This and that for your Thursday reading. – Stuart Heritage argues that a shared sense of morality is our best hope of ensuring that narcissism isn’t rewarded. And Paul Gleason reviews two new books – including Thomas Piketty’s latest – on the importance of progressive taxes to reduce inequality (in addition
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Accidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on how the Libs’ willingness to throw tens of billions of public dollars at the Trans Mountain pipeline (and its corporate partners) confirms the broken promise that infrastructure money would serve the public interest. For further reading…– Campbell Clark wrote about the slow pace of the infrastructure spending which
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on Regina’s longstanding rail-freeway conflict as an example of the need to take the long view of infrastructure decisions – and the dangers of locking ourselves into dying and dirty industries with the choices we make on pipelines. For further reading…– CBC reported on the City of Regina’s feasibility
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Tom Parkin discusses the Libs’ identity politics – and how they endanger people’s substantive interests both in what the Libs fail to do, and in the predictable reaction from right-wing populists: For Liberals, identity politics is a distraction from economic policies that are
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Afternoon Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Benjamin Austin, Edward Glaeser and Lawrence Summers make the case for economic policy focused on reducing regional disparities. And Chad Shearer and Isha Shah highlight how inclusion is a necessary element of sustainable economic development: (B)etter performance on one measure [out of growth,
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: I’ll Bet You Didn’t Know That…
They don’t have a clue. Your federal government and our various provincial governments are in the same boat. None of them has assessed the risks we face from climate change or what we need to do to adapt to it. This is kicking the can down the road and whistling
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Robert Jago comments on an all-white jury’s acquittal of Gerald Stanley for the shooting death of Colten Boushie. Shree Paradkar notes that the issue of non-representative juries is far from a new one. Scott Gilmore recognizes that Boushie’s death and its aftermath
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Nathan Akehurst writes that the Carillion collapse was just the tip of the iceberg in the corporatization and destruction of the UK’s public services. And Neil Macdonald points out that the Trudeau Libs are pitching privatized infrastructure as easy money for investors
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Toby Sanger discusses how the Trudeau Libs’ obsession with privatized infrastructure only stands to put control over public services in the hands of corporate predators: Corporations are sitting on hundreds of billions of excess cash in Canada and trillions worldwide — money they
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Ed Broadbent discusses how Bernie Sanders offers an example to emulate – and in some cases a source of ideas well beyond what Canada has implemented so far: It was clear to everyone watching that Canadians, in fact, have a few things
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Brent Patterson discusses how the Libs are putting the hands of their already-dubious “infrastructure bank” in the hands of people with a track record of turning public services into private cash cows. – David Suzuki takes note of another U.S. government climate
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Penney Kome raises the question of who will be responsible for the damage wrought by climate change. And Trish Audette-Longo reports that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is set to start examining how human behaviour contributes to, and is affected by,
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Leadership 2017 Platform Analysis – Jagmeet Singh
Having once expressed my concern that Jagmeet Singh would use his front-runner status as a means to avoid releasing much policy, I’ll again note that he’s instead offered up a detailed and thoughtful policy agenda. And while much of what he’s presented is relatively similar to the contents of Ashton’s
Continue readingPostArctica: NDG Gothic
Trying some new ideas, let me know what you think. NDG is a neighborhood in Montreal.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on what the Wall government means when it talks about entering into “partnerships” with the corporate sector – and why Saskatchewan’s citizens shouldn’t stand to be cut out of the Crown assets now owned for public benefit. For further reading…– Others have also noted the “partnership” phrasing used by
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Cole Eisen points out how Sears – like far too many other businesses – has deliberately depleted employees’ pension funds while extracting billions of dollars for executives and shareholders: Sears Canada’s woes stem from what appears to be a methodical process of value
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Naomi Klein highlights how capital and power combine to turn disasters into profit-making opportunities – while noting that the Trump presidency is just such a disaster. And Linda McQuaig discusses why we should see the income tax and other collective funding mechanisms as
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Patrick Gossage discusses the desperate need for Canadian governments at all levels to take meaningful action to eliminate poverty: The reality is that low-income Canadians are invisible and lack political clout. In Toronto, they are concentrated in downtown areas close to the gleaming
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Phillip Inman discusses how austerity has proven to be an all-pain, no-gain proposition for the general public which is facing stagnant wages and higher consumer debt. – Pedro Nicolaci da Costa is duly skeptical of employer complaints about “skills gaps” which in fact
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Afternoon Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Owen Jones writes that UK Labour’s bold and progressive platform was crucial to its improved electoral results. Bhaksar Sunkara rightly sees Labour’s campaign – in both its firm defence of the common good, and its determination to reach young and marginalized voters rather
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