Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Mariana Mazzucato and Robert Skidelsky propose a new economic framework in which our elected governments actually set priorities and ensure that development is carried out in the public interest. Seema Jayachandran reminds us that social programs can more than pay for themselves, while
Continue readingTag: wages
Accidental Deliberations: Friday Afternoon Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Lee Stevens writes that the coronavirus pandemic has exposed longstanding weaknesses in our social safety net which have caused large amounts of avoidable poverty: A generation ago, our income support and social service programs were working (albeit not perfect) since it was possible
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Richard Shearmur discusses the risk that employers will use an increase in remote work to extract even more value from workers. And Tara Deschamps reports that the plan may extend beyond offloading costs to outright cutting pay. – Meanwhile, Inayat Singh reports on
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – PressProgress examines the strong public support for the ability for all workers – including gig workers – to be able to engage in collective action to improve their pay and benefits. And Anthony Forsyth notes that the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Thomas Walkom writes about the Libs’ dangerous efforts to turn the page on COVID-19 as Canada’s primary political concern. – Murray Mandryk highlights how Scott Moe’s budget accomplishes nothing either to address our immediate crisis, or to chart a long-term course for Saskatchewan.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Christine Berry offers a reminder that protecting public health is absolutely necessary for us to see any economic recovery in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. And Mike Moffitt reports on the prospect that widespread mask use could prevent future waves of
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Robert Reich argues that U.S. corporations need to prioritize the health of their workers over immediate profits. But James Galbraith writes about the wider need to move past disaster capitalism, including through government action to take core economic decisions out of the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – The Book Dad highlights how labour unions can help to reduce the economic uncertainty workers otherwise face. Nicholas Kristof points out that workers elsewhere already have far superior wages and benefits to what’s treated as the default in the U.S. (and to a
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Michael Valpy and Frank Graves take a look at public opinion in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, and conclude that Canadians are rightly eager to see our leaders do whatever is necessary to ensure our survival and health. And Laila Yuile notes
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Much stronger conditions needed on federal wage subsidy program
The federal government has announced it is prepared to pay wages subsidies of up to 75% of employee wages for ALL private businesses and other employers, including non-profits, partnerships and charities that expect a 30% drop in revenues, up to a maximum of $847/worker per week and $11,011 over the
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Making the COVID19 Wage Subsidy Program work better for workers
With the federal government is increasing its temporary wage subsidy to 75%, other reforms are needed to ensure the public funding goes to maintain workers, and not pad the profits of businesses. In the face of the COVID19 crisis, the Canadian government has done a good job of both limiting
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Joseph Stiglitz, Todd Tucker and Gabriel Zucman write about the need for governments to bring in sufficient revenue to act in the public interest. And Sophie Alexander points out some of the millionaires who want their class to contribute their fair share. –
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Dylan Matthews writes about the growing body of evidence showing that minimum wage increases boost pay for lower-income workers while having no effect on the availability of jobs. And Paul Karp and Amy Remeikis report on new research challenging the explanation for reducing
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Ten things to know about the 2019-20 Alberta budget
I’ve just written a ‘top 10’ overview of the recent Alberta budget. Points raised in the post include the following: -The budget lays out a four-year strategy of spending cuts, letting population growth and inflation do much of the heavy lifting. -After one accounts for both population growth and inflation,
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Paul Kahnert writes that tax cuts never lead to widespread prosperity – but do further entrench the wealth and power of those who already have the most. Andrew Jackson points out how the Cons’ platform follows a familiar pattern of freebies for
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Joel Connelly reports on a new B.C. study showing the breadth and depth of the effects of a climate breakdown. Reuters examines the threat of water bankruptcy looming over a quarter of the Earth’s population – including a substantial part of the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading. – Steven Greenhouse discusses how the U.S.’ economy is rigged against workers. And Eric Levitz writes that Donald Trump’s giveaway to the rich worked only as a scam against the rest of the country. – Matthew Townsend and Scott Lanman point out that minimum
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
This and that for your mid-week reading. – Noah Smith writes about the unfairness and inaccuracy in blaming people for finding themselves in poverty. And Sarah Kaine and Emmanuel Josserand call out the business sector’s concerted efforts to normalize and spread systematic wage theft. – Joelle Gergis points out that
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – George Monbiot writes that the wealthiest few have responded to the rise of populism by funding their own killer clowns to assume power in place of anybody who might actually respond to the public interest. – And Chuck Collins calls for a 100%
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Jim Stanford calls out corporate apologists for blaming workers for deteriorating working conditions and stagnant wages which have resulted from deliberate policy choices: Unemployed workers on the dole for months at a time? Clearly they aren’t looking hard enough for work. Low-wage workers
Continue reading