Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Paul Campos examines how workers of all education levels in the U.S. have seen their wages stagnate over the past 25 years while capital value has nearly quintupled. And Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman make the case for wealth taxes in California and elsewhere to rein in the obscene fortunes which allow the uber-wealthy to dictate terms to the general public. 

- Jody McPherson reports on the large number of Albertans fighting against the imposition of massive AI data centres. And Dave Karpf discusses the ultimate importance of that cause to avoid having a high-damage, low-employment industry treated as being too big to fail due to the amount of capital relying on it.

- Adam Morton and Petra Stock write about Australia's battery storage revolution which is leading the way toward what responsible energy policy will look like in the decades to come. And Jan Rosenow writes that we're reaching the point where far more industry can be electrified than seemed possible just a few years ago. 

- Clotilde Cerdan Amiard discusses how the climate breakdown is creating large uninsurable areas even in countries which are supposed to be avoiding its worst effects. 

- Finally, Mitchell Labiak reports on the effects of privatization on the UK's Royal Mail, which is both more expensive and significantly worse for the loss of public infrastructure. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Jonathan Last discusses how many of the harms being inflicted by the Trump regime can never fully be repaired, while Anne Applebaum writes about Trump's determination to undermine liberal democracy anywhere it hasn't yet fully given way to authoritarian kleptocracy. Anika Jane Beamer reports on the disastrous state of FEMA as the concept of providing assistance to people in case of emergency is purged from the U.S.' federal government. And G. Elliott Morris examines Keir Starmer's example as evidence of the need to fight back against race-baiting and immigrant-bashing, rather than triangulating away people's humanity. 

- The Yale School of the Environment finds that climate change is responsible for two-thirds of the emissions from wildfires in the western U.S. And Kevin Morrison reports that the world's largest carbon capture and storage project is becoming less effective by the year - while Uma Gupta writes that in contrast, solar energy backed by battery storage is becoming readily available and affordable while slashing carbon pollution. 

- But the absolute lack of any rational basis to cheerlead for dirty energy hasn't stopped Mark Carney from making that his government's top priority - much to the frustration of both Richard Brooks, and the experts and leaders consulted by Ilya Gridneff and Kenza Bryan. And Adam Ramsay discusses how corporate trade deals are being unsed to allow oil companies to dictate British trade and climate policy. 

- Lloyd Alter comments that for all the complaints about young people's screen time, the most glaring increase in time and dependency can be found among older adults. 

- Finally, Ryan Romard examines how Canada Post compares to its international counterparts - and finds that we currently have a highly effective postal system which will only deliver less value for money if the Libs follow through on their plans to gut it. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Thomas Zimmer discusses how the Trump regime is attacking concept of treating people as equals, while Greg Sargent highlights Stephen Miller's role in trying to connect white nationalism to an oppressive police state. Jojo points out the importance of continuing to call out bigotry even as it's implemented as policy. And Garrett Graff offers reason for hope that Donald Trump is losing in his attempt to consolidate power. 

- Jake Johnson reports on the World Inequality Lab's latest study on the extreme concentration of wealth in the top .001% of wealth hoarders. And Michael Hirschorn writes that their ability to buy sycophancy is leading the uber-rich to Louis XV levels of hubris. 

- Jim Stanford writes that the only genuine risk to jobs from AI is the danger of a stock market crash as increasingly implausible valuations are based on little but hype and wishful thinking. M.J. Crockett discusses the crucial distinction between the "thick empathy" possible between people, and the pale imitation served up by performative artifical intelligence. And Derek Kravitz reports on the use of AI by unscrupulous business to extract higher prices from consumers. 

- Zion Lights discusses Finland's work in teaching students how to think critically as an antidote to disinformation. But Arwa Mahdawi laments how the corporate media has embraced being a tool of the rich, famous and connected rather than a counterbalance against elite abuses. 

