Yesterday I spoke on a panel discussion on economic inequality, along with Andrew Jackson and Armine Yalnizyan. We were guests at the federal NDP’s policy convention in Ottawa. The panel was moderated by Guy Caron. Topics covered included the minimum wage, basic income, affordable housing, the future of jobs, gender
Continue readingTag: Poverty
Dead Wild Roses: Poverty is An Acceptable Outcome – Political Realities in the US.
An excerpt from Kennith Surin’s Essay, “Poverty American Style”. There are not many aspects and norms that are left to chance in society. The norms we accept, the ‘common knowledge’ we are all expected to understand, and “the way things are” are all socially constructed choices. The decision whether to
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – David Brady, Ryan Finnigan and Sabine Hubgen challenge the claim that there’s any relationship between single motherhood and poverty. And Doug Saunders writes that there’s an opening for progressive movements to take back the theme of family values which obviously bear no
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Leadership 2018 Links
The latest from the Saskatchewan NDP’s leadership campaign as the Saskatchewan Party’s election of Scott Moe brings the province’s political playing field into greater focus (while also offering a reminder of the fallibility of leadership campaign polling). – Trent Wotherspoon has unveiled his post-secondary education education policy (accompanied by endorsements
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Matthew Sears writes that we would be much better off prioritizing more than just cutting short-term costs and prices in making choices: Are we really unwilling to pay more for our coffee as we are on our way to our well-paid and
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Ed Finn comments on the massive amounts of public money being funneled toward Canada’s wealthiest corporations: When it comes to listing countries on the basis of the social services they provide to citizens compared to the subsidies they heap on corporations, Canada doesn’t
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – David McGrane writes about Jack Layton’s five great fights – and how they continue to provide an essential framework for social democrats. – Rupert Neate reports on London’s “ghost towers”, which include tens of thousands of high-end homes sitting empty in a city
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Simon Ducatel writes about the unfairness of attacking people living in poverty rather than looking for ways to improve their circumstances: (I)n the real world, it is unfortunately not unheard of for some employers to financially or otherwise exploit workers, albeit legally mind
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Kenneth Rogoff writes about the dangers of presuming that economic growth (at least in stock markets if not wages) can withstand political upheaval. Marco Chown Oved reports on the strong support for Democracy Watch’s petition to raise corporate taxes and close loopholes. Rajeshni
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Marty Warren highlights why Tim Hortons workers – and other people facing precarious and low-paying work – need union representation to ensure their interests are respected. And Christo Aivalis writes that the current discussion of minimum wage pairs fairness issues about distribution of
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Wanda Wyporska highlights the UK’s corporate executive fat cats, and argues that it’s long past time for the public to stop rewarding them: So let’s put fat cat pay in context. Yes it has come down slightly, as Sir Martin Sorrell has
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Lana Payne discusses the divergence between an upper class with soaring incomes, and the bulk of the population facing stagnation and precarity: (W)hile the nation’s wealth or GDP looks good, less of it is getting shared around and more and more of it
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Rupert Neate reports on the latest numbers showing the world’s 500 richest people adding a full trillion dollars to their wealth in 2017. And Will Fitzgibbon and Dean Starkman highlight how offshore tax avoidance schemes are sucking prosperity out of the rest
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Eduardo Porter examines how high-end tax cuts create gains for only the wealthy few. And Lydia DePillis points out that decades of increases to top-end incomes haven’t translated into anything close to proportional spending which would share the gains with society at large.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Jessica Corbett charts the U.S.’ unacceptable (and worsening) inequality. Robert Reich discusses how the Republicans’ tax scam represents a triumph for oligarchy. And Ben Steverman notes that the bill passed this month is ripe for abuse – and already being exploited to
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Joan Hennessy writes that instead of limiting ourselves to holiday-season charity, we should insist on fair wages and dignity for our fellow citizens throughout the year: ll the while, the economy has been on the mend and corporate earnings have risen, but the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Matt Bruenig writes that the concentration of wealth and power which is largely being attributed to crony capitalism is a natural byproduct of laissez-faire economics as well: An economy that distributes the national income based solely on the marginal productivity of each
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Matt Bruenig proposes a social wealth fund as a fix for the U.S.’ burgeoning inequality and income insecurity: We seem stuck in the same policy equilibrium we have been in for decades, with conservatives denying that there is a problem and pushing
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Canada’s newly-unveiled National Housing Strategy
Over at the website of the Calgary Homeless Foundation, I’ve written a blog post about the Trudeau government’s recently-unveiled National Housing Strategy. Points raised in the post include the following: -One of the Strategy’s stated objectives is to reduce chronic homelessness in Canada by 50% over 10 years. -The Trudeau
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Ten considerations for the next Alberta budget
On November 17, the working group of the Alberta Alternative Budget (AAB) sponsored a one-day workshop at the University of Alberta. The event’s main purpose was to discuss recent developments in Alberta public policy, as well as expectations for the upcoming Alberta budget. Twenty speakers presented in total. In light
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