Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Adam Serwer points out the glaring contrast between real accountability for bad actors in other countries, and the U.S.' culture of absolute elite impunity epitomized by the Trump regime. And the Boston Globe reports on the Republicans' deliberate trashing of institutional knowledge which served to benefit the general public. 

- Norm Farrell weighs in on the reality that clean renewable energy is also far more affordable than dirtier sources. But Carl Meyer reports on the Moe government's determination to burn a billion dollars and large amounts of avoidable coal just to prove it's above the law - even as the Libs show little inclination to enforce it. 

- Alexander Gazmararian, Nathan Jensen and Dustin Tingley study the Biden administration's failure to promote or take credit for its green investments - making it far too easy for Republicans to both take power and reverse course. 

- Dean Baker discusses some of the factors which figure to cause the eventual bursting of the AI bubble. And in case public opprobrium wasn't already high enough on the list, Clare Duffy and Leah Eadicicco report on Anthropic's sudden dismantling of any binding guardrails against the misuse of its system.   

- Finally, David Dayen writes that Kalshi and other prediction markets are inadvertently conceding that their platforms create the potential for deliberate manipulation that far exceeds any innocent or neutral purpose. 

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Tara Kiran et al. examine the use of virtual care in Ontario, and find no evidence to support the anti-public-health claim that interactions being pushed back in person served any purpose in avoiding emergency room visits. And CBC News reports on a whooping cough outbreak in Alberta as one of the actual health crises caused by anti-vax extremism.

- Stephen Magusiak reports on the reality that the UCP's education plans involve starving the public school system in order to funnel money to the wealthy and their exclusive private enclaves. Matt Gurney discusses how Doug Ford (like Danielle Smith and other anti-social rightists) is destroying any hint of accountability in order to grease the skids for a kleptocracy. And Allison Jones reports on the documents available for now which show that Ford's excuses for trashing the Ontario Science Centre have no basis in fact.

- Emma Paling highlights how the National Farmers Union can show the windfall profits being squeezed out by corporate giants (through both their food processing operations and their retail grocery stores) while the people who grow the food have seen virtually no increase in income.

- Aaron Clark reports on the satellite surveillance showing that the fossil fuel sector is dumping far more methane in the atmosphere than it's reporting. (Though I'd be worried the policy outcome will be a ban on accurate satellite imagery in the name of corporate privacy, rather than any steps to deal with the actual carbon pollution being emitted by the oil and gas sector.)

- Finally, Pete Evans reports on the prospect of a tax filing system which makes it easy and free for people to file their returns - with the goal of ensuring people have access to tax-based benefits rather than being denied for a lack of past filings.

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Peter Lozinski discusses the confusing and conflicting messages from Scott Moe which are making it difficult for well-intentioned residents to know what exactly they're supposed to do. Christo Aivalis weighs in on Doug Ford's choice to attack civil rights rather than taking any action which could possibly slow the spread of the coronavirus. David Rider offers a reminder that Ford's PCs (like other right-wing governments) had planned deeper cuts to the public health units responsible for responding to a pandemic. And Anne Huang comments that our handling of the third wave of COVID-19 are make it painfully clear which lives our current governments don't value.

- Daniel Hoyer examines how the federal budget can secure needed revenue from the wealthiest few to fund a just recovery. And Pat Armstrong, Marjorie Cohen, Laurell Ritchie, Leah Vosko and Armine Yalnizyan highlight the need for investment in our care economy as a focal point for the impending budget and our future planning.

- Janyce McGregor reports that foreign workers were relegated to unsafe housing after being recruited to work in Kingston. David Milstead discusses how for-profit long-term care home operators have handed their executives "attaboys" and and bonuses after being responsible for the deaths of large numbers of residents in the course of the pandemic. And Norm Farrell points out how the fines associated with harm to people's health or the environment are all too often treated as an expected cost of doing business to be paid out of corporations' petty cash.

- Amanda Connolly reports on the Libs' (and Bloc's) choice to shut down a defence committee study of sexual misconduct. And Robert Hiltz discusses what that default toward cover-ups and surface investigations says about our system of government more generally.

- Finally, Seth Klein discusses how the Trudeau Libs are failing to develop an effective response to the climate crisis due to their refusal to build any meaningful case for strong collective action. And Grace Blakely offers a reminder as to how ineffective and uncaring centrism as the "left" alternative has stoked the fires of right-wing fascism.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- The Globe and Mail's editorial board argues that the Libs should be putting their energy toward dealing with COVID-19, not setting up games of chicken over basic parliamentary accountability. And Cam Holmstrom highlights the NDP's role as the adults in the room.

