This and that for your Sunday reading. – Doug Saunders observes that Syriza’s strong election victory may signal a sea change as to whether austerity is inevitable, while Adnan Al-Daini notes that the financial sector can no longer take for granted that its profits will be placed above the interests
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Parchment in the Fire: 100,000 flock to Madrid for Podemos rally against austerity | World news | The Guardian
100,000 flock to Madrid for Podemos rally against austerity | World news | The Guardian. los indignados – an impromptu revolt of thousands, camping out for weeks and rallying against a political establishment felt to be out of sync with the people. On Saturday, up to 100,000 people again filled
Continue readingPolitical Eh-conomy: Three planks for a possible anti-austerity
What would anti-austerity in Canada look like? There are really two types of questions here. There are those of analysis: what has Canada’s austerity looked like, what makes it distinctive and how does it appear in people’s everyday experience? The others are those of political strategy. These are questions that will have to wait for a social, political
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – PressProgress notes that the Cons’ economic track record is one of eliminating well-paying jobs in favour of lower-wage, more-precarious work. And Jim Stanford follows up on why we shouldn’t believe the Cons’ spin about deficits: I think that a more fruitful and principled
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Weak Economy? ‘They’ Wouldn’t Have It Any Other Way.
Take it from Joe. Nobel laureate economist Joe Stiglitz to be precise. The near-global stagnation witnessed in 2014 is man-made. It is the result of politics and policies in several major economies — politics and policies that choked off demand. In the absence of demand, investment and jobs will fail
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Will Hutton writes about the connection between inequality and the loss of any moral or social purpose in public life: Britain is beset by a crisis of purpose. We don’t know who we are any longer, where we are going or even
Continue readingParchment in the Fire: Historic Victory for Syriza in Greece
Filed under: Austerity, Greece Tagged: Austerity, Eurozone Crisis, Greece, Syriza
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Larry Elliott writes that at least some business leaders are paying lip service to the idea that inequality needs to be reined in. But Alec Hogg points out that at least some of the privileged few are using their obscene wealth to remove
Continue readingPolitical Eh-conomy: The Greek canary in the European coalmine: An interview with Yanis Varoufakis
Over at Ricochet, I’ve transcribed my podcast interview with Yanis Varoufakis, economist and Syriza candidate in tomorrow’s Greek elections. With Syriza looking to get the most votes and possibly an outright parliamentary majority, I asked Yanis about the Greek economy, Syriza’s economic plans, his views on what these mean for Europe and how we
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Lana Payne writes that by finally recognizing the unfairness and ineffectiveness of Alberta’s regressive tax system, Jim Prentice may be starting a needed national debate: Alberta Premier Jim Prentice talks up taxes for individuals including a sales tax (Alberta is the only province
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Amy Goodman discusses Barack Obama’s call to reverse the spread of inequality in the U.S. And Seumas Milne writes that the effort will inevitably challenge the world oligarchs have built up to further their own wealth and power at everybody else’s expense:
Continue readingPolitical Eh-conomy: Political Eh-conomy Radio: the left in Greece and Poland
https://politicalehconomy.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/podcast-150123-poland-greece1.mp3 I’ve been visiting family in Poland for the past few weeks so, fittingly, this week’s podcast deals with the situation of the left at two opposite ends of the European periphery: Greece and Poland. My first guest is Yanis Varoufakis, professor of economics at the University of Athens and candidate for SYRIZA
Continue readingParchment in the Fire: The Syriza Challenge in Greece
Filed under: Austerity, Crisis, Eurozone crisis, Greece, Socialism, Southern Europe Tagged: Eurozone Crisis, Greece, Socialism, Syriza
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Tasini at Daily Kos discusses the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy’s finding that every single U.S. state has a regressive tax structure in the taxes imposed at the state and local level. And John Cassidy examines the Center for American Progress’
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your weekend reading. – Gerald Caplan writes that we all bear some responsibility for growing inequality – and how we’ll need to use our electoral power to reverse it: (S)elf-sacrifice is not going to be the key to reducing inequality, with all the great damage it inflicts
Continue readingParchment in the Fire: The EU must face facts: austerity has failed Greece – Equal Times
The EU must face facts: austerity has failed Greece – Equal Times. By Paul De Grauwe The Greek debt crisis that erupted in 2010 is back, and again threatens the stability of the eurozone. A piece of anti-austerity street art featuring the Dalton Brothers from the Belgian comic Lucky Luke
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Stephen Burgen reports on Thomas Piketty’s view that it’s long past time for voters to have anti-austerity options where none existed in the past. And along similar lines, Murray Dobbin sets out the stark choice facing Canadians: Canadians will have to continue to
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Alex Himelfarb writes about the corporate push to treat taxes as a burden rather than a beneficial contribution to a functional society – and why we should resist the demand to slash taxes and services alike: How is it that we don’t
Continue readingAlex's Blog: Why We Hate Taxes – and why we shouldn’t
A somewhat shorter version first appeared in albertaviews January/February 2015 as Taxes: a small price to pay for civilization About a year ago, my son Jordan, some friends and colleagues and I put together a book on taxes in Canada, Tax Is Not a Four-Letter Word. We had quite different
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Alex Himelfarb and Jordan Himelfarb write about the growing appetite for stronger public services and the taxes needed to fund them in 2014 – even if we’re a long way from having that translated into real policy changes: Certainly tax phobia has framed
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