- Finally, Adam King reports on another area where the Carney Libs seem determined to emulate the Trump regime, as they've removed publicly available labour relations data with no apparent explanation. And Mary Chevreau reports on yet another nasty surprise in the Libs' budget, as its cuts to Canada Post operations include the elimination of a library postage rate which allows for the exchange of library materials. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Ryan Cooper and David Dayen discuss how Donald Trump is managing to combine the worst abuses of every British monarch who helped contribute to revolts up to and including the American Revolution. Andrew Egger highlights the Trump regime's assault on free speech from anybody who doesn't trumpet his agenda (coupled with its normalization of violence and bigotry from supporters). And Andy Kroll writes about Russell Vought's tenure as acting shadow president, both in consolidating power and destroying any functional government which remained. 

- Meanwhile, David Climenhaga reports on the latest politicized review which the UCP has used to inject MAGA talking points into Alberta politics. 

- Antoine Trepanier reports on Mark Carney's refusal to live up to his promise of "elbows up" even as Trump continues to impose arbitrary tariffs which undermine any reason to think any negotiated agreement will last longer than Trump's next social media outburst. John Michael McGrath rightly wonders what the plan is for an auto sector which the Libs seem content to leave at the U.S.' mercy. And Amanda Follett Hosgood discusses the potential dangers from a U.S. government takeover of critical mineral interests in Canada (even as the Libs cheerlead for it).

- Ayurella Horn-Miller writes about new research documenting a connection between global warming and increased sugar consumption, providing yet another instance of public health dangers amplifying each other. 

- Finally, Simon Enoch notes that Canada Post would have plenty of options to provide better service for less cost if it weren't shackled by rules designed to protect corporate interests. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your Thanksgiving reading.

- David Sirota and Jared Jacang Maher write about the 1970s propaganda campaign used to normalize capitalist control in the U.S. And Luke Savage discusses how the neoliberal obsession with means-testing public services serves only to undermine the sense of community and solidarity needed to make the case for a functional society. 

- Andre Frappier highlights how corporate machinations - including ones involving prominent Lib insiders - are at the root of all the problems being used an excuse to slash and privatize Canada Post. And Joel Lexchin debunks neoliberal myths about pharmacare even as Mark Carney stops any further progress toward a promised national system of prescription drug coverage dead in its tracks.  

- Vipal Monga discusses Carney's transformation into a cheerleader and enabler for dirty fossil fuels, while Yrjo Koskinen writes that even a strictly economic analysis on a time frame beyond the expected receipt of an oil baron's political contribution would reach the conclusion that we need to be transitioning to clean energy now. And Nerilie Abram et al. examine how the oil and gas sector has been getting away with falsely claiming that individual fossil fuel projects shouldn't be treated as mattering in the fight against a climate breakdown.  

- Graham Redfearn reports on another new study showing that coral reefs and other crucial elements of our natural environment are in danger of succumbing to the climate collapse. And Nina Lakhani examines the reality that an already-alarming death toll from extreme heat in the U.S. likely represents a significant undercount of the cost of global warming. 

- Finally, Linda Geddes reports on new research showing that the dangers of microplastics include interference with our digestive systems. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Liz Dye writes that the only insurrection occurring in the U.S. is the Trump regime's attempt to overthrow democracy. Jeremy Berg highlights the need for a united resistance to that seizure of power, as anybody attempting to stay silent is sure to end up in the administration's crosshairs. And Brian Beutler discusses what people can do to contribute to collective action. 

- Paul Krugman examines how Trump's tariffs have already led to both higher prices and a distorted economy. And Tammy Ibrahimpoor reports on new polling showing a massive supermajority of Canadians still supporting boycotts against the U.S., while Curtis Fric likewise points out overwhelming opposition to Trump's continued threats of annexation. 

- David Eliot discusses the risk that tech giants peddling AI will hijack the concept of nation-building for their own corrupt ends just like 19th-century rail barons, while David Sirota notes that anti-corruption is a winning message for anybody who dares to challenge the greedy. And Ari Rabinovitch reports on new Statistics Canada data showing record levels of income inequality. 

