This and that for your Tuesday reading. – David Cay Johnston observes that the U.S.’ extreme inequality goes far beyond money alone. And Jesse Myerson notes that a basic income can be supported based on principles held across the political spectrum, while making the case as to how it should
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Accidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Richard Nisbett comments on the situational determinants of behaviour which are far too often mistaken for merit or accomplishment. Libby Kane points out how increasing inequality and the predictable social segregation which follows makes it harder for the lucky few to see
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Chantal Panozzo discusses the lack of work-life balance which serves as the default in the U.S. – and notes how preposterous precarious work looks once a person has experienced an alternative: Before I moved to Switzerland for almost a decade, American Reality was
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: By invitation only
Yes, Paul McLeod’s report that Stephen Harper will go through a three-month election period without meeting a single person who hasn’t been previously vetted by partisan operatives is pretty much the logical extension of the Harper Cons’ attitude toward the public. But it’s worth offering a reminder how that relates
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Tavia Grant is the latest to note that the potential for driverless vehicles necessitates some consideration as to how to account for people who currently rely on driving jobs. And Vivek Wadhwa makes the case for a new form of capitalism which isn’t
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Is Secrecy The New Canadian Norm?
The Harper regime is notorious for its virtual embargo on information. Muzzling of scientists, heavily-redacted Freedom of Information documents, regular obstruction of Parliamentary officers have become the norm. In light of these profoundly anti-democratic traits, one has to ask whether the paranoid control that obsesses the regime has filtered down
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: CBC: Canadians still don’t know what the Trans-Pacific Partnership is
Despite the secrecy, we know that The TPP would criminalize your online activity, invade your privacy, and cost you money. Speak out now at StoptheSecrecy.net Article by The Canadian Press for the CBC It’s the biggest free trade deal Canadians never heard of. read more
Continue readingMaple-Flavoured Politics: Super-Secret Slogan
An Access to Information request filed by Canadian Press was recently refused. That request asked to see the rationale behind the advertising slogan, “Strong. Proud. Free.” that the Government of Canada (long since rebranded by the Conservatives as the Harper Government™) is now using at considerable expense was refused. Why
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – CBC reports on the latest research showing that Canada would save billions every year with a national pharmacare plan. And Thomas Walkom argues that politics are standing in the way of what should be a no-brainer from a policy standpoint. – Richard Gwyn
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On oversight
Since one of the main issues talked about so far in relation to the Cons’ terror bill is the question of oversight, I’ll point back to what I said the last time we were told that the way to split the difference between abuses of power and a desire for
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Will Hutton writes about the connection between inequality and the loss of any moral or social purpose in public life: Britain is beset by a crisis of purpose. We don’t know who we are any longer, where we are going or even
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – The Economist argues that lower oil prices offer an ideal opportunity to rethink our energy policy (with a focus on cleaner sources). And Mitchell Anderson offers a eulogy for Alberta’s most recent oil bender: For now the latest Alberta bender is over,
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your Sunday reading. – Joan Walsh discusses Elizabeth Warren’s work on improving wages and enhancing the strength of workers in the U.S., while Jeremy Nuttall interviews Hassan Yussuff about the labour movement’s work to elect a better government in Canada. – Bob Hepburn argues that getting rid
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On overtime losses
Those readers who follow my law blog will already be familiar with this week’s news about the Saskatchewan Party government’s attack on overtime pay for retail workers. But I’ll take some time to assemble the full story here. Historically, a “day” for the purpose of calculating overtime for Saskatchewan workers
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Emma Woolley discusses how homelessness developed into a social problem in Canada in large part through public neglect. Judy Haiven is the latest to emphasize that charity is no substitute for a functional society when it comes to meeting people’s basic needs. And
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on how we’ll soon be seeing both federal and provincial governments alike try to block out their real history with glossy ad campaigns – and why we shouldn’t let them get away with the plan. For further reading…– Torstar reported here on the Cons’ use of public money to
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – David Foot and Daniel Stoffman discuss Thomas Piketty’s role in highlighting the need to work toward greater equality, while pointing out a few options to increase public revenues from people who can afford to pay them. And Ezra Klein interviews Paul Krugman about
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