Here, on how the Cons’ imposition of an economic policy which benefits a few at the expense of people who get no say in the matter is just the latest (if worst) example of their becoming everything they once claimed to loathe. For more on the economic argument (which in
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Canadian Trends: Dutch Disease?
Canada certainly has some serious economic problems, but I don’t think dutch disease is one of them. Blaming the problems we’re experiencing on dutch disease is over-simplistic to a fault. Canada is regionally quite vast with many geographical and political challenges. Simply picking a small portion of a large problem out
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Andrew Jackson raises an absolutely devastating point to refute anybody trying to use “it’s all about growth!!!” as an excuse for slashing social supports and handing free money to the rich: In this age of austerity, we are constantly told by governments that
Continue readingThe Global Express: The Politics Behind Genocide Recognition
Every year as April 24th approaches, there is a feeling of anticipation, that the once inevitable recognition will finally be acknowledged. Presidents upon Presidents and the same speech after speech. We all know it was a tragedy, but our fight is much more than a simple tragedy. Every year it seems
Continue reading350 or bust: University Sustainability Initiative Saves Climate And Its Bottom Line, While Canada’s Economy Suffers From Lack of Green Practices
New Jersey’s William Paterson University adopted a climate action plan in 2009 that puts the university on a path to becoming carbon neutral by 2065 – and to reducing their baseline by 50 percent by 2025. A cornerstone of that work is their 3.5 MW solar array that snakes around
Continue readingCanadian Trends: Historical ideologues in the new era
The other day I was asked a question on twitter which for the life of me I could not fit an answer in to 140 characters. The question was in relation to the current and coming unrest. Time waits for no one. But what will come first? True reform and
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: FreedomWorks Creates Error-Filled Site To Accuse EPA Of "Killing Jobs"
EPA Kills Jobs Facebook Ad.jpg FreedomWorks, the sister organization to the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity (AFP), has launched a new website and advertising campaign to convince American voters that the Obama administration and the EPA are out to destroy American jobs. FreedomWorks has been instrumental in creating the Tea Party in
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: No tough choice
Back here, I discussed how ridiculous the Cons’ “tough on crime” model would look if applied to any other area of policy – and used that comparison to question why we’d handle criminal justice any differently. But after a minority government period where the Cons mostly limited their shows of
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading. – Jim Stanford neatly sums up how the Cons’ obsession with selling off both natural resources and natural resource producers affects other industries: There is no doubting the statistical correlation between oil prices and the loonie. Econometric analysis indicates that since the turn of
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review – April 4, 2012
After the Cons refused to listen to the opposition parties’ proposed amendments, Wednesday, April 4 saw a day of debate on the main budget motion in the second-last day before a Parliamentary break. The Big Issue Nycole Turmel rightly labeled the budget as being based entirely on (gratuitous) austerity, while
Continue readingpragmaticcanadian: The Economy IS Important, but it operates Within the Environment
Most economists will agree that most economic troubles are the cause of human action, but there are some that are not. The environment can cause economic disruption when natural disasters damage a country’s assets, and force savings to be spent on rectifying the problems caused. Harper et. al. don’t seem
Continue readingelementalpresent: Why work?
I was raised up believing I was somehow unique Like a snowflake distinct among snowflakes, unique in each way you can see And now after some thinking, I’d say I’d rather be A functioning cog in some great machinery serving something beyond me But I don’t, I don’t know what
Continue readingCanadian Trends: A quick primer: Inflation vs. Devaluation
Following a conversation I had tonight on twitter, I’d like to write a quick little guide on the difference between devaluation and inflation, as they do look quite similar. Let’s say you have an apple and I have an apple, and we’d like to buy a orange. Lets say an
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Extending Habitability
What does “extending habitability” mean? It explains “sustainability”. I prefer to sometimes call it “survivability”, because without the delicate balance our ecosystem and societies are teetering on, there’s no possible way seven billion people will survive even a short term major disruption. Our environment has one shot to work in
Continue readingCanadian Trends: The Flip Side of Fear
Fear and confidence make the markets go ’round. Most economic reports are intended to drive one or the other. The power of intention can be much more powerful than that of literal action, but it can also be a dangerous game. Flip-flop too much and you lose credibility, make too
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Martin Papillon offers up some lessons for the NDP in Francois Hollande’s French presidential victory: Being ideological does not have to mean being radical. It means anchoring your platform in a clear, coherent set of ideas that will resonate with the electorate, including
Continue readingpragmaticcanadian: How to Make Policy That Serves Us, Without Hurting Us
Everyone that cares about politics, should have an understanding of economics. Irwin Schiff’s cartoon, How an economy Grows? provides an easy to understand basis for economics, that doesn’t make the eyes glossy. One shouldn’t take everything literally, and I’m not endorsing it in full, but much of the underlying theories
Continue readingCanadian Trends: The real generational time-bomb isn’t in pensions
There is a definite concern world-wide about whether the younger generations can shoulder existing pension fund obligations for retiring baby-boomers and then for themselves. Every other month there are articles on “how much you should save for retirement”, usually with under-estimated numbers has people often misjudge the ‘exponential’ in exponential
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review – April 2, 2012
Monday, April 2 saw the second day of Peter Julian’s extended budget speech. And perhaps the point most worth noting is how many Canadians outside of Parliament took the opportunity have their voices heard in the budget debate. The Big Issue So let’s focus this review on some of the
Continue readingpragmaticcanadian: Getting more out of job creators
Probably the best and most successful way to get more out of the job creators, is to convince them that they can make more money.
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