A common response from many pundits on the recent Conservative budget seems to be: sensible, dull, uncontroversial. David Frum recently published his analysis and went a bit further asking whether or not this budget definitively proves that Canada is the “best-governed country in the advanced democratic world”. He thinks it does. His question is especially
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Pop The Stack: Conservative Budget Shows Us What is Important to Them
A common response from many pundits on the recent Conservative budget seems to be: sensible, dull, uncontroversial. David Frum recently published his analysis and went a bit further asking whether or not this budget definitively proves that Canada is the “best-governed country in the advanced democratic world”. He thinks it does. His question is especially
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
Random readings to occupy your time. – Stephen Maher and Glen McGregor are still digging into Robocon – with a focus on figuring out exactly how “Pierre Poutine” assembled lists of anti-Con voters to target. And Sixth Estate both points out that the count of affected ridings is up to
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
Assorted content for your pre-debate reading. – Dave connects a few more dots as to who’s behind Robocon. Guy Giorno helpfully acknowledges that the Cons were supposed to have business-style processes to avoid the exact kind of electoral fraud that’s been discovered across Canada – signalling both that they’re indeed
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Evening Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – In the last couple of days’ worth of developments on Robocon, the Cons defaulted to their standard setting of admitting nothing and misleading about everything – though it’s hard to see that strategy working out well given the amount of information that’s
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
Assorted content to close out your weekend. – Erica Alini points out that the effect of the Cons’ lobbying on behalf of the tar sands has been solely to make sure that the absolute worst polluters force the public to pay the cost of their activities, as anybody actually operating
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – There’s been plenty of followup on Robocon, with columns from Andrew Coyne and Thomas Walkom on the Cons’ increasingly unethical culture, along with followup reporting from Stephen Maher and Glen McGregor on live voter fraud and Steve Rennie and Bruce Cheadle on Elections
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Leadership 2012 Roundup
A quick survey of what’s happened in the NDP leadership campaign over the past couple of days… – Niki Ashton has rightly criticized other candidates’ operatives who seem to be working to push her out of the race. But the behind-the-scenes maneuvering may only backfire it if gives Ashton and
Continue readingThe Happy Wanderer: R is for Romney and Rick Santorum
Romney released his tax returns only to show us that he makes a lot of money and is taxed at a rate 15.4% the lowest rate is 15%! Now this was of no surprise to some. It only show the enormous amount of money the U.S could be getting to reduce the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Afternoon Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Heather Scoffield gives far too much credence to the Cons’ spin on what their focus group results mean. But her report offers what may be the most definitive indication yet that the Cons’ ideology bears absolutely no resemblance to what Canadians actually want:
Continue readingProgressive Proselytizing: How to tax the rich in this political climate
There is a lot of agreement that the rich pay too little of their wealth, that inequality has sharply risen over the last three decades benefiting the rich tremendously, and that the rich in America now enjoy a privileged status made possibly by their influence in politics. That GOP frontrunner
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Afternoon Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Nycole Turmel offers a reminder that we shouldn’t allow the Cons and their proxies to distract anybody with shiny objects when they’re so obviously wrong on the core issues facing the country: In taking aim at the Conservatives’ priorities, Ms. Turmel criticized Mr.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Environics’ polling on inequality shows over 80% of Canadians wanting to see governments reduce the disparity between the rich and the poor – even as the current federal government moves as far as possible in the opposite direction: More than eight in 10
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Carol Goar criticizes the tax giveaways that have blown a massive hole in the federal budget: But there is one area of government activity that will escape (Tony Clement’s budget-slashing) scrutiny. Every year Ottawa gives up billions of taxes in deductions, exemptions, deferrals,
Continue readingBill Given: Welcome to 2012
We are now a week in to 2012 and so far it doesn’t seem like the end of the world. Unseasonably warm, yes. But end-of-the-world hot … I don’t think so. 2011 was a busy year; for me personally, in the region and here at city hall. In fact I was
Continue readingBill Given: Welcome to 2012
We are now a week in to 2012 and so far it doesn’t seem like the end of the world. Unseasonably warm, yes. But end-of-the-world hot … I don’t think so.2011 was a busy year; for me personally, in the region and here at city hall. In fact I was so…
Continue readingBill Given: Welcome to 2012
We are now a week in to 2012 and so far it doesn’t seem like the end of the world. Unseasonably warm, yes. But end-of-the-world hot … I don’t think so. 2011 was a busy year; for me personally, in the region and here at city hall. In fact I was
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Helpful for now
Frances Bula offers up what should be a good-news story about a volunteer effort to track down tax rebates for homeless people: Ms. Lissimore did 300 tax returns last year and expects to do about the same or more this year. Most of those returns do little more than ensure
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: November 15, 2011
Much of Tuesday, November 15 was spent discussing C-13, the Cons’ budget implementation bill. And with a giant and scattered omnibus bill came a Commons debate to match. The Big Issue The main topic of debate on the Cons’ budget was once again their series of tax credits, with the
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