December marked the three-year anniversary of Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. While I believe there is much to celebrate, much remains to be done. The Strategy surprised a lot of observers, especially in light of the fact that it was announced in December 2008, just as Ontario was entering a recession.
Continue readingTag: Recession
Politics and Entertainment: Cuts for Cash: Think about how absolutely appalling and hypocritical this tactic is
Cuts for cash: it can only spur mangers to propose even deeper cuts. Only a nasty neoliberal would use the profit motive to conduct what is supposed to be a rational, considered appraisal of departmental services and staffing needs in the Public Service. And how much is the per diem
Continue readingPolitics and Entertainment: descending down the pot-holed road of recession towards the sink hole of depression
These remarks of Paul Krugman could easily apply to Canada, for it is essentially homeowners with their massively extended debt load who have bumped our debt to GDP ratio up to 203%, and we too require expansionary fiscal and monetary policies to support the Canadian economy. We won’t be getting
Continue readingCuriosityCat: America will benefit if the Supercommittee deadlocks and November 23 passes
Unable to reach agreement on what to cut and by how much, the American governmental Troika (the House, the Senate and the President) struck a Supercommittee consisting of 12 members of Congress (half from each party).The Supercommittee’s mandate is to …
Continue readingImpolitical: A self-induced recession
An item at the Economist that is making the rounds conveys a quite frustrating aspect of the economic situation in Europe and the U.S.: “A self-induced recession”YOU know, if it weren’t for the politicians, the economy would have a fighting chance….B…
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: No Technical Recession, Not That It Matters
Today’s GDP numbers (a sprightly gain of 0.3% at basic prices in July) ensure that there will not be a so-called “technical recession” in Canada — at least, not yet. Economists have a perverted definition of “recession”, whereby it’s considered official only if real GDP declines 2 quarters in a row. That’s hilariously arbitrary. And […]
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Greek PM frames it as a battle for the future
Here’s one politician who – rather belatedly – has managed to frame the issue in a way which will make it difficult for Germany to say No. He has shifted the focus to the future, to the reforms that Greece is determined to implement:Greek Prime Min…
Continue readingCuriosityCat: IMF’s Christine Lagarde’s Maggie Thatcher moment
Once more, the world is poised on the brink of a vicious recession, and once more, it seems that the political leaders cannot pluck up the courage to take the right steps.But is this true?The Cat thinks this is the more likely explanation of the stasis…
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Save the Eurozone and the EU with EuroHope Bonds
The grand experiment of the European Union and of the 17-member Eurozone is far too significant for Europeans to let it fail.The problem: Right now, the EU is buffeted with low growth, high unemployment, high public and private sector debt, and politic…
Continue readingRedBedHead: Harper-nomics Is Recipe For Global Depression & Trade Wars
I feel like I’m repeating myself, having just written that the global crisis is not a crisis of debt but, rather, that the debt is a symptom of the long term decline in the rate of profit. Now, I read Stephen Harper and British Tory Prime Minister Davi…
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Gloom and Doom from the IMF
Further to my earlier post on Recession Ahead?, the IMF have today sharply revised down their forecasts of Canadian growth – from 2.9% to 2.1% in 2001, and from 2.6% to 1.9% in 2o12. The downward revisions for Canada compared to June, 2011 are just about the largest for the advanced economies, second only to […]
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Falling Real Wages Signal Trouble Ahead
The Labour Force Survey for August showed that average hourly wages were up by just 1.4% from a year earlier, the same low level of increase as was registered in July. Consumer price inflation was 2.7% in July, a bit down from 3.1% in June and 3.7% in May, but it seems that we have […]
Continue readingPushed to the Left and Loving It: What Will Harper Try to Give Away This Time in ‘Buy America’ Fix?
Obama’s new job strategy once again includes a “Buy America” clause, specifically stating that unless there are savings of at least 25%, infrastructure projects must use only U.S. materials.Last time this happened, Harper gave away the farm for a few e…
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: Conservatives Robbed Canadians
We was robbed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservatives during the May 2 Federal election. The truth about the Canadian economy was withheld. Recall, the election eventually revolved around the economy. Other leading economies reeled under…
Continue readingThey Call Me "Mr. Sinister": Shorter Michael Spence
The policy elites, in the developed world, are seized with a deficit mania that crowds out the reality of an unemployment crisis. This mania threatens the world’s people with years of needless pain. Read it here and get ready because our government i…
Continue readingThe Skwib: Ask General Kang: Is it a correction? Please tell me it’s a correction! Should I sell?
Yep, there’s nothing trickier to manipulate than a system based on fear and greed. You humans should consider changing your approach to markets. Back on my home planet, I changed our stock market system to take most of the greed out of it, and increased the amount of fear. How, you ask? Simple. On a […]
Continue readingbastard.logic: Another Stop Along the Road to Damascus
by matttbastard The pullquote from one of David Frum’s latest eviscerations of contemporary USian conservative folly, a meditative riff on Susan Sontag’s infamous “Were our enemies right?” speech, was making the rounds yesterday (eventually getting linked by the subject of Frum’s … Continue reading →
Continue readingRedBedHead: Could Ontario NDP Pull A Layton?
This is interesting:
The Forum Research survey found Hudak’s Tories at 38 per cent — down from 41 per cent in June — to McGuinty’s Liberals at 28 per cent, up from 26 per cent. NDP Leader Andrea Horwath jumped to 24 per cent from 22 per cent an…
RedBedHead: US Debt War Will Lead To Recession
Hate to say it folks but there’s about a snowball’s chance in hell that the world won’t have returned to recession by the end of this year. There are many factors involved that make this likely – the necessary slowing of China’s growth, the defaults an…
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Is Social Assistance a “Poverty Pariah?”
An article in the current edition of NOW Magazine looks at social assistance in Ontario. The article is aptly entitled “Poverty Pariah,” in light of how apparently unpopular Ontario’s welfare system has become over the past 20 years. As can be seen at the National Council of Welfare’s Interactive Welfare Incomes Map, a single adult […]
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