- Daniele Zanotti, Safia Ahmed and Sophia Ikura discuss how to slow the spread of COVID-19 through vulnerable communities. David Salisbury writes about the dangers of relying on an immediate vaccine to control the coronavirus. Alexandra Rendely and Courtney Sas warn that we can't afford to shut down operating rooms due to a second wave. Devabhaktuni Srikrishna, Abraar Karan, David Beier and Ranu Dhillon argue that we should be ensuring that essential workers have better masks, rather than accepting the stopgaps put in place at the outset of the pandemic. And Zak Vescera reports on the growing concerns that long-term care residents will again face extended isolation due to poor policy choices.

- David Suzuki implores the federal government not to give in to fossil fuel lobbyists by weakening clean fuel standards. And Fiona Harvey reports on new research from Oxfam showing that poor countries which haven't contributed significantly to climate breakdown are incurring massive debt dealing with its consequences.

- Finally, Press Progress exposes the corporate pressure groups pushing anti-union propaganda into British Columbia workplaces. And Tara Carman reports on the effect the ban on corporate and union donations has had in ensuring parties have to engage with individual donors, rather than being able to run on institutional funding.

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 Australian superannuation rates in the name of wages.

- The Sutton Trust's polling shows how a strong plurality of UK voters see significant deterioration both in the equality of opportunity, and in the standard of living for future generations. But Grace Blakeley highlights the massive gains which can be achieved through UK Labour's plans for a transition to a green economy.

- Sharon Riley reports on the health and environmental risks imposed on Alberta landowners by the province's existing network of pipelines - particularly ones which are intended to be abandoned by their operators. 

- Andrew MacLeod discusses the importance of accountability and responsiveness to whistleblowing in ensuring that public institutions actually serve their intended purposes.

- Finally, Glen Pearson writes about the need for progressive leaders and activists to be willing to cooperate - though it's well worth noting which parties have shown their inclination to work together toward shared policy goals, and which has stubbornly rejected the concept.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- The Guardian offers a few expert perspectives on how to fix the U.S.' broken economic system. And Hassan Yussuff writes that the centennial of the Winnipeg General Strike should remind us of the importance and power of mass political action.

- Randy Robinson challenges Doug Ford's multiple forms of austerity by pointing out Ontario's fiscal picture already involves a small public sector funded by insufficient revenues. And Martin Regg Cohn's revelations about plans for even more devastating cuts highlight how Ford's inclination is to do even more damage than he's inflicted already.

- Meanwhile, Cillian O'Brien reports on Oxfam's renewed push for a universal child care system which would lead to massive returns on public investments.

- Chris Hall writes that Canadians are recognizing the value of properly taxing the online services that have turned tech giants into some of the world's most powerful corporations.

- Finally, Marie-Danielle Smith reports on the Libs' failure to fund the Auditor General's office to allow it to carry out planned reviews. And Murray Mandryk rightly criticizes the Sask Party's decision to set aside any interest in facts as opposed to talking points.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Eoin Higgins discusses a new report by Elizabeth Warren and Pramila Jayapal on a U.S. political system which is even more corporatist than ever under the Trump administration.

- Meanwhile, Sarah Petz reports on Boots Riley's recent talk in Winnipeg - including his emphasis on the need for direct activism alongside work within partisan politics. And Martin Regg Cohn offers a reminder to the Ford PCs that there's more to democracy than a government acting without accountability between elections.

- Tim Dickinson reports on new research showing that the U.S.' subsidies for fossil fuels exceed even its bloated defence budget. And the Canadian Press reports on Enbridge's multi-billion dollar quarterly profits, while Emma McIntosh takes note of the Alberta municipalities facing fiscal ruin due to deadbeat resource extractors.

- Morgan Lawrie highlights the need for wildlife corridors to give animals some hope of finding a suitable habitat as our climate breaks down.

- Michael Coteau makes the case for a right to repair as a means of both saving consumers money, and reducing avoidable waste and environmental destruction.

