This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Kenan Malik discusses how the coronavirus pandemic has exposed the fragility of the UK’s social and economic structures: The economic burden imposed by the policy of social distancing has fallen most upon the poorest and the lowest paid, many of whom cannot
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Accidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Emmanuez Saez and Gabriel Zucman call for (PDF) governments to act as buyers of last resort to minimize the economic fallout from the coronavirus. Andrew Jackson offers his take on the appropriate public policy response to ensure that workers’ incomes aren’t decimated at
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Paul Krugman writes about the U.S. Republicans’ new complaint of evil eye economics – though it shouldn’t come as much surprise that people who treat the economy as nothing more than a confidence game would object to anybody pointing out how the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on how a public drug manufacturer could both secure Canada’s supply of needed medications in the face of threats from both corporate greed and U.S. policy threats. For further reading:– Adam Houston and Amir Attaran have been warning about the dangers of a U.S. importation scheme for some time
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Chris Hedges points out how the obscenely rich few are trying to distract from their accumulation of wealth in order to avoid what would stand to be a massive public backlash. Emily Peck discusses the question of why our economic system is
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on how the new Canada Food Guide points the way toward a far healthier food system – but falls far short of actually propelling us toward the end goal. For further reading…– Leslie Beck approves of the new food guide’s focus on scientific evidence, while Andre Picard points out
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Evening Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Colin McAuliffe charts the increasing share of U.S. income going to profits and the already-wealthy. And Dani Rodrik writes about the importance of a progressive movement which seeks to shift the balance of power in how our economy functions, rather than settling
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This and that for your Thursday reading. – Kathleen Harris reports on a federal budget update designed to have Canada borrow to shovel money into the pockets of big business. And PressProgress points out the absurdity of that plan when the corporate sector already has far too many loopholes and
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Jonathan Watts reports on a new study showing how the world’s largest economies (including Canada) are falling far short of the Paris climate goals due mostly to the influence of the fossil fuel industry, while also noting that Canada ranks with China and
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Jean Swanson writes about the success of Vancouver tenants in pushing to limit the rent increases which can be forced on them. But any win for collective action will come attempts to stifle more of the same – and Dan Taekema reports on
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This and that for your Thursday reading. – Paul Krugman offers a reminder that the great global policy failure following the 2008 finance-driven crisis was to bail out bankers alone, while leaving people to fend for themselves in the face of subsequent austerity. And Wayne Swan highlights how the continued
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Paul Krugman writes that progressive voices need to reclaim the theme of freedom as it becomes increasingly obvious how deprivation and precarity deprive people of meaningful choices: (L)arge economic players are dominating more and more of the economy. It’s increasingly clear, for example,
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Matt Bruenig makes the case for a social wealth fund in the U.S. And David Dayen offers a reminder that Alaska’s dividend to citizens from its own wealth fund is both extremely popular and an effective treatment for many social ills. – Meanwhile,
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Lana Payne writes that there’s no reason to turn Donald Trump’s giveaway to the rich into an excuse for similarly destructive policies in Canada: If tax policy levers need adjusting, there is a more effective and sophisticated approach that can be taken,
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Michael Laxer writes that Doug Ford’s attack on people who stood to be helped by a basic income demonstrates the cruelty of austerian politics. But we shouldn’t take the callousness of right-wing parties as reflecting the preferences of most voters, as the Angus
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – David MacDonald studies the increasing concentration of wealth in Canada, while noting the need for wealth-based taxes (and particularly an inheritance tax) to start building a more fair society. And Alan Rappeport and Jim Tankersley report on the Trump administration’s latest move
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This and that for your Tuesday reading. – David Ball offers a reminder that Canada’s immigration system includes the needless detention of children – and that we should be working on ensuring families can stay together, rather than claiming any virtue in merely falling short of the scale being implemented
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Quirks & Quarks examines the potentially devastating effects of a dilbit spill on British Columbia’s coast. And David Climenhaga warns that Kinder Morgan is looking at NAFTA to provide it an alternate source of risk-free profits at public expense. – Mia Rabson reports
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Evening Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Andre Picard writes about the unjustifiable limitations and inconsistencies in Canada’s health care system: Break your leg and the X-ray and cast will be covered, but you will need to pay for the crutches. Break your jaw and it will be wired at
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on Canada’s failure to live up to our self-image as a generous and compassionate country – and the reality that we have plenty of fiscal capacity to close the gap. For further reading…– The abstract for the JAMA article referenced in the column is here, and has already been
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