…It costs everything to have no foresight. Humans who are good at foresight get undermined by those who aren’t.
Continue readingTag: economy
Saskboy's Abandoned Stuff: BoJo Unwell, Like The Economy And Environment
Boris Johnson is at death’s doorstep. This would otherwise be an unremarkable point, except he’s inexplicably the Prime Minister of the UK. Sorry you started taking the advice of doctors seriously, too late for everyone including yourself. But then again, ignoring experts is what you've made a career out of.https://t.co/pJK3uLvEIj
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Afternoon Links
Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading. – Mariana Mazzucato comments on the triple crisis facing our current economic system, and the importance of addressing health, environmental and economic disasters alike. – Shannon Daub writes that it’s entirely counterproductive to withhold coronavirus relief from charities and non-profits until their resources have
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Jason Kenney and the KXL Deal
Last week Mr Kenney threw away (yet again) his belief in the sanctity of the free market by announcing his government (ie. us) would invest $1.5 billion in TC Energy (formerly TCPL) to complete Keystone XL and provide a $6 billion loan guarantee. Saved by the Alberta government Mr Kenney
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The Greatest Depression Begins
Goldman Sachs predicts 24% contraction of economy in Q2 alone – and they are the optimistic ones! This is bigger than the Great Depression, by the look of it. Thanks to fascist lockdown. It’s economic warfare: the elite vs the 99%. As both Adam Smith and George Carlin said, “They
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Jim Stanford writes about the need for a new Marshall Plan to rebuild once we’ve won the fight against COVID-19: For many years to come, Canada’s economy will rely on public service, public investment and public entrepreneurship as the main drivers of
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Imagine Alberta Without Kenney
Imagine an Alberta government not under investigation for election fraud? One that doesn’t fire tens of thousands during a pandemic so Ottawa can pay them instead? A provincial government which doesn’t bail out sub-$4/barrel oil to the tune of billions, while cutting doctors’ pay. UBI Universal Basic Income would allow
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: #LockDownNow To Spare Lives
This is interesting, and packed with references to explain the assumptions. Canada is being too soft on the new coronavirus, and we’re paying the price in the long run. For example, it’s not “essential” for post secondary education to continue this semester(, but we probably can with all but a
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: The Pensioner and the Pandemic and …
The Government Wants to Lock Me in My Room Well this blog post is taking somewhat of a change of direction from that planned, which was to focus on the benefits of being a retired pensioner at this time, since the Ontario government is telling me that I will suddenly
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Anton Jager and Steven Klein discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a particularly strong clash in rhetoric between people advocating for human lives and capital interests, while Siva Vaidhyanathan notes that the choice is a false one in any event
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Leader and His Team
It’s been a tough week for everyone; especially that “young, energetic and diverse team with deep experience” that Jason Kenney (his words by the way) appointed to Cabinet. Health Minister Shandro took it upon himself to turn up at a Calgary doctor’s house and yell at him for reposting a
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Global Geopolitics Analysis 2020: Sinking All Ships (But Our Own): Elite Aim To Sink Global Economy, In Order To Consolidate Global Neo-Feudal Corporate Rule
The currently reigning political-economic orthodoxy, philosophy or ideology, both East and West, and in virtually every nation, with only a few exceptions, has rightly been called neoliberalism. What that means, is the merger of business and the state, which as Mussolini himself defined it, is properly called corporatism – which,
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Austerity Is The Enforcement Mechanism designed to keep the Rich in Control of the American Political Economy – Rob Urie
Counterpunch columnist Rob Urie tackles some of the political consequences of the neoliberal choices we have made as a society. “The question of bailouts is fundamentally different from that of taking care of people. An adequate response to the pandemic will require years of dedicated effort, not tossing a
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Eric Doherty, and Eric Galbraith and Ross Otto, respectively write that the response to the coronavirus shows how it’s possible to imagine and implement needed changes along the lines of a Green New Deal. And Heather Mallick theorizes that it can also
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Impact of COVID-19 on Democracy
James Madison said tyranny arises “on some favourable emergency”. The COVID-19 pandemic is today’s “favourable emergency.” It’s being used by unscrupulous politicians as a smokescreen for undemocratic behavior in Alberta’s Legislature and an excuse for Jason Kenney to enlist the crème de la crème of right-wing conservative thinkers to reshape
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Afternoon Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Mike Konczal offers (PDF) a framework for responding to the coronavirus pandemic from a U.S. perspective. And the CCPA is providing ample analysis of the economic and social impacts of COVID-19. – Dakshana Bascaramurty discusses how the pandemic is revealing and exacerbating Canada’s
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Frances Woolley points out how the coronavirus pandemic is exposing the effects of decades of austerity on Canada’s health care system. Martin Regg Cohn discusses how the spread of the coronavirus is requiring us to seriously rethink how much of our society
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: COVID-19: A Study in Leadership
“The first role of government is to help people in crisis or need. That’s why we have government.”– John McCain Crisis separates the leaders from wannabes. We will be watching our leaders and wannabes very carefully over the next few months to see how they respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Jim Stanford offers his take on how our governments should respond to the coronavirus epidemic – including an emphasis on health, income security and debt relief, along with a plan for reconstruction. And Armine Yalnizyan and Jennifer Robson provide some more specific
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Todd Gordon and Geoffrey McCormack write about Canada’s crisis of capitalism – which is only being laid bare by a coronavirus pandemic exposing the fragility of a system built on precarity and debt. – Kim Kelly discusses how service workers will face the
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