- Finally, Philippe Fournier points out how Canada's Parliament would look under current voting intentions if the Libs had followed through on their promise of electoral reform.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Josh Bornstein writes that in Australia like elsewhere, the combination of increasing corporate profits, stagnant wages and resulting inequality can be traced to the reduced bargaining power of workers. Jim Stanford notes that New Zealand offers an example as to how to reverse the pattern.And Robert Reich highlights why we shouldn't accept the crocodile tears of the uber-rich seeking to shape any response to growing inequality to protect their own disproportionate concentration of wealth:

If Dimon and the others were serious about helping most American workers – whose real wages have been going nowhere for decades and job security is dwindling – they could use their outsized political influence to push for laws requiring CEOs to consider all their stakeholders, not just shareholders.

Rather than make it harder for workers to unionize, they could fight to make it easier, and to give workers larger voice in management decisions and a greater share of the profits.

Rather than reflexively seek tax cuts, they could push to raise taxes on corporations and wealthy Americans like themselves, so there’d be more school funding to prepare American kids for the jobs of the future.

They could seek a higher minimum wage, a larger Earned Income Tax Credit, universal healthcare, and other measures to make left-behind Americans more secure.
...
(A)s heads of institutions with the greatest influence over American politics, they also have a duty to the common good and are uniquely positioned to advance it.

For 40 years, CEOs of America’s largest corporations and Wall Street banks have abdicated this responsibility.

We are now living with the consequences. Jamie Dimon and the Business Roundtable can see those consequences as well as anyone.

Rather than announce token jobs programs, they’d be better served seeking to increase the economic and political power of left-behind Americans – many of whom will otherwise continue to vote for demagogues who only make them feel powerful.

- Meanwhile, Joe Demanuelle-Hall highlights the beginning of strike action to force Amazon to treat workers with a modicum of respect and dignity.

- PressProgress reports on the Libs' school meal program which features precisely zero funding.

- In a reminder as to how discriminatory policy seldom survives contact with any system designed to ensure fairness, Nicholas Keung reports on the Federal Court's determination that the Harper Cons' attempt to negate the rights of refugees by labeling specific countries of origin as "safe" is unconstitutional. And Patrick White reports on a judgment awarding tens of millions of dollars in damages against Correctional Service Canada for using solitary confinement to warehouse prisoners with mental health needs.

- Riki Ott and Jack Siddoway point out that while fossil fuel flacks try to pretend there have been major advances to limit the risk associated with offshore drilling and ocean transportation of oil products, the reality is that there's been substantially no improvement in the response to oil spills since the Exxon Valdez disaster. And Laura Parker writes about the need for a coordinated international response to the growing plastic waste crisis.

- Finally, Sean Holman discusses the need for massive improvements in the flow of information between governments and citizens - both to ensure that we know what our leaders are doing, and to require them to listen to the will of the public.

New column day

Here, on the Saskatchewan Party's continued disregard for municipalities and other localized forms of governance - not to mention good government in general.

For further reading...
- Cory Coleman reports on the unanimous vote of Regina's City Council to stop corporate intrusion into Wascana Park.
- The Star-Phoenix and Leader-Post editorial boards criticized the Saskatchewan Party government's musings about moving municipal elections to suit Scott Moe's political schedule.
- Finally, D.C. Fraser reports on yet another combination of meddling and anti-accountability measures, as the employees who served as the public face of the province's attacks on the Justice for Our Stolen Children camp have been shuffled elsewhere.

[Edit: updated link.]

On personal responsibility

Since the Saskatchewan Party's leadership campaign didn't do much to test Scott Moe's track record, it will fall to the rest of us to point out the reasons why his actions need to come under careful scrutiny. And one such reason comes from Moe's actions in threatening the provincial auditor's funding after he was first elected as an MLA - together with his excuse afterward:

Scott Moe, one of the Sask. Party MLAs on the committee, said after the meeting members were acting on their own.

"The questions that I saw in there were more around the scope of the auditor's office and what exactly the office does and questions you might expect from fairly newly elected members in there."

Now, the purpose of Moe's answer was presumably to distance Brad Wall from what quickly turned into a significant public issue. But there are a couple of implications of Moe's message which are of obvious concern now that he's in power.

It's obviously a problem if Moe continues to think it's in any way appropriate to threaten the funding of any organization charged with holding his government to account.

And it's even more worrisome if a new premier thinks it's any excuse for elected officials to barge ahead with actions based on a lack of knowledge after assuming a higher office, rather than taking even basic steps to understand their jobs.

We'll see if those issues surface again now that Moe is both in a new position himself, and responsible for the actions of the people acting at his direction. But his track record gives ample reason to worry.