- Kimberly Molina reports on the vital services beyond mail delivery which are current provided by Canada Post - but which stand to be cut as the Carney Libs look to hand new profit streams to private actors. And Aaron Vansintjan discusses the prospect of publicly owned grocery stores as a means of ensuring healthy food is accessible and affordable:

- Finally, Isaac Phan Nay discusses the potential for sectoral bargaining to give a voice to vulnerable workers who are far too easily exploited on their own. 

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- George Monbiot highlights how his own experience being injured as a result of an unrepaired pothole demonstrates the cost of austerity for everybody. And Simon Enoch and Jon Milton write about the importance of defending Canada Post - particularly as communities which are already isolated and lacking other social infrastructure will bear the largest burden from any loss of services.

- Katherine Kruger discusses how the Trump regime is systematically handing the most possible power to the most pitiful losers it can find. David Dayen points out the utter farce of Russ Vought claiming that he's being reluctantly forced to carry out the type of traumatic cuts he's gleefully proclaimed his intention to inflict. And Melody Schreiber reports on Debra Houry's warning about the damage being done by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s takeover of U.S. federal public health.

- Samantha Hancox-Li writes about the need for Democrats to take on a war mindset to counter a fascist regime dedicated to their eradication. And Doug Saunders notes that Canada's choices in dealing with the U.S. will also include deciding who to side with as between the Trump regime and an opposing group of jurisdictions and entities.

- Finally, Jen Gerson discusses how the UCP's stoking of separatist anger serves mostly as a distraction from its own unwillingness to govern - and ultimately only proves that it can't be trusted to responsibly exercise the added power it wants to claim.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- William Davies writes about the systematic stupidity being imposed by the Trump regime, while Noah Berlatsky notes that it's a feature rather than a bug for a fascist government seeking to keep the populace uninformed. And Aditya Chakrabortty discusses how Javier Milei is yet another right-wing darling whose government has proven an utter disaster. 

- Toby Buckle writes about the role of reactionary centrists in clearing the way for fascism. Waleed Shahid offers a reminder that bending over backward to appear "moderate" has done nothing to help U.S. Democrats win elections (and everything to cede political territory to increasingly radical Republicans). And A.R. Moxon warns against allowing the Trump regime to define political choices as a series of trolley problems where other people's agency is limited to making deliberately cruel decisions. 

- N+1's Editors discuss the best-case scenario for commercial-scale artificial intelligence as involving the generation of junk to further enrich the wealthy few. Edward Zitron points out the laughable improbability of AI living up to its hype based on obvious and inescapable resource limitations. And MacKenzie Sigalos reports on the disproportionate effect of crypto money on the 2024 U.S. elections. 

- Bill McGuire laments that politicians are responding to a worsening climate crisis by pouring perpetually more resources into dirtier activities. Niklas Boers et al. discuss the connection between key climate components which are all destabilizing. And Damian Carrington reports on a new study showing a dramatic increase in extremely hot days in the world's major cities. 

- Finally, Ratina Omidvar and Sabina Vohra-Miller discuss the need for a tax system that ensure the wealthy contribute to the well-being of Canadians. And Dru Oja Jay discusses the stark choice of directions for Canada Post - which can either be shrunk into uselessness to allow corporate raiders to take over profitable operations, or treated as nation-building infrastructure to support communities and services. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Jonathan Watts talks to Genevieve Guenther about the need to keep talking about the many climate tipping points in front of us - along with the value of taking action to avoid crossing them. Sanjana Gajbhiye reports on the weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, and the resulting cool spot which portends increasing warming elsewhere. Andrew Szava-Kovats writes that we can't accept a prolonged wildfire and smoke season as a new normal. 

- Nora Loreto calls out Mark Carney's choice to serve as Donald Trump's lap dog on Iran rather than opposing an unjustified attack, while Alex Cosh and Nur Dogan point out the impace on Iranian Canadians. And Christopher Holcroft discusses Carney's abandonment of "elbows up" in favour of making concessions to an unreliable authoritarian regime. 

