Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Yanis Varoufakis writes that the tendency of capitalism toward stagnation signals the need for greater public input into economic decisions. And Branko Milanovic discusses how the attitude that politics should be governed by greed has undermined the trust between citizens and governments necessary
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Accidental Deliberations: Wednesday Evening Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Mark Olalde writes about the public subsidies being handed to U.S. resource companies who polluted water with toxic waste without having any plan or resources to clean up their messes. And Michael Mann and Bob Ward note that Donald Trump is using Stalinist
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Eric Holthaus writes that the Green New Deal which looks to be at the centre of Democratic policy development offers an important opportunity for the U.S. to make amends with a world bearing the brunt of its past pollution. But Rick Salutin discusses
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Edward Luce writes about the reckless greed of the U.S.’ billionaire class which includes far too many people willing to see Donald Trump re-elected as the price of avoiding paying a fair share toward a civilized society. And Noah Smith compares a wealth
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Supreme Court ruling tomorrow could leave Albertans on the hook for corporate toxic mess cleanup
The Supreme Court of Canada will announce its ruling tomorrow morning in a case that could leave taxpayers on the hook for a toxic mess left by a bankrupt oil company – and by extension a whole raft of corporate polluters, not just in the oil industry. If the Supreme
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – The Economic Policy Institute charts how government policy is exacerbating inequality in the U.S. And Sam Pizzigati discusses how Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is leading a much-needed discussion about ensuring that wealthy people pay their fair share – and notes that the arguments against a
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Roderick Benns points out the disruptive effect of the cancellation of Ontario’s basic income trial – signalling the importance of being able to plan on a stable source of income. And Jessica Chin reports on an anticipated wave of renovictions to push tenants
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Joe Vipond and Noel Keough highlight the gap between the global impetus to avoid climate breakdown and the narrow self-interest of the Alberta oil industry. Michael Bueckert discusses Jason Kenney’s attempt to turn the government apparatus against the exercise of fundamental freedoms through
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Josh Bivens and Heidi Shierholz examine the source of a labour market which is offering little to workers, and conclude the issue is less increased employer power than the systematic destruction of workers’ bargaining power: The biggest change in relative power between typical
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Evening Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Nick Charity reports on the observations of the UN’s envoy on poverty and human rights that callous and cruel austerian political choices have caused harm to millions of UK residents. – Tess Kalinowski reports on the reality that Doug Ford’s move to remove
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Jovanka Beckles writes that the housing crisis in California – like those elsewhere – needs to be addressed through public investment in social housing rather than giveaways to private developers. – Sharon Riley discusses Alberta’s gigantic problem with unfunded oil production liabilities.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Merran Smith and Dan Woynillowicz comment that the new climate denial involves denying that any solutions are possible. Blake Shaffer points out that the Trudeau Libs’ inexplicable decision to favour coal power over other alternatives for the next decade serves to undermine any
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Jim Stanford discusses how abusing precarious workers has become the primary job of big business. But Owen Jones notes that strikes against McDonald’s in the UK represent just the latest example of workers taking collective action to fight for a more fair
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Michael Harris laments the lack of any consistent connection between reporting on severe weather events and the climate change which is producing them in unprecedented numbers: Mainstream news coverage does well with reporting episodes, but misses the boat on thematic coverage. CNN is
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Thomas Walkom reminds us that the Libs’s supposed tradeoff of climate policy for pipelines is failing as much in producing the former as the latter: For almost two years, the Trudeau government has tried to finesse the contradictions of its climate-change policies.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Matt Bruenig makes the case for a social wealth fund in the U.S. And David Dayen offers a reminder that Alaska’s dividend to citizens from its own wealth fund is both extremely popular and an effective treatment for many social ills. – Meanwhile,
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Duncan Cameron writes that the Libs’ anti-poverty “strategy” really isn’t about much more than spin. And Katherine Scott asks when we’ll see something which actually reduces poverty rather than merely taking one more step in measuring it. – Bill Curry points out
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: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Matt Bruenig points out that public ownership of businesses produces a number of beneficial incidental effects, including by ensuring that knowledge and investment stay in place over time rather than being subject to the whims of the capital class. – Sarah Smarsh
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Lambert Strether points out that standard estimates of income inequality (jarring though they are to begin with) tend to ignore the capital gains which accrue disproportionately to those who already have the most. – Scott Alexander makes the case for a basic income
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