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Accidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links

Jun

24

2017

Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Ryan Meili writes about the fundamental importance of trust in both politics and medicine – and the corrosive effects of corporate donations in both: When we talk about the problems with political donations, we’re not really talking about campaign financing. We’re talking about something much more fundamental. We’re ...

Accidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links

Jun

23

2017

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 bank towers, in huge clusters ...

The Progressive Economics Forum: Fiscal situation of Canada’s ‘oil rich’ provinces

Jun

19

2017

I’ve just written a blog post about the fiscal situation of Canada’s ‘oil rich’ provinces (i.e., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador). It consists of a summary of key points raised at a PEF-sponsored panel at this year’s Annual Conference of the Canadian Economics Association. Points raised in the blog post include the following: -The ...

Accidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links

Jun

15

2017

This and that for your Thursday reading. – Sarah O’Connor examines the inconsistent relationship between job quantity and quality as another example of how it’s misleading to think of policy choices solely in terms of the number of jobs generated. Angela Monaghan discusses how wages continue to stagnate in the UK despite a low unemployment ...

The Progressive Economics Forum: Monitoring Program Performance in Calgary’s Homeless-Serving System of Care

Jun

13

2017

I’ve just written a blog post discussing how program performance is monitored in Calgary’s Homeless-Serving System of Care. Points raised in the blog post include the following: -The Calgary Homeless Foundation (CHF) is the System Planner for Calgary’s Homeless-Serving System of Care (full disclosure: I work as CHF’s Director of Research and Data). As System ...

Accidental Deliberations: On comparative advantages

Jun

11

2017

In the federal NDP’s previous leadership campaign, Tom Mulcair managed to release numerous policy proposals without offering any hint of what he’d do as leader. Starting from the (correct) assumption that a frontrunner could likely find his way to victory simply by minimizing controversy, Mulcair released policy planks which were based almost entirely on the ...

Accidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links

Jun

3

2017

Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Meagan Gilmore examines how an increased minimum wage is good for business. – Hannah Aldridge offers some suggestions to keep a poverty reduction strategy on target. And Make Poverty History notes that Brian Pallister is offering a textbook example of how not to do it by ignoring his ...

The Political Road Map: Don’t Be Afraid of Raising The Minimum Wage!

Jun

2

2017

I decided to write this post in response to the usual chatter that is generated, whenever the government decides to impose an increase on minimum wage. Usually, you will hear some form of Libertarian or Anarchist arguing that the increase in minimum wage will not only lead to higher prices, but also directly result in ...

Accidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links

May

28

2017

This and that for your Sunday reading. – Nick Saul reminds us of the need for strong and consistent public pressure to end poverty. And the Economist points out how punitive criminal justice policies coupled with a lack of rehabilitation strand people in poverty rather than allowing for a path toward contributing to society. – ...

Accidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links

May

24

2017

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Gary Younge examines how Jeremy Corbyn and an unabashedly progressive campaign platform are making massive gains in a UK general election cynically called to exploit Labour’s perceived weakness: Seeing the response to Labour’s election manifesto last week was a clear illustration of just how powerful the amnesiac qualities ...

Accidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links

May

23

2017

This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Patrick Butler writes about the increasing number of UK families mired in poverty and insecure housing even with one or more people working. And Ali Monceaux and Daniel Najarian discuss the importance of a fair minimum wage in providing people with a basic standard of living. – ...

Accidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links

May

18

2017

This and that for your Thursday reading. – Owen Jones discusses UK Labour’s true social democratic platform as a model for progressive parties around the globe. And Simon Wren-Lewis points out that contrary to the spin of opponents and uninformed presumptions of much of the media, Labour’s plan is entirely affordable. – Meanwhile, as part ...

Accidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links

May

14

2017

This and that for your Sunday reading. – Barbara Ellen questions the positive spin the right tries to put on poverty and precarity, and writes that we’re all worse off forcing people to just barely get by: In recent times, there has been a lot said about those people who are “just managing”. They are ...