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Steve Burgess points out that we shouldn't be the least bit surprise by the latest news of politically-connected billionaires managing to tilt the tax system in their favour. Ed Broadbent calls for a much-needed end to tax policy that favours the wealthy in efforts to avoid contributing to the public good. And Tom Parkin suggests that Murray Rankin's bill to better regulate international cash flows would offer an important starting point.

- Andy Beckett tells the story of UK Labour's left, and how it has managed to outlast multiple strains of neoliberal leadership to earn a promising opportunity to win power. And Jessica Elgot reports on John McDonnell's call for billions of pounds to be redirected from corporate giveaways to public purposes.

- The Standard discusses how the latest incarnation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership isn't a meaningful improvement over the previous versions.

- Alex MacPherson reports on the utter lack of any analysis or consultation before the Wall government decided to trash the Saskatchewan Transportation Company.

- Finally, Geoff Leo reports on the Saskatchewan Party's disappearing e-mails and other efforts to hide what they've done while in office. And Bill Waiser writes that there's plenty more to be discovered and concerned about in the Wall government's avoidance of accountability.

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Leslie McCall and Jennifer Richeson offer another look at what happens when Americans are properly informed about the level of inequality in their country:

What effect did this information have? First, more respondents came to believe that “coming from a wealthy family” and “having well educated parents” were essential or very important to “getting ahead” (43 percent, compared with 27 percent among those who did not get the information).

Conversely, fewer respondents who saw information about inequality said that individual factors, such as “having ambition” and “hard work,” were essential or very important (81 percent vs. 90 percent).

In short, being told about rising inequality made Americans a bit less likely to believe that economic success was about individual effort and much more likely to think it was about luck.

Information about rising inequality also changed people’s views of economic policy. In particular, we asked separate questions about whether “the government ought to reduce the income gap between the rich and the poor” and “major companies ought to reduce the pay gap between employees with high pay and those with low pay.” Respondents could answer on a scale of 1 to 7, ranging from strong opposition to strong support. Among the people who read about inequality, 53 percent indicated some degree of support for government efforts to reduce the income gap, compared with 43 percent among those who did not read about inequality. Similarly, people became more likely to support efforts by major companies to reduce pay gaps (58 percent vs. 51 percent).
...
(I)nforming Americans about the extent of economic inequality, or simply making the issue salient, can change attitudes about economic opportunity by foregrounding the role of luck in getting ahead — and that in turn tends to increase support for policies designed to reduce inequality. For this reason, the instinct to focus on economic opportunity instead of inequality seems misplaced. In the minds of Americans, the two can be linked quite readily.

- Matt Bruenig examines who is poor in the U.S. and why - with the lack of an adequate welfare state serving as the overwhelming cause of poverty. Luke Williams writes about the connection between low incomes, precarious work and suicide. And Leslie Young notes that Canada's latest census shows 1.2 million children living below the poverty line, while Roderick Benns offers a look at poverty in action while asking why we continue to put up with it.

- Mark Suzman reviews how greater financial equality for women leads to overall economic and social progress. And Lizzie Buchan reports on a push by UK unions to punish employers for perpetuating pay inequity.

- Michael Harris warns Justin Trudeau and his entourage that they are supposed to be accountable public servants, not royalty to be catered to at public expense. And Stephen Maher writes that Dean Del Mastro is now in jail due in large part to his bringing political hubris to his defence for election law violations.

- Finally, Brent Patterson points out how Trudeau is falling short on his promises to rebuild Canada's environmental regulatory structure. And Helena Bottemiller Evich discusses how soaring greenhouse gas emissions are making our food less healthy.

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- The Economist observes that the effects of climate change fall disproportionately on poorer people, rather than the wealthier ones who have caused more of the damage:

The costs of global climate change will again be unevenly (and uncertainly) distributed, but harm will often be smaller for richer, temperate countries. As a result the estimated economic loss from warming is almost certainly understated, because the nastiest effects are concentrated in places where incomes are lowest: and, correspondingly, where tumbling incomes have the smallest effect on global GDP.
...
The rich are disproportionate contributors to the carbon emissions that power climate change. It is cruel and perverse, therefore, that the costs of warming should be disproportionately borne by the poor. And it is both insult and injury that the wealthy are more mobile in the face of climate-induced hardship, and more effective at limiting the mobility of others. The strains this injustice places on the social fabric might well lead to woes more damaging than rising temperatures themselves.

