This and that for your Sunday reading. – Bill Curry reports on Jim Flaherty’s arbitrary choice to declare that Canadians can’t have any more CPP retirement security than the most callous provincial government in the country is willing to grant them. And Martin Regg Cohn rightly responds that our reaction
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Politics and its Discontents: Pension Envy
That’s what Martin Regg Cohn, in his column this morning, calls the resentment stoked by the right-wing towards those who enjoy defined-benefit pensions. In what passes for debate in the debased arena we call contemporary politics, politicians of the …
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Some Questions Leadership Aspirants Need To Answer
I have recently written some posts bemoaning the paucity of policy undergirding the campaigns of those who would become the next leader of the Liberal Party, both on the provincial (Ontario) and federal level. Substituting for substance are tired br…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Mitchell Anderson’s final report on Norway’s highly successful management of its oil resources puts Canada’s current philosophy to the test: Seen through this lens, how is Canada doing? Abysmally…: 1. Dependency. Even with our vast oil wealth, Canada currently relies on other
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: McGuinty’s Magical Thinking
“We’ve been through tough times before. This is one more.” At his leadership review yesterday, that was Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty’s rather understated response to his recent string of political misfires, misfires that include his costly efforts to win seats in the last election by shutting down two gas-fired power
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – If there’s anything missing from Mark Weidbrot’s musings about the possibility of a U.S. debt downgrade, it’s that the only significant threat to the country paying its bills has been the Republicans’ reckless willingness to block routine approvals in the name of
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Inconvenient Truths for the Corporate Sector
Given that recent reports have helped to puncture the myth of job-creation benefits arising from corporate tax cuts and corporate welfare, I was pleased to read Martin Regg Cohn’s article in this morning’s Star. Entitled NDP leverages vote results to pressure big business to create jobs, the article discusses the
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Tory health care white paper elicits a big ho-hum
If the Tories thought that yesterday’s new health care white paper was likely to change the channel on the byelection defeats, they likely woke up this morning disappointed. Despite health care’s long standing ranking as the number one issue among … Continue reading →
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Uncommon Wisdom From The ‘Common’ People
That is the best way to assess the fact that last night, despite all of his gerrymandering, Dalton NcGuinty was decisively thwarted in his ruthless drive for the majority government he had been denied in the last general provincial election. Thanks to the people of Kitchener-Waterloo, both he and the
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: That Man Behind the Curtain
While I strongly believe in being critical of unions when their behaviour warrants it, I am steadfast in my belief that they serve a vital role for the working person, which, essentially, is all of us, at least until retirement. I therefore must disagree with those who claim that the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Barbara Yaffe discusses Thomas Mulcair’s strong start in winning over B.C. voters. And Martin Regg Cohn notes that Stephen Harper is starting to face some real (and needed) pressure from Darrell Dexter and other premiers to start actually talking to the provinces,
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Another Salvo Against Teachers
Just came back from a rather tiring two-hour plus bike ride against a head wind. Because I am too tired to write a lengthy post, and as a follow-up to yesterday’s entry, for those interested in what is going on with teacher contract negotiations in Ontario, may I recommend Martin
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: My Name Is Tim – Hear Me Roar
To what I suspect is the surprise of few, young Tim Hudak, to whom I have made the occasional reference in this blog, continues to underwhelm as the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party. His latest ‘policy’, perhaps hatched at the supper table with wife Deborah, to make Ontario more
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Liz Witmer’s Political Karma
As a survivor of the Mike Harris years in Ontario, I have very vivid memories of what was undoubtedly the most mean-spirited and incompetent of provincial regimes I have ever lived through. Their economic ‘strategy’ of slashing and burning, selling key assets such as the 407 to foreign consortia to
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Sad Saga Of Our Declining Democracy Continues
During the past year I have written many posts on the sad spectacle of a Canadian democracy in decline, citizen cynicism and apathy rather than vigorous engagement becoming the default position of more and more Canadians. I have also offered the opinion that this is in large part the result
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Art of the Possible
People have to give Andrea Horwath full marks for putting into practice the famous quote by Otto von Bismarck: Politics is the art of the possible. Through her willingness to compromise during negotiations with the McGuinty government, not only has she avoided an election that few wanted, but she has
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Sunday Reading Recommendation
For an insightful analysis of the choices facing both Andrea Horwath and Dalton McGuinty as they negotiate over changes to the Ontario budget that will win the support of the NDP, check out Martin Regg Cohn’s piece in today’s Star. As he points out, there is considerable risk for both,
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Where Do Justice and Morality Reside?
On this Easter Sunday, when many turn their thoughts from the secular to the sacred, it is perhaps a propitious time to remember that the elusive goals of justice and morality, so often seemingly absent from the world, can and must be pursued, however imperfectly, only by those living in
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
Assorted content for your pre-debate reading. – Dave connects a few more dots as to who’s behind Robocon. Guy Giorno helpfully acknowledges that the Cons were supposed to have business-style processes to avoid the exact kind of electoral fraud that’s been discovered across Canada – signalling both that they’re indeed
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