deficit jim and recession stephen ← Progressive Bloggers // Blogues progressistes

Accidental Deliberations: Covering for Recession Stephen

Jul

15

2015

Shorter Stephen Poloz: Economic reality has a well-known anti-Conservative bias. So in the interest of neutrality, I refuse to apply common terminology to reality.

Accidental Deliberations: On consistent preferences

Jan

11

2014

Stephen Gordon (among others) took the time to point out that Jim Flaherty’s attacks on the Bank of Canada are both unwise in general, and wrong in terms of economic theory. But even setting aside those critiques, the mot important message to be taken from Flaherty is that he’s once again seeking to benefit the ...

Accidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links

Nov

12

2013

This and that for your Tuesday reading. – George Monbiot writes that corporate control over a political system may be a huge factor in limiting public participation – even as it makes a substantial counterweight all the more important: The political role of business corporations is generally interpreted as that of lobbyists, seeking to influence government ...

Accidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links

Nov

14

2012

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Duncan Cameron highlights the choice between austerity and prosperity facing the governments of both Canada and the U.S.: The economic realities faced by working people in both Canada and the United States need to be addressed. Talk about putting the fiscal house in order is code for taking ...

Accidental Deliberations: Juxtaposition

Jun

29

2012

Ah, the memories of Stephen Harper and his bestest international buddy deciding what to do about the economic pain they’ve inflicted on the world: Mr. Cameron, hailing Canada as a model of fiscal probity and pointing to his own deep spending cuts, argued that debt cutting is the only way to fix a disturbing pattern, ...

Accidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: November 22, 2011

Jan

23

2012

Tuesday, November 22 saw the Cons’ refusal to debate their own government bills reach absurd levels, as Con MPs spent more time arguing against a single opposition private member’s bill than they did defending some of their supposed key priorities. The Big Issue But then, one can hardly blame the Cons for having been distracted, ...

Accidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links

Jan

23

2012

Assorted content to start your week. – Erin nicely challenges Brad Wall’s efforts to tilt the playing field against poorer provinces when it comes to Employment Insurance and equalization. – But I’m not sure we can expect much change to EI in any event. After all, as Dr. Dawg notes, the current Harper-created financing board ...

Accidental Deliberations: Tuesday Afternoon Links

Dec

27

2011

Assorted content for your afternoon reading. – Alison Loat offers some suggestions to make political parties more responsive to Canadian voters: (H)ow can parties reorient spending to encourage a more balanced focus across their responsibilities? Political parties serve at least four critical functions: engaging citizens in politics, selecting candidates for office, aggregating policy perspectives and ...

Accidental Deliberations: Friday Afternoon Links

Dec

23

2011

Assorted content to end your week. – If there’s a more accurate description of the Cons’ entire political strategy than “taking advantage of the prejudice that’s already there”, I haven’t heard it yet. And Chris Lawson is rightly frustrated that Canadian politics are being dominated by such cynical and destructive motives – though I’d argue ...

Accidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links

Dec

18

2011

Assorted content to end your weekend. – Bruce Anderson worries that the Cons might think they face no restriction on their ability to get away with dirty tricks. But Noah Richler suggests that the best way to fight back against the Cons’ disdain for democratic debate is to treat them as a joke. And Dr. ...

Accidental Deliberations: Helpful Tip of the Day

Oct

16

2011

Jim Flaherty, fresh off of five years of claiming that Canada’s recession, deficits and increased unemployment levels are all the result of international forces beyond his control as a mere finance minister, is now telling Canadians it’s utterly pointless to protest corporate control since we’re completely free of any influences which might serve to increase ...

Accidental Deliberations: Deep thought

Sep

28

2011

I’m sure it’s utterly preposterous to even suggest that it’s theoretically possible that the Harper Cons might want to torch public money just for the sake of torching public money.