- Meanwhile, Erica Ifill points out that Carney is making a corporate power grab - at the expense of Indigenous rights and environmental protection - in the name of national unity. And Adam King discusses how the Libs are putting a thumb on the scale for management against Canada Post workers, while Andre Frappier offers a reminder that the fight is ultimately one encompassing the entire working class. 

- Ryan Kiedrowski reports on the demands of Danielle Smith and Scott Moe that the federal government essentially trash all environmental and climate policy in order to deliver windfall returns to dirty energy operators. And Dale Smith highlights how Smith is importing the Republican war to dehumanize mmigrants into Alberta. 

- But on the bright side, Sean Boynton reports on polling showing that Canadians have maintained their support for LGBTQ2+ rights even as popular support has declined elsewhere in the face of calculated attacks. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- David Moscrop writes about the difficulty in trying to respond to a news stream constantly filled with horrors without breaking down. George Monbiot discusses how Britain is seeing increasing swaths of land turned into desert dead zones. And Paula Simons writes about the grim reality of regular wildfire smoke - including far more severe health effects than are generally known. 

- Meanwhile, Chris Hatch points out the absurdity of trumpeting "decarbonized" fossil fuels when the primary intention of oil and gas production remains to have it burned and turned into carbon pollution. And Gaby Clark examines research showing that methane leaks from dormant oil and gas wells are significantly worse than previously assumed. 

- Jessica Wildfire discusses how Donald Trump has been looking for (and working to fabricate) an excuse to impose martial law, while Jonathan Last writes that this week is the most dangerous one in the U.S.' history in terms of the imposition of authoritarianism. 

- Paul Krugman notes that Trump's plans to politicize tax rates on foreign capital is just one more step in ensuring that no rational actors risk a cent of their holdings in the U.S. And Greg Sargent writes that the  difference giving rise to a feud between Trump and Elon Musk is limited to their disagreement as to how best to harm the working class (which should serve as reason for any opposition or resistance voices to refuse to try to make common cause with either of them). 

- Finally, Isaac Phan Nay writes about CUPW's fight to preserve a viable, publicly-operated Canada Post in contrast to management's determination to impose the precarious model used by private delivery services. And in case we needed a reminder as to how businesses are allowed to abuse workers, Nicole Brockbank reports on a single operator's accumulation of almost a million dollars in unpaid wages and fines through multiple employers. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Jon Milton et al. discuss how the first speech from the throne under Mark Carney was based on Donald Trump's wish list rather than the priorities of Canadians. David Moscrop notes that while Carney is breaking his promise of patriotically standing up to U.S. threats and pressure, businesses are actively exploiting nationalism into a profit centre. Sonali Karnick interviews Nora Loreto about the corporate roots of the housing shortage and affordability crisis. And Simon Enoch warns that the privatization of Canada Post (which is a looming possibility only due to the federal government's refusal to allow it to expand its delivery of public services) would have immense costs for Canada as a whole. 

- Pat Rich offers a reminder (with reference to a speech from Dr. Andrew Boozary) that the most important building blocks of health are its social determinants including income, housing, and food security. And Mary Hudetz reports on the Trump regime's slashing of a program which provided Indigenous communities with access to healthy, locally-sourced food as another stark example of its destructive approach.

- Meanwhile, Andrew Nikiforuk laments how Danielle Smith and the UCP have chosen to give measles the advantage over Albertans.

- Finally, Michelle Gamage reports on the call for workplace temperature limits to protect British Columbia workers from extreme heat. And Ashley Cowburn reports on an Autonomy Institute report calling for the same in the UK. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Andy Craig writes that the Trump regime and its enabers have shattered the U.S.' past constitutional order.  Jill Lawrence discusses the denihilism behind the Republican embrace of ignorance and destruction, while Adrienne Mitei highlights the absurdity of the elite effort to normalize the collapse of society. And Jessica Wildfire writes about the limitations of in-system prepping in a world that projects to far exceed the most severe temperatures and weather humanity has ever experienced. 

