-year price increases for communications services
crtc-cmnsmonitoring.jpg As monthly household telecom spending breaches the $200 mark for the first time, Canadians will be looking to incoming Liberal government for reassurance and action October 22, 2015 – This morning the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) released the first part of their annual Communications Monitoring Report providing
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Globe and Mail: BCE launches appeal of CRTC fibre networks ruling
How the incoming government responds to this request will be an important litmus test for Canada’s digital future. Article by Christine Dobby for The Globe and Mail BCE Inc. is appealing a ruling from Canada’s telecom regulator to the federal cabinet, arguing the decision forcing it to give small Internet
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Litmus test for new government as Big Telecom threatens future of affordable Internet service in Canada
computer-crtc.jpg Bell Canada is calling on the new federal Cabinet to overturn pro-customer CRTC requirements to ensure Canadians can access high-speed independent providers October 21, 2015 – This morning it was reported that Bell Canada (BCE Inc.) is challenging a landmark CRTC decision that promised fair access to fibre Internet
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Globe: Rural communities get gigabit Internet: ‘We went from the dark ages to highest-speed Internet available’
Great to see when rural communities in Canada get the high-speed Internet they deserve! Check out our Report Card to see where the parties stand on tackling this problem: http://om4.me/ZZj Article by Tracy Hanes for The Globe and Mail For decades, Scugog Township, a rural community of 22,500 residents in
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Revealed: Which party gets the worst grade for digital policies on affordable access, online privacy, and free expression?
report_img2.png As digital rights issues including the TPP and Bill C-51 continue to play major election role, OpenMedia publishes crowdsourced report card assessing the leading parties on policy priorities shaped by over 250,000 Canadians October 8, 2015 – Days after the announcement of a major Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, and with
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Rogers, Bell and Telus hike Internet speeds, prices with ‘gigabit’ service
Unbelievable. Big Telecom is charging $150 a month for ultra high speed fibre Internet. Now wonder less than 5% of Canadian households have fibre connections, compared to nearly 70% in Japan. When fibre is affordable there’s no doubt that we’ll leap to the new technology the same way they did
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: How big is Big Telecom? Just how concentrated is the Canadian media landscape?
So, just how big is Big Telecom? Our friends at the Canadian Media Concentration Research Project, led by Carleton University Professor (and OpenMedia friend) Dwayne Winseck, have sought to answer exactly that question. In a new blog post they ask: Ever wonder who the main companies are that make up and shape the
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