Accidental Deliberations: Monday Afternoon Links

Sep

19

2011

Assorted content to start your week. – Once again, the NDP’s popular support is holding up in the face of plenty of predictions to the contrary. But I’m sure we’ll hear all about how the leadership race will do what the scrutiny of an election campaign, the transition to Official Opposition status and the death ...

Accidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links

Sep

2

2011

Assorted content to end your week. – Carol Goar asks whether the Harper Cons learned anything whatsoever from a recession which they first deemed impossible, then minimized before acting only under political duress: We have less manoeuvring room today than we did three years ago. Our budget is $30 billion in deficit, our employment insurance ...

Accidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links

Aug

14

2011

Selected text for your weekend reading. – Edmund Pries points out how the right sees wasted public money and gratuitous tax slashing as tools to force cuts to programs which actually serve a valuable purpose: During the Reagan era, a friend and former colleague, a professor of American history, was invited to the deliberations of ...

Accidental Deliberations: Juxtaposition

Aug

12

2011

An unnamed person with some clue about economics: Pundits, Very Serious Politicians, and more have spent the past two years plus doing everything they can to make the deficit the center of public discourse, to focus all our fears on the attack by bond vigilantes that was supposedly just over the horizon. And now it ...

Accidental Deliberations: On warning signs

Aug

6

2011

Shorter Jim Flaherty: Of course economic trouble elsewhere in the world will have negative consequences for Canada. But we won’t let that stop us from pushing the same bad advice that’s done so much to cause it.

Accidental Deliberations: On innumeracy

Jul

15

2011

Yes, we know that math isn’t Deficit Jim Flaherty’s forte. But could it be that he’s still less numerically challenged than the rest of his cabinet colleagues? Let’s check in with someone who’s supposed to be one of the Cons’ brightest lights… “We don’t obviously want to over-read this. People’s political opinions change based on ...

Accidental Deliberations: Juxtaposition

Jul

1

2011

Stephen Harper describes his party’s view of the type of environment needed for any industry to plan for the future and create jobs: “Protecting and creating jobs and ensuring economic growth in all regions remains our Government’s number one priority,” said Prime Minister Harper. “We will continue delivering the stability needed for the economic well-being ...

Accidental Deliberations: On downturns

Jun

27

2011

Sure, it might seem like reason for concern that it’s only the type of government spending which the Cons are determined to slash that allowed Canadians in general to somewhat avoid a significant economic collapse over the past few years: In 2009, average earnings fell from $39,100 to $38,500 due to the steep rise of ...

Accidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links

Jun

22

2011

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Adam Radwanski points out how Stephen Harper’s continuing Senate embarrassment figures to play into the NDP’s hands: If Mr. Harper was looking to signal once and for all that he’s abandoned his populist roots, he could scarcely have done better than Wednesday’s Senate appointments. Little more than two ...

Accidental Deliberations: Deep thought

Jun

15

2011

I won’t claim to have compiled a full list of criticisms of the Cons’ government. But I’m pretty sure that putting too many resources into environmental priorities would rank rather near the bottom.

Accidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links

Jun

12

2011

A variety of content for your weekend reading.- The Lethbridge Herald nicely points out who figures to have a problem with Stephen Harper’s decision to have the Canadian public pay tens of thousands of dollars to send him to Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals: (P)erhaps the flap over Harper’s appearance at the game ...

Accidental Deliberations: Friday Afternoon Links

Jun

10

2011

Assorted content to end your week.- When Paul Wells tears into a story, you can be assured of results that are both entertaining and frustrating. This week, he’s been hard at work pointing the complete lack of transparency and credibility in cuts which the Cons have already booked in this year’s budget – which should ...

Accidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links

Jun

8

2011

Miscellaneous material for your midweek reading. – The Star skewers the Cons’ insistence on pushing ahead with bad budget choices: As the Star argued during the election, Canada needs progressive economic vision in the form of strategic investments in scientific research and innovation, health care, a national child-care plan and improving the Canada Pension Plan ...