Inequality in society, in terms of political power and economic means, is what lies at the root of the problems we face. Nothing will be solved until we stop the wealth disparity in society. “Poverty meant buying yesterday’s — or even sometimes last week’s — bread. In such a
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Accidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – James Galbraith reminds us of the danger extreme inequality poses to any social bonds – and the need for political action to counteract the current momentum toward further concentration of wealth: Controlling inequality—like controlling blood pressure—is good for your economic health. Economies with
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Harry Leslie Smith reiterates his determination to make sure that new generations don’t face the poverty and deprivation that marked his childhood. And Beverly Gologorsky discusses the rise of extreme poverty in the U.S. and its lasting effects on its victims: In the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Matt Bruening comments on the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s research showing that minimum-wage workers are unable to afford basic housing across the U.S. – Sarah Butler reports on the UK’s latest parliamentary study of precarious work. Jordan Press reports on the state
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – The OECD examines the generational implications of inequality and poverty – with the descendants of poor children in some countries requiring up to nine generations to project to reach an average income. – Dean Baker writes that the Trump administration is only seeking
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Ed Finn reminds us that ending child poverty makes good economic sense in addition to being a moral necessity: The same huge financial benefit would be reaped in Canada from an equivalent investment in curbing poverty here. Based on the variance in populations
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Frances Ryan highlights the disgrace of social programs designed to strip away basic supports when they’re needed most: Poverty has long been put down to mythical causes, be it a quirk of society – as if inequality is built into the earth –
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Carey Doberstein’s book on homelessness governance
I’ve just reviewed Professor Carey Doberstein’s book on homelessness governance (UBC Press). The book looks at the way decisions are made pertaining to funding for homelessness programs in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto during the 1995-2015 period. Points raised in my review include the following: -Homelessness trends look quite different across
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – CBC talks to Robert Frank about the role of luck and privilege in generating concentrated wealth. And Kate Bahn highlights the reality that collective action is needed to help level a playing field currently tilted to benefit those who already have the most.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Dru Oja Jay points out the connections between improved public services, decreased inequality and meaningful action to fight climate change. – Adam Corlett challenges spin from the UK Conservatives intended to mislead voters about the relative tax contributions of the wealthy as opposed
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Tom Parkin discusses the distinction between giveaways to the rich which are perpetually seen as carrying no price, and the expansion of the commons which is treated as intolerably costly: (O)ffer something that is actually free and things get downright snarky. In
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – The Equality Trust highlights the perpetual concentration of wealth among an extremely privileged few in the UK. LOLGOP points out how U.S. Republicans would rather let people die than see them adequately sustained by a fair minimum wage and secure social supports. And
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Gary Younge comments on the highly selective willingness of far too many privileged people to acknowledge suffering around them. And Paul Krugman calls out the Trump administration’s gratuitous cruelty toward the people who already have the least: There’s something fundamentally obscene about this
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Michal Kalecki discusses how full employment shifts the balance of power from corporations to workers. Roland Kupers reminds us that inequality is a matter of policy choices – and that there’s broad public support to reduce the level we’re stuck with at
Continue readingPaul S. Graham: For a Winnipeg Without Poverty
Last week, anti-poverty activists in Winnipeg released a report aimed at encouraging the City of Winnipeg to develop a strategy for reducing poverty in the city. They called on the mayor to champion poverty reduction, observing that the most promising civic antipoverty programs in Canada (in Edmonton and Calgary) are
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Terry Schwadron writes about Donald Trump’s war on the poor, while Rosemary Feurer and Chad Pearson highlight how U.S. businesses and their political pawns have undermined the labour movement. And David Climenhaga and PressProgress point out that we should expect exactly the same
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Saskatchewan budget misses opportunity on rental housing assistance
I recently wrote a ‘top 10’ overview blog post about the 2018 Saskatchewan budget. Following on the heels of that, I’ve now written an opinion piece about the budget’s announcement of a phase out a rental assistance program for low-income households. Points raised in the opinion piece include the following:
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Lana Payne rightly criticizes the World Bank for trying to push discredited and inhumane trickle-down economics as a substitute for viable economic development. – Gary Younge calls for some much-needed recognition of the toxic masculinity behind so many mass killings. And Nora Loreto
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Denise Balkissoon writes about the importance of ensuring a just transition for fossil fuel workers – rather than using their jobs as bargaining chips to preserve oil industry profits. And Andrea Olive, Emily Eaton and Randy Besco point out that there’s plenty
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Ten things to know about the 2018 Saskatchewan budget
I’ve written a ‘top 10’ blog post about the recently-tabled Saskatchewan budget. Points raised in the blog post include the following: -This year’s budget was quite status quo. -Last year’s budget, by contrast, included a series of cuts to social spending. Last year’s budget also announced cuts to both personal
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