Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading. – Roy Romanow, Linda Silas and Steven Lewis make the case for significant federal involvement in shaping health policy in Canada: Provinces can’t transform their systems on their own regardless of how much money they spend. The politics of health care are simply too
Continue readingTag: inequality
Accidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Lana Payne juxtaposes massive profits and public concessions for Caterpillar and Rio Tinto against their attacks on Canadian workers: (T)he demands by ElectroMotive, a subsidiary of equipment giant Caterpillar, are about as outrageous as they get, including a 50 per cent cut in
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Rising Inequality Spooking the 0.0001%
Contributors to this blog–and CCPA experts–have been warning about the negative economic and social consequences of rising inequality for decades. Now the even the 0.0001% are getting concerned. Experts polled for the Global Risks Report for this month’s meetings of the World Economic Forum in Davos –one of the most eleite
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Stephen Maher and Barbara Yaffe have learned to be duly skeptical of the Cons’ motives when it comes to Senate patronage. But John Ibbitson still has a ways to go – as he’s apparently still buying Con spin about new provinces holding
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: November 16, 2011
Wednesday, November 16 saw plenty of direct clash between the Cons and the NDP on an issue that’s been in the news again today. And lest there be any doubt, while the Cons have raised their level of inflammatory rhetoric, they’ve been less than convincing when it comes to anything
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy
December marked the three-year anniversary of Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. While I believe there is much to celebrate, much remains to be done. The Strategy surprised a lot of observers, especially in light of the fact that it was announced in December 2008, just as Ontario was entering a recession.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Brian Jones writes that we’re well on our way to an only slightly-sanitized version of feudalism: According to news reports this week, the average annual income of the Top 100 CEOs is $8.4 million. That’s less than is paid to superstar puckster Sidney
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: November 15, 2011
Much of Tuesday, November 15 was spent discussing C-13, the Cons’ budget implementation bill. And with a giant and scattered omnibus bill came a Commons debate to match. The Big Issue The main topic of debate on the Cons’ budget was once again their series of tax credits, with the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – The Star makes the case for Canada’s wealthiest citizens to pay their fair share: Apart from their hefty pay packets, the top-earning CEOs are sitting on $2 billion in stock options that are treated as dividend income, and taxed at half the value.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Evening Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Glen Pearson follows up on the importance of organized labour – particularly as a desperately-needed counterweight to the pressures faced by public officials which may not be obvious to anybody less connected to the political scene: I often thought about this during
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Evening Links
Assorted content to end your day. – Yes, it’s blasphemy to point out the obvious returns on public investments. But let’s point out a couple more examples: Andrew Jackson wonders why we’re not looking to lock in low interest rates, while Paul Krugman points out that infrastructure investments will offer
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Assorted content to start your week. – Dr. Dawg asks some rather important questions about whether we think our current checks and balances are enough to rein in the Harper Cons: The lesson of the first story is, for me, how quickly the “normal” can be disrupted, our country taking
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: November 3, 2011
Thursday, November 3 saw another day devoted largely to the Cons’ seat reallocation bill and associated motion to shut down debate. But perhaps more important was a stark set of contrasts on the economy which the Cons now seem to be trying to undo. The Big Issue Peter Julian and
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Afternoon Links
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
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Economic Climate and Inequality
The December issue of the quarterly Economic Climate for Bargaining publication I produce is now on-line. This issue has a number of pieces on issues of inequality, including: Rising inequality is hurting our economy Labour rights, unions and the 99% Canadian economy bleeding jobs; public sector cuts to intensify Recession
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On clear symbols
I’ve theorized before that one of the most important tests as to how Canadians view their country over the next few years figures to involve public perceptions of Tim Hortons and other brands which have managed to tap into anti-elitist sentiment for the benefit of their own developing upper class.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Room for progressivity
Yes, I know some commentators are treating the latest from Kevin Milligan et al. as somehow proving a point that raising high-income tax levels won’t accomplish anything. But I’d think one has to strain rather hard to draw such an interpretation from a column that includes the following: What might
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Bruce Campbell comments on the link between rising inequality and declining democracy, while Rachel Mendleson notes that the erosion of workplace democracy and the labour movement is a key factor in both. – Meanwhile, Erin points out that while decades of corporatist policy
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Battle of the Wages study dispels myths about public sector wages
A comprehensive study released today by CUPE shows there’s no evidence public sector workers are paid consistently more than those in similar jobs in the private sector. Instead, overall average pay in the public sector is remarkably similar when compared against similar jobs in the private sector: only 0.5 per
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Leadership 2012 – Policy Roundup 2
Following up on my earlier post, let’s take a quick look at the policy proposals that have been unveiled by NDP leadership candidates over the last couple of weeks. – Niki Ashton’s plan for a more inclusive economy includes plenty of noteworthy ideas, including a direct attack on structural discrimination
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