This and that for your Sunday reading. – The Globe and Mail’s editorial board discusses the reality that the end of the age of oil is near no matter how many petropoliticians try to operate in denial. Carl Meyer reports on the oil lobby’s attempts to turn the pursuit of
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Accidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Andre Picard discusses the need for governments to take direct action to stop the spread of the coronavirus, rather than merely sending muddled messages about personal responsibility. And Amir Attaran and Lorian Hardcastle make the case for far stronger action by Canada’s
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Scott Aquanno writes about the role the Bank of Canada has played so far in responding to COVID-19, while also recognizing that a new public bank could and should do far more to ensure we invest in a sustainable economy rather than plunging
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Afternoon Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Bruce Campbell highlights how corporate greed isn’t limited by a public health emergency. And indeed, the Canadian Press reports on a record amount of federal lobbying in February and March as entrenched interests seek to increase their wealth and power as a result
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Assorted content to end your week. – Mark Rowlinson points out how the obvious frailty of our current supply chains highlights the need to develop Canadian manufacturing. And Amanda Follett Hosgood notes the importance of localized food production in particular. – Bill McKibben calls out the oil industry’s attempts to
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Afternoon Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Noam Scheiber, Nelson Schwartz and Tiffany Hsu point out how the social isolation required in response to COVID-19 is only confirming and exacerbating the U.S.’ class divide. And Shawn Micallef highlights the vast difference between social isolation in a large home as opposed
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Tom Blackburn writes about the UK’s rare opportunity to elect a government which is actually committed to empowering workers. – Don Pittis writes that an effective transition toward a clean energy economy will result in far superior outcomes for workers than an
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Annie Lowrey highlights how low-income households are bearing the brunt of unequal inflation, as prices are increasing more quickly for their needs than for the luxuries bought by wealthier households. – Paul Krugman comments on the delicate sensibilities of billionaires who refuse to
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Noah Smith comments that while we shouldn’t necessarily try to adjust GDP for other necessary elements of individual and social well-being, we should avoid treating it as a catch-all measure in assessing policy choices: GDP does have plenty of flaws, even as
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Lana Payne points out the options to make life genuinely affordable for Canadians – while noting that the Cons’ usual tax baubles don’t make the list. And PressProgress both reveals Doug Ford’s plans to slash Ontario’s already-insufficient housing supports, and lists Brian Pallister’s
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – The Globe and Mail’s editorial board points out the gross dishonesty of Jason Kenney, Scott Moe and other spokesflacks for the oil sector who are looking to turn the slightest hint of consideration of the environment and Indigenous rights into grounds for a
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Leslie Hook offers a reminder of the dangers of methane as a particularly damaging type of carbon emission which is both associated largely with fossil fuel production, and poorly tracked when it is emitted. And the Edmonton Journal makes the case for Jason
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Melanee Thomas writes that we need to change our political system, rather than blaming women for the barriers placed in their way: Ethos – that set of values and beliefs that guide our politics – is key to explaining why women remain so
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Evening Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Aditya Chakrabortty discusses how UK Labour is pursuing genuine and positive class politics by promising to ensure that workers have a share in both the decision-making and the spoils of major corporations. – Duncan Cameron offers a reminder of the lack of
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – The Globe and Mail’s editorial board rightly recognizes that attempts to challenge federal carbon pricing on constitutional grounds represent nothing but a politically-motivated waste of money. Ross Belot laments the Trudeau Libs’ decision to respond by watering down already-insufficient plans while making it
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – The Equality Trust makes its submission to a UK study of social mobility by pointing out the need for increased equality as the first step: To genuinely improve social mobility in the UK, the over-arching policy priority has to be for a
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Assorted content to start your year. – Noah Smith notes that private monopolies may be as bad for workers as they are for consumers, as a lack of alternative employers results in near-total power for corporate behemoths: (I)n addition to monopolies, we need to think about local monopsonies — cases
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on the corporate sector’s expectation that it will be able to write laws and set public policy for its own benefit – and the disturbing number of examples of it being allowed to do just that. For further reading…– Jenny Uechl reported on both the secret CAPP meetings which
Continue readingThings Are Good: Tough Lobbying Rules in Ireland Work Well
Ten years ago when a bunch of bankers greatly damaged the economy the country of Ireland suffered quite a bit. The people of Ireland made the connection between influence on politicians from large corporations on poor public policy – thus they changed the rules on how the private sector can
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on the importance of governments matching their talk about enforcing tax law with action – and the reason for concern that the Libs are headed in the opposite direction. For further reading…– Harvey Cashore, Nicole Percy, Nicole McCormick and Patrick Butler reported here on Colin Campbell’s participation in a
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