In the context of student protests over Quebec tuition fees, my friend Luan Ngo has just written a very informative blog post on Quebec’s fiscal situation. While I encourage readers to read his full post, I do want to use the present space to make mention of three important points
Continue readingTag: Budgets
Left Over: Let’s “Just Do It”
There has been a call from several mayors of municipalities here in British Columbia, Canada to legalize marijuana…the arguments for it are essentially that they are tired of fighting against a mega-tide of grow-ops and drug dealers who are far richer in resources and weapons to push back than the
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: McGuinty Budget Would Cut Over 100,000 Jobs
Last week, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union released an interesting report by the Centre for Spatial Economics on the economic impact of proposed provincial budget cuts. It provides a timely reminder that the public sector is a crucial component of the economy, with public spending also supporting many private-sector jobs.
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Federal Job Cuts…the Real Numbers
Thankfully the federal budget has started to fill in some of the details of its latest round of cuts. In particular, it now estimates 19,200 positions lost due to its latest round of cuts (Federal Budget 2012, pg 221). Although it is nice to have an initial estimate, this hardly
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Ontario to Mine for More Revenue
Last week’s provincial budget promised a mining sector review “to ensure Ontario receives fair compensation for its non-renewable resources,” a proposal advanced by this blog and the United Steelworkers before appearing as a Drummond recommendation. The relevant budget section begins with the following observation: “Ontario has the highest value of
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: How Much Will YOU Lose from OAS Deferral??
Announcing a bad policy 10 years in advance doesn’t make it a good policy. So the fact that the Harper government is giving people at least 10 years to prepare for 2 years of life without an important source of income, hardly makes it OK — as so many media
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Conservatives’ small-minded budget kills jobs and fails Canadians
Here’s the budget analysis I prepared for CUPE’s website. Despite its size and the hundreds of measures it details, Harper’s 2012 budget demonstrates just how small-minded their vision is. Canada faces major challenges, with 1.4 million unemployed, stagnant productivity growth, a crisis in retirement security and growing inequality. Instead of
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: A budget that screws the planet for short-term profits
First off, the 2012 federal budget that makes no upfront claim to be a budget. Indeed, the cover states only “Economic Action Plan 2012: Jobs, Growth and Long-Term Prosperity.” While we have been accustomed in recent years to budgets with their own titles, this one does not actually say “Budget”
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Ontario Budget Emulates Drummond
Perhaps the most striking feature of today’s Ontario budget is how close it comes to last month’s Drummond report. Drummond’s recommendation for 2017-18 was $134.7 billion of provincial revenue, $117.5 billion of program spending and $15.3 billion of interest payments. By comparison, today’s budget envisions $135.9 billion of revenue, $118.9
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Below 40% of the Unemployed Get EI
Statistics Canada reported today that 12,400 more Canadians received Employment Insurance (EI) regular benefits in January. The increase in recipients reflected higher unemployment. Indeed, the proportion of jobless workers receiving benefits remained 39% (i.e. 561,060 beneficiaries out of 1,421,200 officially unemployed Canadians.) Only 28% of unemployed Ontarians received EI benefits
Continue readingTalking about public debt: dumb, dumber and dumbest
As austerity is all the rage among policy making elites I thought it would be a good time to talk about ways of measuring public debt. Here I will deal with the dumb way, the dumber way and dumbest way … Continue reading →
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: BC isn’t broke: putting teacher bargaining in perspective
Last Monday, BC teachers held a Day of Action in communities across the province to protest the BC government’s decision to legislate a contract and put an end to their collective bargaining process. I was invited to speak to teachers at the Surrey rally, where I had the opportunity to
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Debunking Drummond
The Drummond report claims that Ontario is headed for a $30-billion deficit. This figure has been widely and uncritically reported. For example, The Globe and Mail, printed four articles featuring this number in its February 18 edition. The Ontario government projected a balanced budget with a $1-billion contingency reserve by
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Drummond: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
The Drummond Commission reported today. The Good While the McGuinty government prevented the Commission from considering tax rates, it proposes some sensible measures to raise revenue. Chapter 18, “Revenue Integrity,” recommends combating corporate tax avoidance and cracking down on the underground economy. Businesses sometimes hire workers as “contractors” to avoid
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Budget Cuts Could Worsen Rising Unemployment
It was not a happy new year for Canadian job seekers. Statistics Canada reported today that unemployment rose for a fourth consecutive month in January. Overall employment remained flat as Canada’s population and labour force grew at a normal pace, leaving more workers without jobs. The good news in today’s
Continue readingGordon V Jackson: the corporate tax cut myth
Apparently Stephen Gordon is having a hard time figuring out where Andrew Jackson, the chief economist for the CLC, got the bizarre idea that: The argument for corporate income tax cuts has been that increased after-tax corporate profits would be … Continue reading →
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: GDP Turns Negative
Statistics Canada reported today that the economy shrank in November for the first time in six months. This decline was driven by reduced energy production, which partly reflected maintenance shutdowns in the oil patch and unusually mild weather. While those factors may not affect future economic growth, their ability to
Continue readingPolitics and Entertainment: Yeah, right, President Harper and his Stepford Wives Are Such Good Economic Managers
Let me get this straight. This past week we learned that the Harper Regime spent $53.8 million in 2009-10 spinning their “Economic” Action Plan to a gullible populace – a budget that is more than the annual advertising budget for the entire federal government before 2006, the year the Regime took power.
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Flaherty’s Christmas List – all Mixed Up
Following recent dismal reports on rising unemployment, stagnant GDP growth, and a deteriorating economic outlook, we can only hope federal Finance minister Jim Flaherty will provide some Christmas cheer with changes “to better promote job creation and economic growth” (as he’s asked for advice on through his pre-budget consultations). Unfortunately,
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Austerity Kills: Conservative cure worst thing for what ails the economy says Stiglitz
Governments around the world are heading down a path to economic suicide. So said Nobel Prize-winning former chief economist of the World Bank, Joseph Stiglitz, to hundreds of well-heeled financiers and decision-makers who paid a bundle to hear him in Toronto. With a voice as gruff as gravel, and an energy bristling with urgency, he […]
Continue reading