- Larry Elliott reports on a Resolution Foundation study showing that while the UK's 1% has fully recovered from the 2008 financial crash, the rest of the population hasn't been so lucky and has faced extended stagnation at best:
Families on low and middle incomes had seen their living standards rise by just 3% since 2002-03. Once housing costs had been taken into account they were no better off than they were 15 years ago. Two in five said they were unable to afford to save £10 per month, while 42% say they could not afford a week away on holiday at least once a year, up from 37% before the financial crisis.- Meanwhile, the North York Harvest Food Bank talks to Elaine Power about the potential benefits of a basic income - including relieving individual economic stress. And Jessica Bohon tells her story about the social stigma attached to poverty.
Adam Corlett, senior economic analyst at the Resolution Foundation, said: “The incomes of the top 1% took a short, sharp hit following the financial crisis. But they’ve recovered rapidly since and the very richest households have now seen their share of the nation’s income return to very high pre-crisis levels.
“In contrast, for millions of young and lower-income families the current slowdown comes on top of a tough decade for living standards, providing a bleak economic backdrop to the shock election result.
- Sara Mojtehedzadeh reports on the rise in the number of temporary employment agencies in Ontario, while highlighting that their main purpose is to keep workers in precarious situations. And the Economist points out that many abuses could be avoided simply by enforcing existing employment protections.
- David Bell takes note of the predictable public health effects of the removal of fluoride from Calgary's water supply.
- Finally, Tim Gray highlights the massive liabilities being left behind by the tar sands which look to exceed every nickel oil companies have paid (or are expected to pay) in royalties.
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