Fiscal record of Canadian political parties, Toby Sanger, The Progressive Economics Forum: “With all the recent news stories — as well as alarm raised by other leaders — about the fiscal and economic impact and record of NDP governments, I decided to take a look at and review the fiscal
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The HB-Log : NDP Policy Issues Run Deeper than their Constitution
This editorial effectively communicates the opinion within the New Democratic Party that the Constitution should not be changed to eliminate hardcore socialism Now, I am quite indifferent to this question, and even if I were a card-carrying member of the NDP I can’t imagine I would feel differently. I argued in my last post that while I think the concept of socialism (at
Continue readingEarthgauge Radio: EG Radio March 28: Federal Budget 2013, urbanization in Kenya and the tar sands “staples” trap
Download: earthgauge-podcast-march28-2013.mp3 We love covering local stories on Earthgauge and this week, we get just about as local as we can, focusing on some compelling environmental research taking place at Carleton University in Ottawa. We also take a look at the environmental provisions of last week’s federal Budget 2013. We
Continue readingEarthgauge Radio: Tomorrow on EG Radio: Budget 2013, urbanization in Kenya and the tar sands “staples trap”
We love covering local stories on Earthgauge and this week, we’re getting just about as local as we possibly can, focusing on some compelling environmental research taking place at Carleton University in Ottawa. Earthgauge contributor Juanita Bawagan will be speaking with Glennys Egan who is a Masters student whose research
Continue readingPolitics and Entertainment: Inform your “fiscally conservative” friends please of this astounding failure
#neoliberalism Under Flaherty the #cdnecon since 2006 has been a debt-fuelled financialized one only with little real production, productivity, or significantly increased employment to drive demand. Credit card debt has gone from $35.6 billion in …
Continue readingPolitics and Entertainment: Inform your "fiscally conservative" friends please of this astounding failure
#neoliberalism Under Flaherty the #cdnecon since 2006 has been a debt-fuelled financialized one only with little real production, productivity, or significantly increased employment to drive demand. Credit card debt has gone from $35.6 billion in February 2006 to $77.4 in February 2012, a staggering 117% increase. Mortgage debt has gone from
Continue readingPolitics and Entertainment: Inform your “fiscally conservative” friends please of this astounding failure
#neoliberalism Under Flaherty the #cdnecon since 2006 has been a debt-fuelled financialized one only with little real production, productivity, or significantly increased employment to drive demand. Credit card debt has gone from $35.6 billion in February 2006 to $77.4 in February 2012, a staggering 117% increase. Mortgage debt has gone from $672.5
Continue readingEarthgauge Radio: EG Radio March 14: food glorious food!
Download: earthgauge-podcast-march14-2013.mp3 On Earthgauge this week, we discuss food security from the global to the local level, and what we can do to help build a more equitable and sustainable food system. From the geopolitics of global food (in)security to the benefits of eating locally, this special program considers how the
Continue readingEarthgauge Radio: Tomorrow on EG Radio: food glorious food!
Tomorrow on Earthgauge, we’re discussing food (in)security. From the geopolitics of global food security to the benefits of eating locally, this special program will consider how the food choices we make on a daily basis have a real impact both on our environment and on the people who produce our
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Strange Economics of Stephan Harper
Even though he only has a Master’s degree in economics, our Prime Minister likes to present himself as an economist. And, like the myriad other untruths propagated by his regime, perhaps the biggest lie is that resource extraction, especially tarsands oil, is the most prudent activity around which the Canadian
Continue readingEarthgauge Radio: EG Radio March 7 2013: Reconnecting with the natural world around us
Download: earthgauge-podcast-march7-2013.mp3 Ever wondered where your water comes from and where your wastewater goes? How much garbage do we produce in Ottawa and where does it go? What did the city look like a couple hundred years ago? Where does the gas come from that fills up our tanks? How much
Continue readingEarthgauge Radio: Check out my interview on last week’s Green Majority show on CIUT!
Last week I was interviewed by Daryn Caister of The Green Majority, which is a weekly environmental news program produced live at CIUT in Toronto and broadcast on campus and community stations across the country. During the interview we talked about my visit to Washington, DC for the most recent
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: And Now…A Message from your Premier-In-Waiting: Mr Lukaszuk
We interrupt our regular programming—the PC spin on the cause of the $4 billion budget shortfall—to bring you an important public service announcement from the Premier-In-Waiting, Mr Lukaszuk. Mr Lukaszuk steps up to the microphone and says: Listen up you pesky union types, and this includes all you doctors who
Continue readingEarthgauge Radio: Keystone XL: Massive Civil Disobedience is Next
Check out my latest article for the Common Sense Canadian on the massive climate change rally last weekend in Washington D.C. Here’s the link: http://thecanadian.org/item/1950-keystone-xl-massive-civil-disobedience-is-next-mark-brooks I am pleased to be acting as an Ottawa correspondent for the excellent online publication The Common Sense Canadian, British Columbia’s premier environmental news journal.
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Rising prices, falling wages, and the emerging economic trends: Currency wars, hyper-inflation, currency devaluation, and how to prepare for the coming storm
120% of the wealth created since the economic crisis began in 2007 has gone to the top 1% – meaning, the bottom 99% have fallen and have lost real income to the richest 1%. (Turn off “the news” and watch the Keiser Report for the real facts, or see Gerald
Continue readingEarthgauge Radio: How do you know you live in a petro state?
From Andrew Nikiforuk in today’s Tyee. The full article, called ‘Why can’t Alberta break even?‘, is worth a read. How do you know when you live in petro state? Here are some key signs: When your government pays 30 per cent of its road, education, and hospital bills with finite
Continue readingAutonomy For All: Minimum Wages Are Required
I really love the classic film of Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath, so made a point a couple years ago to read the book, which I also greatly enjoyed. One of the things that really struck me was how the prevailing wages for rough physical work that the family encounters actually
Continue readingThe Ranting Canadian: Any fool who still says “better dead than red” in…
Any fool who still says “better dead than red” in this day and age should have to prove it. Try both options and get back to us.
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Don’t Care About Penny Salami Slicing
There’s a bit of hand wringing going on around Facebook amongst typically the anti-Harper crowd. Normally I’d join in, because it’s worth wringing hands over practically everything our Prime Minister has going wrong in our country. One thing he’s managed to not get wrong, is ending the penny. It’s a
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Regina Transit Petition
Regina Transit is planning to rearrange existing service to provide a few efficiencies. I see that more investment is needed to make significant improvements that transit riders have been requesting for well over a decade already. As Regina is growing, we’re reaching the limit our streets and parking lots can
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