Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Wolfgang Munchau writes that the rise of right-wing insurrectionism can be traced largely to "centre-left" parties who have focused most of their attention on imposing austerity and catering to the corporate sector while offering little to citizens, while Naomi Klein comments on the role of neoliberal politics in laying the groundwork for Donald Trump's election. Owen Jones discusses the need for a new populist movement on the left - with particular emphasis on the importance of including working-class citizens. And Craig Scott and Nora Loreto each off some lessons we should learn from Trump's election, while David Cay Johnston makes clear that Trump will only make matters worse for the people who saw him as an agent of poorly-defined change.

- Emmanuel Saez examines (PDF) the results of the U.S.' 2013 top-end tax increase, and finds that aside from temporary tax avoidance at the point of the change it's proven to be a highly efficient and progressive way to raise revenue. 

- Stephen Tapp assesses the Trudeau Libs' fall economic statement, and notes that their massive infrastructure privatization scheme merely echoes a failed Con plan to the same effect. Jeff Spross notes that the promise of having private operators pay for infrastructure projects in exchange for turning public services into profit centres is just as empty coming from Trump. And Donald Cohen points out how past privatization is already responsible for the growth of inequality.

- Ted Bruce and David Peters discuss the potentially massive gains to be made by investing in population health - while noting that research in the area is all too often treated as an afterthought. And Jim Bender reports on new recommendations from Winnipeg's Social Planning Council as to how to develop and implement a poverty reduction strategy.

- Finally, Micheal Vonn offers some reasons for skepticism about the Libs' plans to hand still more surveillance mechanisms to the state, particularly given how regularly existing powers have been abused.