B.C. premier’s office mobbed over child-care costs CBC News Posted: Mar 9, 2013 4:49 PM PT Lots of people complain that those who cannot afford childcare should simply stay home, or conversely, have no children until they can afford them (the 12th of never for many.) Let’s be honest and
Continue readingTag: wealth
Boreal Citizen: The bumpy road to Boomer responsibility
Is there a Baby Boomer so dim in this land of rackets and swindles who thinks that he or she will escape the wrath of the Millennials rising? The developing story is so obvious that only an academic economist could fail to notice. – James Howard Kunstler, Democratic Underground This
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Wealth Inequality and Neo Liberalism
I have a commentary posted on the Broadbent Institute web site, arguing that inequality of wealth fundamentally undermines the argument that market rewards are “fair.” http://www.broadbentinstitute.ca/en/blog/andrew-jackson-distribution-wealth-implications-neo-liberal-justification-economic-inequality
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: If A Fiscal Cliff Kills, Canada Should Tax Death
“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” – Benjamin Franklin The fiscal cliff in the United States did not just endanger its own country’s economy but the world’s, including Canada’s heavily dependent one. But in the American problem lies, at least partially, a
Continue readingNo, you can’t achieve anything you set your mind to
We all remember when we were kids or even adolescents how our parents used to tell us that we can accomplish anything we set our minds to, that we can conquer any obstacle society puts in front of us, that our achievements would only be limited by the amount of enthusiasm and
Continue readingbastard.logic: Breaking it Down: Industrial Capitalism vs. Financial Capitalism (or, Why We’re F*cked)
Michael Hudson asks: “In light of the enormous productivity gains since the end of World War II – and especially since 1980 – why isn’t everyone rich and enjoying the leisure economy that was promised?” The answer (per Hudson) is painfully obvious, but bears repeating (ad infinitum): What was applauded
Continue readingbastard.logic: Etch-A-Mitt Shakes Things Up Again: Welfare Moms Better Off With “The Dignity of Work”
Via Ryan Grim (ICYMI): Apparently Ann Romney forgot to mention to Willard that moms who don’t work outside the home do THE MOST IMPORTANT JOB IN THE WORLD!!!1 and already have ample dignity, thankyouverymuchyousupersexistsoand… oh, wait — Mittens meant those moms — y’know, the ones who can’t afford dignity. Sorry. They gotsta
Continue readingChris Tindal: Jonathan Kay and Toronto Life: What’s the point?
I have no idea what point Jonathan Kay and the editors of Toronto Life were trying to make with their “almost rich” feature. The package takes a look at what it’s like to live as a member of the one per cent—meaning an income of around $196,000—and combines a short essay
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: The financial wealth of Canada’s top 1%
Eric Pineault wrote to add some data on financial wealth distribution for Canada. He had a research assistant comb through microdata from Statcan’s Survey of Financial Security from 2005, and notes: “the 1% richest (all households are classed according to net worth rather then income) hold 22% of mutual fund assets, 27% of stocks and bonds, […]
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Wealth and Income in the Top 1%
One thing I really like about the Occupy movement is that it reclaiming mental space. I’m thinking of the overt focus on the riches gained by the top 1%, and of naming and shaming capitalism. Two are one and the same, of course. It is in the top 1% that we find the capitalists – […]
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Canada’s Billionaires
Just in time for the “Occupy Bay Street” protest this weekend, Canadian Business magazine has come out with its annual listing of the richest 100 people in Canada. So in honour of the protestors and their noble cause (demanding more attention to the 99%, instead of the 1%), let’s peruse together the sordid details of […]
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: The Ontario NDP Platform
Pollsters tell us that Ontario’s New Democrats may double their seat total in next month’s provincial election. It’s also entirely conceivable that they could be part of a coalition government at Queen’s Park. But what’s actually in the party’s election platform? One central feature of the NDP’s proposals is to implement a tax credit for companies that hire new workers. The tax […]
Continue readingThings Are Good: Get Cultured for a Happier Life
People who play an instrument, go to museums, or are otherwise involved in culture are happier than those who don’t according to a new study. This is great news for people who want to feel happier or generally improve your life because all you have to do is essentially go and be entertained!
Researchers led by […]
World Headlines Review: Basra and Iraq: Oil and Expectations
A strange portrait of the Southern-Iraqi city of Basra is painted in a recent and brief Economist article. Better than Baghdad struggles to find real evidence of improvement of quality of life or opportunity in Basra, which is Iraq’s international oil and shipping hub and home to a large disenfranchised
Continue reading