The Progressive Economics Forum: Ten things to know about social assistance in Canada

May

9

2017

I’ve just written a blog post about social assistance in Canada. Points raised in the blog post include the following: -Social assistance has two contradictory objectives: 1) to give people enough money to live on; and 2) to not give people enough money to live on. -Very few immigrants receive social assistance (relative to the ...

Accidental Deliberations: Monday Afternoon Links

May

8

2017

Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Dean Baker notes that a reduction in required work time could go a long way toward ensuring that workers share in productivity gains. – Meanwhile, Max Ehrenfreund writes about new research on the state of the U.S.’ middle class – showing that lifetime wage earnings peaked for people ...

Accidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links

May

4

2017

This and that for your Thursday reading. – James Wilt argues that the labour movement should be putting its weight behind green housing which will produce both social and environmental benefits along with jobs: Workers need affordable homes. Workers also need stable and properly compensated jobs, especially those transitioning from work in oil, gas and ...

The Progressive Economics Forum: A tale book-ended by 2 Trudeaus: Canada’s foreign aid since 1970

May

3

2017

Soon after the 2015 federal election, Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau affirmed that Canada was “back” as a “compassionate and constructive voice in the world” after a decade of Conservative governments. One of the most important means by which any industrialized country interacts with the developing world is via the amount, composition and effectiveness of its ...

The Progressive Economics Forum: Program Evaluation

May

2

2017

I’ve just blogged about program evaluation and the way it’s used where I work—namely, at the Calgary Homeless Foundation (CHF). The blog post serves as a primer on program evaluation. It also discusses how CHF measures performance by programs that it funds (CHF disburses $42 million annually to programs in Calgary’s homeless-serving sector). The blog ...

The Progressive Economics Forum: The introduction and evolution of child benefits in Canada

Apr

30

2017

Allan Moscovitch and I have co-authored a blog post that looks at the history of child benefits in Canada. Points made in the blog post include the following: -Child benefits can reduce both poverty and homelessness. -When child benefits began in Canada after World War II, one major motivating factor for the federal government was ...

Accidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links

Apr

29

2017

Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Gillian White highlights Peter Temin’s work on poverty and inequality – including the standard which a person trapped in poverty needs to meet in order to have any meaningful hope of escaping: Temin then divides workers into groups that can trace their family line in the U.S. back ...

Accidental Deliberations: Wednesday Afternoon Links

Apr

26

2017

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Christian Cooper discusses how poverty is like a disease in its effect on a person’s mental and physical well-being. And Andre Picard highlights the reality that in order to address the damage done by centuries of systematic discrimination against Canada’s indigenous people, we need to start making up ...

The Progressive Economics Forum: Advocacy in Canada’s Affordable Housing and Homelessness Sectors

Apr

25

2017

I’ve just written a blog post on advocacy in Canada’s affordable housing and homelessness sectors. In the post, I define advocacy as “a collective effort to bring about changes to political priorities, funding levels, legislation, regulations or policies.” I also discuss seven approaches to advocacy in Canada’s affordable housing and homelessness sectors. The full blog ...

Michal Rozworski: Four (more) arguments against real-world basic income

Apr

25

2017

With the Ontario Liberals rolling out their basic income pilot project to much fanfare this week, it’s an opportune time to dive into the debates around BI once again. 1 Political aspects of unemployment A few weeks ago I attended a debate on basic income and left in Toronto hosted by The Leap. During the ...

Accidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links

Apr

25

2017

This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Andre Picard talks to the Current about the need to start demanding more from our universal health care system, rather than being persuaded to put up with less. And Canadian Doctors for Medicare offers its support to the Ontario NDP’s pharmacare plan, while Chris Selley writes that ...

The Progressive Economics Forum: A Response to the 2017 Saskatchewan Budget

Apr

23

2017

I have an opinion piece on Saskatchewan’s recent budget in the Regina Leader-Post. Points raised in the opinion piece include the following: -Reductions in personal and corporate income taxes help the rich more than the poor (and this budget cut both personal and corporate income taxes). -Increases in sales tax hurt the poor more than ...