Assorted content to end your week. – Hassan Arif theorizes that a failure to identify and address growing inequality may have played a significant role in the rise of Rob Ford’s destructive anti-socialism: The Toronto of towering new condos, of downtown coffee shops and trendy restaurants and stores, is far
Continue readingTag: Poverty
Politics, Re-Spun: Day One, Post-Mandela
Today is the first day of our world after the Nelson Mandela era. We don’t need to canonize him or consider any messiah characteristics, but we should stop today and reflect on what kind of Mandela legacy we want to carry forward. Here are a few ideas to consider. Chances
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Why the Rich Want You to Hate Your Union
Greed is a powerful thing. It motivates the greedy to convince workers that they should hate any efforts to make their work better and reduce the level of abuse and oppression they suffer. If you’d like a list of why they want us to hate our unions, click through to
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Are We Good Allies to First Nations?
This is what solidarity looks like; make sure it’s authentic! Lots of us care about deepening relationships with and social/economic/political justice for first peoples. It’s hard to come in, though, sometimes as a person from an oppressor or settler class. But there is a good checklist to make sure we’re
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Stop Saying Tax “Haven” and Tax “Burden”
The finance minister and his tax evasion buddy. The latest nonsense of the hyper-rich 1% and their political compradors has reminded us once again, that the rich hide their money from government to avoid paying taxes…because they’re rich and can get their way. Part of how they do that is
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Stuart Trew fleshes out the Cons’ new(-ly explicit) Corporate Cronies Action Plan – and it goes even further in entrenching corporate control over policy than one might have expected at first glance: – The makeup of the advisory panel that consulted with Trade
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – The Economist takes a look at the effect of international trade agreements – and confirms the long-held concern that the erosion and non-enforcement of labour standards consistently follows the signing of government suicide pacts: Some results are rather unsurprising. Countries with better
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Does Racism Motivate Harper’s Aboriginal Education Funding Stance?
The Prime Minister’s slow clap. It could be racism. It could be concern that over time too many first nations citizens may get too educated and start demanding more in terms of inter-national justice. Or… It could be just that he thinks keeping government spending down is good for his
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – John Ibbitson reports that the Cons’ obvious priorities have finally been made explicit: as far as they’re concerned, the sole purpose of international diplomacy is to serve the corporate sector. And Ian Smillie documents how the Cons hijacked Canada’s foreign aid program (while
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Ellen Roseman writes about the need to recognize the value of public services – and to ensure that they’re properly funded: Canadians value their high-quality public services, such as education and health care. Many understand that public services democratize consumption and help
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: A Little Hope is Effective…
A lot of hope is dangerous. – President Snow This may be a little hokey, but I think Catching Fire is an important film to see right now. And it’s awesome! I read the books ages ago, but even though I know how they each end, it didn’t stop me
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Angella MacEwen rightly slams the Cons’ attempt to use Employment Insurance funds as a subsidy for employers at the expense of workers. And Don Lenihan sees the Cons’ structure as a cynical means of trying to claim success by ignoring the actual
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: Moving Beyond the Rational
Unlike everything else in the news, this isn’t about Rob Ford. I’m going to merge some Fraser Institute news with recent discussions in class, an old Munk Debate on religion, and some ideas from David Hume. Here we go! Kate McInturff writes at the CCPA that the Fraser Institute, “would like
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – George Monbiot discusses how another corporate investment agreement – this time one between Europe and the U.S. patterned after CETA – will transfer yet more power from people and their elected governments to corporate elites: The purpose of the Transatlantic Trade and
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Social Assistance in Canada
This week I am attending a conference entitled “Welfare Reform in Canada: Provincial Social Assistance in Comparative Perspective,” organized by Professor Daniel Béland. The focus of the conference is “social assistance,” which typically encompasses both last-resort social assistance (i.e. ‘welfare’) and disability benefits. In Ontario, the former is known as
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Duncan Cameron writes that Stephen Harper’s CETA triumphalism may result in serious long-term damage to Canada for the sake of a temporary political reprieve: Promoting the big bamboozle means Harper is gambling with Canada’s economic future. The PM is touting a deal not
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Homelessness Policy
This afternoon, I gave a presentation on public policy responding to homelessness in Canada, with a focus on the past decade. I gave the presentation at this year’s annual conference of the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association. Points I made in the presentation include the following: -Once inflation is accounted for,
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: BC’s Child Support Clawback Hurts Kids
British Columbia’s Child Support Clawback for Children of Parents on Government Assistance Hurts Kids When I bring up the issue of the child support clawback in British Columbia affecting single parents on temporary or disability assistance through the Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation, most people are completely unaware
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Glen Hodgson and Brenda Lafleur explain how Canada’s lower and middle classes alike have been left out of any economic growth as a result of increased inequality: We believe the more accurate interpretation is that after worsening in the 1980s and 1990s, income
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Jordon Cooper writes about the need to understand poverty in order to discuss and address it as a matter of public policy. – John Greenwood reports on Cameco’s tax evasion which is being rightly challenged by the CRA – though it’s worth
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