Just a couple of weeks ago, there was a flurry of speculation – and disapprobation – about the possibility that Mark Carney might pursue a political career after having been governor of the Bank of Canada and Bank of England. And that criticism seemed somewhat overblown. While central bank independence
Continue readingTag: economy
Susan on the Soapbox: What Alberta’s School Re-entry Plan Teaches Us About Trust
On July 21, the UCP government announced 750,000 students will return to school in September under the government’s re-entry plan Scenario 1. Scenario 1 means in-class learning under near-normal daily operating conditions with health measures. These measures include two free reusable masks per student (mandatory for grades 4 and up
Continue readingThings Are Good: A Feminist Economic Recovery Plan for Canada
The economy isn’t performing too well right now thanks to years of thoughtless growth followed by the hit of COVID-19. The people most hurt by the COVID-19 crisis are the most vulnerable. It’s been widely reported on how women have lost a lot of gains made in the workplace as
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Canada, Climate Emergency and Economic Cataclysm: A Proposed Response In Brief
Or, On Trolls and Concision, Sound-Bite Culture, and The Importance of Thinking For Yourself (Please see my recent essay, titled, Canada, eh?, for part one of this present meditation) The following issues require immediate, urgent attention, thought and action, proritized in the highest degree by all levels of society,
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Lori Fox writes that the COVID-19 pandemic reflects a fundamental break with what had been business as usual – making it essential that we both grieve what’s behind us, and work on developing what comes next: Things aren’t going to go back
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – As the Libs continue to stall on announcing a promised transition from an expiring CERB to a revised employment insurance system, David Macdonald details who stands to lose out if EI simply operates as it has in the past. – Leslie Young reports
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Evening Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Sara Mojtehedzadeh reports on the severe uncertainty facing far too many as the CERB is set to wind down with nothing but vaporware to replace it. – John Paul Tasker reports on the Libs’ slow response to the obvious lack of personal protective
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Evening Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – David Macdonald discusses the opportunity to transition from the temporary CERB to a permanently-improved income support system for Canadians – along with the danger that people relying on modest relief now will be left to drown if the old EI rules are
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Don’t Support Your Slavers – Buy Local, Support Independents
It’s generally very refreshing to deal with local small business people. They tend to be honest and competent, two traits that are becoming rare in the realms of business, government or the media, as well as friendly and warm. The bigger the corporation, the more likely that honesty, ethics,
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Evening Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Nicole Lyn Pesce examines the growing evidence that people with even minor cases of COVID-19 may face neurological symptoms lasting for months. And Lauren Pelley writes about the need to start thinking about how to deal with a full winter of the coronavirus
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Kat Devlin and J.J. Moncus point out how people were justifiably pessimistic about burgeoning inequality even before a pandemic which has further consolidated wealth and power in the hands of the obscenely rich. Vanmala Subramaniam reports on Statistics Canada’s data showing that visible
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Andrew Nikiforuk writes about the public’s lack of familiarity with exponential growth which is proving lethal in its application to both COVID-19 and climate change. Jillian Horton points out the importance of continuing to treat the coronavirus as the emergency that it is
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Ed Yong examines how the coronavirus has been allowed to run rampant in the U.S. And the Globe and Mail’s editorial board warns that we can’t have much confidence that Canada is prepared to deal with pandemics either. – Paul Krugman discusses how
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On ongoing failings
Andrew Leach has pointed out how Alberta’s economy has been the worst in the country since Jason Kenney took power. But it’s also worth noting which provinces have seen similar results: In other words, leaving aside the problems with Moe’s non-response to the COVID crisis, Saskatchewan’s GDP and employment situations
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Plague Update: Booster Shot For The Economy
I am so not impressed by the Sask Party’s response to COVID-19. Slow Moe took days to shut down schools in March after a pandemic was declared, and now he’s charging ahead without a plan to roll back to Stage 1 of a lockdown when kids start getting sick in
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Abusing Restaurant Staff For Following COVID-19 Safety Procedures – Isn’t Humanity Grand
A big shout out to those who will be starting and solidifying the next wave of the pandemic. “Many B.C. restaurants and retailers already struggling to recover from the pandemic are now imploring the public to be patient with staff and respect the rules — after reports of customers behaving badly
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Alberta is Not for Sale
“Greed is good. Greed is right. Greed works.” — Gordon Gekko in the movie ‘Wall Street’ Our Covid numbers are rising, GDP is falling and the UCP government is burying us in a blizzard of announcements promising a relaunch strategy that will return us to “normal”. The challenge for Albertans
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Shannon Daub. Alex Hemingway and Marc Lee examine the strong consensus among the B.C. public that the recovery from COVID-19 should build a more equitable and sustainable society. The CCPA has released its alternative federal budget plan to show how that could
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Plague Update: Post-lockdown
Even though everything isn’t re-opened, the Saskatchewan Government very much wants people to think and act as if everything is back to normal. They’ll deny that if asked. There’s no evidence of the Premier wearing a mask though to set a good example in public. As a result, the infection
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Afternoon Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Mariana Mazzucato and Robert Skidelsky propose a new economic framework in which our elected governments actually set priorities and ensure that development is carried out in the public interest. Seema Jayachandran reminds us that social programs can more than pay for themselves, while
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