This week, I’ve focused on the BCUC reports and will write more about Site C later. I also looked at Statistics Canada employment reports. I don’t put a lot of weight on month to month changes because the chance of statistical error is high but a little softness in job creation seems
Continue readingTag: labour.
Accidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Assorted content to start your week. – Tom Parkin writes that the Trudeau Libs have proven themselves to be far more interested in protecting Bill Morneau and his wealthy friends than the Canadian public. And Christo Aivalis discusses Jagmeet Singh’s opportunity to own the issue of tax fairness: This is
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Jonathan Ostry comments on the emerging recognition that inequality represents a barrier to economic development: I argue that greater attention should be paid to the consequences that economic policies have for income distribution (inequality). The reasons are four-fold. First, excessive levels of
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Mark Karlin interviews George Monbiot about the prospect of politics based on empathy, sharing and belonging. – Andrew Jackson and Kate McInturff each offer their take on the federal fiscal update – with both lamenting the Libs’ lack of ambition. – Karl
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Assorted content to start your week. – Jim Hightower writes that the risk of technology displacing workers is ultimately just one instance of the wider problem of corporate greed. And the New York Times is examining how the principle of total corporate control is the basis for the Trump administration’s
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Jeremy Nuttall interviews Nelson Wiseman about the Libs’ attempts to spin their way out of a trumped-up tax controversy – and how they’re making matters worse in the process. And Murray Dobbin points out that there’s a long way to go in making
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Karl Russell and Peter Goodman note that lower unemployment rates in the U.S aren’t translating into higher wages. Alena Semuels points out the barriers preventing people from moving in order to pursue a higher income. And Kevin Brice-Lall interviews Jonathan Rosenblum about the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Paul Wells writes about Justin Trudeau’s natural affinity for the rich and privileged, while the Star remains unduly willing to give him the benefit of the doubt when it comes to fulfilling promises of Indigenous reconciliation and tax fairness. And Chantal Hebert discusses
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on the growing gap between the Trudeau Libs’ “middle class” messaging and the self-perception of a growing working class in Canada. For further reading…– Ekos’ polling is discussed here, with detailed tables here (PDF).– The Libs’ 2015 platform is again here (PDF). And again, PressProgress discussed Bill Morneau’s message
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Nathaniel Lewis and Matt Bruenig discuss the relationship between massive inheritances and ongoing wealth inequality. Nick Hanauer makes the case for much higher taxes on the wealthy as part of a plan for improved economic development, while a new Ipsos poll finds
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Stephanie Levitz reports on new polling showing an increasing number of Canadians self-identifying as part of the working class or poor, while also seeing little room for optimism about their futures. And Jared Bernstein offers his analysis as to why wages are remaining
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Asad Abbasi reviews a new book following up on Thomas Piketty’s work on the causes of inequality. – Peter Goodman and Jonathan Soble point out that the combination of tight job markets and stagnant wages has become a consistent reality in the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading. – Christopher Thompson highlights how the use of monetary policy to fuel economic growth rather than a progressive fiscal policy alternative has served largely to enrich the already-wealthy. Rachelle Younglai and Murat Yukselir report on Canada’s growing income gap, while Andrew Jackson points out
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
This and that for your weekend reading. – Joseph Stiglitz discusses how the Republican’s trillion-dollar corporate giveaway will only exacerbate inequality without doing anything to help the U.S.’ economy: If inequality was a problem before, enacting the Republicans’ proposed tax reform will make it much worse. Corporations and businesses will
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Evening Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Michael Paarlberg discusses how the ratchet effect is making American health care far more durable than Republicans may have realized – while recognizing that there’s a lesson to be drawn for the design of other social programs as to the value of a
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Joseph Parilla examines how entrenched inequality serves as a barrier to economic development for everybody. – Heather Long highlights how the U.S.’ last round of corporate tax cuts led to lower wages for all but the lucky few. And Stuart Bailey writes about
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Anushka Asthana, Jessica Elgot and Rowena Mason report on Jeremy Corbyn’s path as Labour leader – which include genuinely moving the UK’s political centre of gravity to the left while improving his party’s electoral prospects in the process. – Andrew Boozary and
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Kevin McKean discusses how inequality undermines the goal of ensuring a healthy population. Matt Bruenig examines new data showing that the concentration of wealth in the U.S. is getting more extreme by the year. Steven Pearlstein writes about new polling showing that
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Steve Roth points out how extreme concentrations of wealth lead to poor economic and social outcomes: If wealth is consistently more widely dispersed — like it was after WW II — the extra spending that results causes more production. (Why, exactly, do you
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – The Oxford Martin School has published a new report on the spread of inequality. And Noah Smith discusses the role of offshoring along with automation in stacking the economic deck against workers. – Meanwhile, Mike Blanchfield reports on the U.S.’ refusal to allow
Continue reading