- Meanwhile, Richard Florida writes that inequality only exacerbates the dangers of economic downturns. And UNICEF makes the case to finally put and end to child poverty (and reduce inequality) in Canada.

- Noah Smith points out that no matter how much wealth gets linked to intangibles, economic stability and prosperity ultimately depend on actually producing goods. And Cameron Murray notes that longer-term development depends on industrial policy - which governments presently seem all too eager to leave to the few wealthy enough to shape it personally.

- Canadians for Tax Fairness calls for Canada's provinces to work on ensuring corporate transparency.

- But Jeremy Nuttall reports on Christy Clark's PR-focused response to the Mount Polley environmental disaster as an example of how governments are all too often focused only on minimizing corporate wrongdoing. And Brent Patterson points out the Trudeau Libs' decision to allow the dumping of mine waste in fish-bearing creeks as just another example of profits being put before the planet.

- Finally, Ken Neumann worries about the consequences of the Libs' obsession with courting Chinese capital regardless of its effect on Canada.

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your long weekend reading.

- Cole Stangler interviews Raquel Garrido about the political critique behind Jean-Luc Melenchon's emerging presidential campaign - and it sounds equally applicable in Canada:

One of the reasons why the current regime is lacking consent in French society is because the process for electing officials allows them to behave inconsistently with their campaign promises. The main cultural characteristic of the current political class is impunity. They do whatever they want because they are absolutely unaccountable.

That culture of impunity starts with the president himself. We’re the only self-identified democratic country where you have one man who has such concentrated power — elections of hundreds and hundreds of people in different institutions and he actually decides what the parliament will be talking about, the parliamentary agenda. The president behaves in such an unaccountable fashion that it actually spreads like a cascade across the entire political class.

Most elected officials in France today lack legitimacy, are elected with very low turnouts. There’s a deep sense of disgust among citizens with this political class. That creates chaos and instability.
...
There are other big themes of the campaign — wealth redistribution and social justice — which are classic proposals in a situation of great inequality. Then you have climate change and protecting the only ecosystem which allows life for human beings. But before we address those issues, we need to gain the power to actually have an impact. 

- And in a prime example of Canada's culture of impunity, Chantal Hebert writes about the Trudeau Libs' cynical political choices around marijuana legalization - and how those fit with Trudeau's repudiated promise of electoral reform.

- Jon Stone reports on UK Labour's plans to ensure that public money doesn't subsidize bad corporate behaviour (including a refusal to recognize collective bargaining). And Larry Bartels studies (PDF) the gap between the policies which would result from an accurate representation of U.S. citizens' preferences, and those which are in fact seen due to the influence of wealth in politics.

- Sara Mojtehedzadeh writes about the Ontario miners who were used as guinea pigs for untested - and ultimately harmful - powders intended to serve as substitutes for reasonable health and safety precautions.

- Finally, Henry Farrell examines the circumstances in which economists have - and haven't - been able to move the needle on public policy. And George Monbiot discusses Kate Raworth's doughnut model as a means of conceptualizing the desirability and sustainability of our economic choices.

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Andrew Jackson writes about the opportunities missed when governments restrict their economic policy to propping up the corporate sector, rather than seeking to innovate directly in the public interest:

The received wisdom among economists used to be that governments should just set broad “framework” policies such as low taxes, less regulation, and fewer barriers to trade. It was up to the private sector to decide what and where to invest. Anything smacking of hands-on “industrial policy” was to be avoided.

Rejecting this dogma, the influential UK economist Mariana Mazzucato argues that government leadership and public investments are critical to building innovative economies. She has shown that publicly funded research well in advance of immediate commercial opportunities as well as direct support for strategic corporate investments have been central to the growth of innovative capacity.

Here in Canada, traditional hands-off policies have signally failed to boost our weak record of innovation. In that context, an expert business panel appointed by the Harper government called for more public investment in venture capital, and a shift in emphasis from tax measures to direct government support for strategic private sector investments.
...
The government may have listened to Mazzucato on the pivotal role of public investment in boosting innovation, but they have not heeded her advice to consider long term public equity stakes so as to reward taxpayers when these investments pay off, and to anchor footloose investments.

While the federal government is indirectly taking a stake in some new venture capital investments through BDC, the intent is very much to exit early in the game once a company goes public rather than to remain for the long haul. So the government shoulders the risk but does not benefit from the long-term payoff.

