The following data visualization shows the total number of pages of legislation drafted to implement budgets tabled from 1994 to 2014. It also shows the average per year for the Liberal regime versus the Conservative regime. It illustrates the Conservatives’ significant tendency towards bloated budget implementation bills. I would like
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Accidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Tim Harford proposes four first steps to start combatting income inequality. And the Star’s editorial board makes clear that there’s tax room available for Ontario (among other jurisdictions) to pursue in order to serve the public good: Sousa promises to protect the “middle
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Mitchell Anderson compares the results of corporate-friendly Thatcherism to the alternative of public resource ownership and development in the interest of citizens – and finds far better results arising from the latter: Thirty-five years after she swept to power as British prime
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your weekend. – Nick Kristof writes that the growing gap in income reflects a similarly growing gap in social perception – and that there’s plenty of need to reduce both: There is an income gap in America, but just as important is a compassion gap. Plenty
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading. – Stephen Hume writes about the importance of tax revenue in building a functional and compassionate Canada: My taxes provide our mostly peaceful, prosperous and safe society; a health care system that for all its flaws and glitches is pretty darn good compared to
Continue readingPolitical Eh-conomy: Selling prosperity in a time of austerity: Budget days in BC and Quebec
Two very different provincial governments tabled their budgets this week. The freshly-elected BC Liberals and the seemingly election-ready Parti Quebecois both delivered what they termed “responsible” budgets. While the two governments identify with opposing ends of the political spectrum and face distinct political climates, these differences did not prevent their
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
This and that for your mid-week reading. – Erin Weir posts the statement of a 70-strong (and growing) list of Canadian economists opposed to austerity. Heather Mallick frames the latest Con budget as yet another example of their using personal cruelty as a governing philosophy, while the Star’s editorial board
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Donovan Vincent reports on the Institute for Social Research’s study showing Canadians are highly concerned about income inequality: “People think the income gap has gotten worse. What was surprising to me was the universality of this belief. Younger people, older, higher levels
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, taking a closer look at the City of Regina’s 2014 budget – which offers a clear demonstration that the perpetual promise of growth doesn’t do anything to fund the municipal services citizens count on, resulting in current residents paying for the poor decisions of the city administration. For further
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – The Star’s editorial board sees Canada’s woeful job numbers as a signal that it’s time for some economic management in the interests of people (rather than artificial manipulation of numbers): Economists used words like “dismal” and “ugly” for these results, and no wonder.
Continue readingParliamANT Hill: Baby born into mom’s pAnt leg during roadside delivery
Inspired by these headlines: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/baby-born-into-mom-s-pant-leg-during-roadside-delivery-1.2465900 and http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/chip-wilson-lululemon-founder-steps-down-1.2457958
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Hassan Arif theorizes that a failure to identify and address growing inequality may have played a significant role in the rise of Rob Ford’s destructive anti-socialism: The Toronto of towering new condos, of downtown coffee shops and trendy restaurants and stores, is far
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Glen Pearson theorizes that inequality will be the defining theme of the current political era. Tavia Grant and Janet McFarland document the extreme (and continually-increasing) disparity between the top 1% and the rest of the world. And Eduardo Porter writes that education
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – John Ivison makes the case for more discussion of government spending rather than corruption and scandal. But it’s PressProgress leading the way in actually reporting on that front – featuring revelations that multiple resource-related ministers’ office have received massive spending boosts, while program
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Unifor opposes Bill C-4 attacks on workers’ health and safety
Unifor raises grave concerns about the sweeping changes to the Canada Labour Code proposed by the omnibus Federal Budget Implementation Bill C-4. The post Unifor opposes Bill C-4 attacks on workers’ health and safety appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: By invitation only
There’s been plenty of outcry over the Cons’ latest omnibus budget bill. But I haven’t yet seen any discussion of the changes it makes to immigration – and I’d think it’s well worth looking in more detail at the additional steps the Cons are taking to slam the door in
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Andrew Nikiforuk writes that air quality in Alberta’s Upgrader Alley may be among the worst in North America, including dangerous concentrations of cancer-causing chemicals. And Danny Harvey points out that the planet as a whole stands to be damaged by excessive tar
Continue readingBlevkog: On condoms and omnibus bills
Just like when using a condom, it’s good policy to check any omnibus bill for holes before using them. That is, unless you are our current government who expect Parliament to not fully examine the details of its vast omnibus budget bill until after it becomes law. That important undisclosed
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on the tendency of both the Saskatchewan Party and the federal Cons to pretend a problem doesn’t exist for years on end, then suddenly proclaim there’s no time to do anything other than force through the most regressive “solution” possible. In shorter terms, the Shock Doctrine has evolved into
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Pat Atkinson writes that governments at all levels should be setting up realistic fiscal plans to deal with a large group of retiring boomers – not artificially slashing revenues and increasing costs. And Rick Smith laments the fact that the Harper Cons are
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