Getting ready for the global financial crisis 2.0
Last week, $1.4 trillion in assets of Credit Suisse were transferred to another huge Swiss bank, UBS, in a fire sale orchestrated by the Swiss government and central bank. Photo…
economic crisis
SVB: From the valley to the chasm
Last Friday, Californian bank Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) became the largest bank to fail since the 2008 financial crisis. In a sudden collapse that shocked financial markets, it left billions…
The progressive case for MMT
Image by Piotr Pawinski/123RF Stock Photo Compared to the mainstream attention that Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) is receiving in the United States, it has been met with a more muted…
A critique of obscene wealth
The obscenely rich have driven economies and societies further from anything remotely resembling a “level playing field,” writes Richard Wolff. Photo by aisletwentytwo/Flickr. Wherever and whenever obscenely rich people existed,…
More fibs from the Fraser Institute
Fraser’s typical line is to depict Canada’s economic order as some sort of progressive spending frenzy which needs to be countermanded by severe austerity. This is not true. Image by…
The 0.01% vs. the rest of us
Protestors in the Occupy movement in Manchester, United Kingdom, 2011. Photo by Plashing Vole/Flickr. While the one percent are obviously much richer than the average person, the disparity is even…
Navigating the housing crisis with poverty wages: What hope for young Canadians?
We need to change course and start thinking of housing as a human right. Photo by Louis Tricot/Unsplash. For the last fifteen years, young people in Canada have been struggling…
Over 25 years, world’s wealthiest 5% behind over one-third of global emissions growth: Study
The wealthiest one percent of the world’s population is responsible for emitting more than twice as much carbon dioxide as the poorest 50 percent of humanity combined. Photo by Chalo…
the recession’s likely long-term impact on homelessness
I’ve just written a report for Employment and Social Development Canada on the current recession’s likely long-term impact on homelessness in Canada. An overview of the report can be found…
Homelessness in canada could rise due to recession
I am currently writing a report for Employment and Social Development Canada looking at the long-term impact of the current recession on homelessness. It should be ready by early November.…
Time to work less?
In times of economic crisis, an old but good idea to maintain employment is revived. COVID has brought just such a revival. With unemployment in the UK expected to rise…
The Fiscal Deficit, Modern Monetary Theory and Progressive Economic Policy
Image from Wikimedia Commons Modern Monetary Theory or MMT has crept in from the academic margins to become an influential doctrine in progressive policy circles in the United States. Both…
The City Dispossessed of Its Commons
Demonstrators march in Paris to protest against the head of the National Front (FN), Marine Le Pen. The city as a way of dwelling in the world has not always…
Toward a More Caring Society: Practicing Empathy During a Pandemic
It is very difficult for vulnerable people to practise social distancing in the crowded Downtown Eastside in Vancouver, advocates say. Photo by Nick Procaylo. As COVID-19 continues to take its…
Prioritizing Collective Responsibilities in the Response to COVID-19
Ryoji Ikeda’s installation, test pattern . Photo by Liz Hingley. At the same time as the climate crisis movement was gaining momentum in the wake of youth voices such as…
COVID-19 and the Failures of Capitalism
The desperate policies of panic-driven governments involve throwing huge amounts of money at the economies collapsed in response to the coronavirus threat. Monetary authorities create money and lend it at…
Ten things to know about CMHC’s Insured Mortgage Purchase Program
In March 2020, the Trudeau government launched a new version of the Insured Mortgage Purchase Program (IMPP). According to CMHC’s website: “Under this program, the government will purchase up to…
After the Pandemic
A face mask adorns a statue of St. Francis of Assisi in the town of San Fiorano in Italy. Photo by Marzio Toniolo. When people emerge from their homes after…
The Two Viruses: COVID-19 and Capitalism
We are living in a pandemic. These are unprecedented times. Not to worry: our political leadership is taking this all very seriously. They will do everything necessary, we are told,…
Global Financial Asset Deflation: Prelude to Next ‘Great Recession’?
Traders and floor officials at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, March 9. The Dow closed down by 2,000 points for the first time ever. Yesterday morning, on March…