To conclude, the innovation agenda marks another incremental turn away from “framework” economic development policies. But the shift is unlikely to be transformational unless it is scaled up and accompanied by a greater role for long-term public investment in the knowledge-based economy.

- Meanwhile, Matt Bruenig examines the alarming level of wealth inequality within the boomer generation - particularly when home equity is set aside. And the Economist discusses how automation is restricting the availability of employment while exacerbating inequality.

- And that represents a problem in multiple policy areas, as Lana Payne highlights the connection between happiness, equality and social trust.

- Chantal Hebert points out how the Trudeau Libs are showing nothing but disdain for the concept of Parliamentary accountability. And the Globe and Mail criticizes Trudeau's plan to eliminate any chance for MPs to respond meaningfully to a majority government's whims.

- Finally, Roy Romanow discusses the how our health care system can be both more efficient and more compassionate by focusing on prevention, rather than responding only to diseases and injuries once they've already arisen.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading:

- Percy Downe notes that both the Harper Cons and Trudeau Libs have stood in the way of identifying and recouping tens of billions of dollars in unpaid taxes - leaving everybody else to pay the share of tax evaders. And Riley Sparks discusses how secret settlements - like the one reached with Manulife over its breach of money laundering rules - do nothing to deter corporate wrongdoing.

- Meanwhile, Chantal Hebert notes that Justin Trudeau has also taken his time in appointing officers of Parliament who are needed to ensure fair elections, language rights and government ethics. And Nick Gamache reports on the Libs' choice to prioritize secrecy in security oversight by rejecting amendments which would have gone some way in allow a review committee to both review and report on information beyond what the government chooses to allow it to see.

- The Globe and Mail's editorial board expresses its disbelief that Christy Clark and her donors have found a way to systematically break British Columbia's appallingly lax political financing laws. And Gary Mason writes that no amount of international embarrassment seems likely to change the B.C. Libs' money-first orientation.

- Tavia Grant writes about Canada's continuing gender pay gap. And Sarah Rieger notes that while the Trudeau Libs' record on gender parity is generally uninspiring, it's downright abysmal when it comes to jobs and wages.

- Finally, Brent Patterson discusses the twin benefits of protests in both shifting public opinion on an issue, and increasing political engagement. And Rosemary Westwood points out that those results explain why people seeking to avoid public participation in politics are so quick to dismiss activism.

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Lynn Parramore interviews Mariana Mazzucato about the options available to build a more fair and inclusive economy even in the face of corporatist leaders like Donald Trump:

LP: In your earlier book, The Entrepreneurial State, you describe a model of capitalism that would address many of these problems. How does it work?
 
MM: My work has shown how a different understanding of the role of the state in growth can unlock private investment. Markets are not static entities that are ‘intervened’ in (for good or bad) but are outcomes of public and private interactions. In my view, the state should be active and work in cooperation with private businesses to spur growth that’s sustainable and inclusive. The policy process is about co-creating and co-shaping of markets, creating new opportunities for business investment —and negotiating a better deal for the public too.

Historically, it has been an entrepreneurial state that stimulates and gives direction to new technological opportunities. It is those opportunities that  stir the animal spirits of business to invest—and we can do that again. The examples I give in my book show that public investments are not only important for affecting the rate of growth but also its direction. And that these investments were most successful when mission driven, rather than aimed at single sectors. The venture capital industry entered biotechnology only decades after the National Institutes of Health led the way. Similarly, Apple’s i-products were only made possible due to the hefty public financing of all the technologies that make those products smart and not stupid: internet, GPS, touchscreen and SIRI. Today there are opportunities in green: indeed Germany is using its Energiewende policy as a way of envisioning a green transformation and innovation across many sectors.

If we want growth today to be more innovation-driven, more inclusive and more sustainable, then we need a more active state — not a less active one.

- And James Bloodworth argues that we should embrace the efforts of workers who are striking for better pay - particularly when the alternative is to have "emergency laws" applied to further attack already-low levels of industrial activism.

- Thomas Walkom discusses how the Libs have been little more than a more photogenic version of the Harper Cons, while Tom Parkin compares them to the Sex Pistols as having run little more than a political swindle. Althia Raj calls out the Libs' sudden belief that Parliament is no place to discuss matters of public importance, including political fund-raising and the rules associated with it. And Joan Bryden points out that Justin Trudeau seems to have long since forgotten that he ran on a platform to fund health care, not to starve it. 

