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
Continue readingTag: Privatization
Accidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Nina Shapiro comments on the price of privatizing public goods. And George Monbiot weighs in on how the Grenfell Tower fire confirms that what corporatist politicians deride as “red tape” is in fact vital protection for people: For years successive governments have
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Christopher Hoy reminds us that as much as people are already outraged by inequality, we tend to underestimate its severity. And Faiza Shaheen writes about the dangers of unchecked inequality which erodes social bonds. – Meanwhile, Andrea Hopkins discusses how Canadians are
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – John Harris discusses the appeal of Jeremy Corbyn’s tendency toward genuine conversation rather than soundbites. And Gary Younge notes that the pundit class’ dismissal of Corbyn has proven to say a lot more about their faulty assumptions than about the prospects of
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
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
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett write about the psychological and social harms arising out of inequality: Members of species that have strong ranking systems need social strategies for maximising and maintaining rank while avoiding the risk of attacks by dominants. Although there
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Ontario’s Electricity Sector III: Legislative & Finance Update
My January and March posts on the Ontario electricity sector described how decisions by different Ontario governments gave rise to excess electricity generation with an inflated cost structure, leading to higher electricity prices. Here I discuss the latest development, the Liberal Government of Ontario’s proposed financial framework for its “Fair
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Dalia Marin argues that in order to avoid corporate dominance over citizens and workers around the globe, we should be developing international competition policies and systems to combat the concentration of wealth: Two forces in today’s digital economy are driving the global decline
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Binyamin Appelbaum highlights the strong consensus view that Donald Trump’s planned tax giveaways to the rich will do nothing for overall economic development. And John Buell points out that Trump’s plan for privatized infrastructure – much like Justin Trudeau’s – will serve only
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Tom Parkin writes about the growing opposition to a Lib infrastructure bank designed to turn public needs into private profits at our expense: Paying higher fares, fees and tolls because of a political decision to use more expensive private capital would be
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Claire Provost writes about the spread of the private security industry – which now exceeds the size of public police forces in Canada among other countries – as a means of privileging the protection of wealth over public interests. – Meanwhile, Lana Payne
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, examining how Steve Keen’s warning about the UK’s excessive financialization and consumer debt applies even more strongly in Canada. For further reading…– Keen makes reference to the BIS’ international data as to the ratio of private debt to GDP: – Again, Erica Alini reported on Ipsos’ latest number as
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Derrick O’Keefe makes the case for much-needed regime change in British Columbia, while Nancy MacDonald notes that such a result is far from guaranteed despite the Christy Clark Libs’ gross abuses of the public trust. And Christopher Pollon examines the close link between
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Clive Hamilton discusses the accelerating calamity of climate change which we’re allowing to happen: Our best scientists tell us insistently that a calamity is unfolding, that the life-support systems of the Earth are being damaged in ways that threaten our survival. Yet in
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on the growing list of similarities between Brad Wall’s Saskatchewan Party and Christy Clark’s B.C. Libs – and why voters in both provinces should demand far more attention than their government is willing to offer. For further reading…– Gary Mason describes the background to British Columbia’s #IAmLinda campaign theme.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Paul Campos compares the U.S.’ hourly wages to its GDP over the past few decades to show how workers have been left out of any economic growth. And Arindrajit Dube examines the effect of an increased minimum wage, and finds a direct impact
Continue readingCanadian Political Viewpoints: Forget the Wall, We’ve Just Opened a Hell of a Door
Source: CBC News – Saskatchewan Government Passes Bill 40 Allowing Partial Sale of Crowns Let’s ignore the long absence, and just get right to it, shall we? We’ve talked about Bill 40 before on the blog, and how the government was making overtures towards moving the goal line on what
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Nick Bunker points out that the worst of the U.S.’ growing inequality since 2000 has come from the growing share of income going to capital concentrated in the .01%. And Lynn Parramore highlights Peter Temin’s case that the U.S. is regressing into
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Afternoon Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Dani Rodrik argues that it’s too late to try to compensate the people being deliberately left behind by trade deals – and that instead, we need to make sure their interests are actually taken into account in how trade is structured: Today’s consensus
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Ontario’s Electricity Sector II: Political Economy Update
This is a third guest post by Edgardo Sepulveda, who is a Toronto-based expert in telecommunications and regulatory economics. Twitter: @E_R_Sepulveda By Edgardo Sepulveda In my previous post of January 29 I described how decisions by different Ontario governments gave rise to excess electricity generation with an inflated cost
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