- Shaurya Taran and Naheed Dosani write that Toronto's budget cuts figure to be devastating for people living in poverty.

- Finally, Lenard Monkman reports on the possibility that small and portable homes might help to address housing shortages on First Nations reserves.

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Carolyn Ferns writes that a long-awaited child care program would represent the best possible Mother's Day gift for Canadian families.

- Danyaal Raza and Ritika Goel remind us how housing affects a wide range of health issues. And Matthew Yglesias looks into the positive effect of new low-income housing on all types of neighbourhoods - but particularly poorer ones which otherwise lack for new development of any kind.

- Meanwhile, Kenyon Wallace and Mary Ormsby report that Ontario is just now getting around to systematically tracking the deaths of homeless people.

- Judith Lavoie reports on British Columbia's woefully inadequate mining enforcement within a ministry tasked with promoting the same industry it's supposed to be regulating. And Charlie Smith reports that Christy Clark's government has no intention of recognizing any responsibility for that utter neglect of the public interest.

- Finally, Andrew Coyne compares Kathleen Wynne's (however belated and partisan) eventual recognition of the problem of big-donor influence to Clark's continuing corporate cesspool. And Tom Parkin highlights the need for the Trudeau Libs to implement greater accountability and electoral reform before falling into the bad habits of a government accustomed to shutting out the public out of convenience.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Jim Stanford offers a warning to Australia about Canada's history of gratuitous corporate tax giveaways:

(S)uccessive cuts reduced combined Canadian corporate taxes (including provincial rates, which also fell in several provinces) from near 50 per cent of pre-tax income in the early 1980s, to 26 per cent today. In theory, the resulting boost to profits should have stimulated a strong response in business investment. Unfortunately, hopes for this “jobs and growth” dividend have been repeatedly dashed.

Instead of growing, business spending on fixed capital (machinery, structures, etc.) declined under lower company taxes, by about one full point of GDP since the reforms began. Business innovation spending (one of Mr. Turnbull’s top priorities) fared even worse: business R&D outlays shrank by over one-third as a share of GDP, to a record low of just 0.8 per cent. In fact, over the last decade real business investment performed worse than during any other era in Canada’s postwar history. Several provincial governments have given up waiting for the promised investment boom, and are now increasing company tax rates to help address chronic deficits.
...
One especially painful side-effect of lower company taxes has been the sustained accumulation of liquid assets by Canada’s non-financial businesses. Corporate cash hoarding accelerated dramatically after the turn of the century. Non-financial firms now hold cash and other liquid assets equal to over 30 per cent of GDP. IMF researchers have shown that corporate cash holdings grew faster in Canada than any other G7 economy (and twice as fast as in Australia).

With businesses investing less than they receive in after-tax cash flow, lower taxes only add to the stockpile of idle liquid assets, draining spending power from the economy. In this regard, lower corporate taxes may very well have weakened growth and job-creation, not strengthened it. In any event, Canada’s experience is a sobering reminder to Australian policy-makers: anyone expecting a tax shift to generate a big growth dividend is likely to face chronic disappointment.

- In a similar vein, Marc Lee points out that British Columbia's poorly-designed carbon tax system has fallen short of what's possible on several fronts - particularly in its "revenue neutrality" including corporate tax cuts.

- And Charles Mandel highlights the dangers of Brad Wall's addiction to fossil fuels (which I'd hasten to add includes reliance for the purposes of providing both political funding and provincial revenues).

- Ned Simons reports on Joseph Stiglitz' observation that the UK would be better off taking a step back from trade arrangements which tilt the playing field toward investors at the expense of the public. And Scott Sinclair notes that revisions to Canada's trade deal with Europe fall short of the mark.

- Finally, the Globe and Mail points out that it shouldn't be hard for the federal government to adopt a policy of openness as the Libs so regularly promised.

New column day

Here, on the contrast between Brad Wall's choice to spare no public expense in planning for his own comfort while travelling, and his apparent lack of any forethought in navigating the national political scene.

For further reading...
- The NDP broke the news about Wall's use of "travel scouts" to seek perks and upgrades in advance of his travel to Asia here.
- I've pointed out Wall's extracurricular activies in posts including these. And Susan Wright nicely contrasted Wall's belligerence against Rachel Notley's work building connections to other governments.
- Finally, for the more visually inclined, I'll end with this (with apologies to Paul Dechene):