- Gaby Hinsliff notes that Trump and his ilk have made a point of denying merit and humanity to anybody but white males, while warning against the UK allowing a similar attitude to take hold. Gil Duran highlights Ruha Benjamin's analysis of the eugenics which have been embraced by techbros - and the resulting need to avoid relying on them to do anything to support the population which they see as disposable. And Sandeep Vaheesan's review of Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's Abundance rightly notes that the path to meeting people's basic needs doesn't involve further empowering the corporate oligarchy which has priced them out of reach. 

- Alex Cyr discusses why Canadians have every reason to fear crossing the border into the U.S. - even as Mark Carney is trying to tie us even more tightly to the Trump regime. And Sam Biddle reports on the U.S. intelligence community's hoovering up of sensitive personal information from data brokers to set up an unprecedented surveillance state. 

- Nicholas Kristof writes about some of the key strategies available to counter an autocracy. And Desmond Cole points out that the suppression of dissent isn't limited to the U.S. - with "bubble zone" laws aimed solely at limiting specific kinds of speech serving as a dangerous example. 

- Finally, Taylor Noakes discusses how Canada Post has long been set up to fail - but how a government with any interest in its effectiveness at providing a vital public service could ensure its success simply by allowing it space to grow. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Lauren Sommer discusses how 2024 is shattering all records and expectations as the hottest year in the recorded history of the Earth. Freddy Brewster, Helen Santoro and Katya Schwenk discuss how the vast majority of anticipated flood damage to U.S. homes is now uninsured - as insurers recognize the dangers of a climate catastrophe with far more clarity than homeowners (particularly in Republican-dominated areas). Ted Hsuan Yun Chen at al. find that the actual occurrence of an extreme weather event tends to overcome the partisan tendency toward denialism. And R Eric Lewandowski et al. examine the factors (including direct exposure to extreme events) which affect distress and anxiety in young people. 

- Andrew Nikiforuk reports on Danielle Smith's latest attempt to restart the extraction of dirty coal in Alberta. And the Star's editorial board calls out Doug Ford for subsidizing even more traffic and sprawl (and eliminating transportation alternatives) as a supposed solution to existing traffic problems. 

- Marcy Wheeler writes about the importance of an assault on truth to Donald Trump's authoritarian project. And Jeb Lund writes about the importance of community-building to resist the abuses of the next Trump regime. 

- Simon Jager, Suresh Naidu and Benjamin Schoefer study the consistent pattern of collective bargaining reducing wage inequality for everybody - even as the exact causal mechanisms remain to be confirmed. And Anne Baldwin discusses why she and other Canada Post workers are angry and demoralized by the Libs' decision to order them back to work rather than allowing them to exercise their right to strike. 

- Finally, Mariana Mazzucato is rightly skeptical of the UK's model of public-private partnerships which serves to funnel profits to the private sector and risks to the public - while noting that any productive collaboration would include requirements to ensure investment produces a range of social benefits. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Ellen Wald writes that Canadian oil companies would be smart to be prepared to answer for their environmental and human rights abuses. But Carly Penrose reports that they're instead funding petropoliticians and shadowy lobby groups in an effort to undermine climate change policy, while David Climenhaga discusses Danielle Smith's latest scheme to make accurate information about emissions illegal. 

- Hiroko Tabuchi writes about the propaganda campaign being waged by the plastics industry in an effort to avoid answering for massive and easily-avoidable damage to people's health and the environment. And Tom Perkins reports on new research finding that microplastics and "forever chemicals" are particularly dangerous in combination with each other. 

- Jack Hauen discusses how the Ontario PCs' destruction of bike lanes shows the outsized influence of a few wealthy donors. Sarah Elton and Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher write that Doug Ford's diktat forcing the removal of bike lanes doesn't merely reflect hostility to bikes themselves, but a war on data and evidence in policy choices. And David Rider discusses the misinformation being deployed to undermine the development of walkable and people-friendly cities. 

- Silas Xuereb examines the hundreds of billions of dollars per year being diverted into excess profits - and the resulting opportunity to both reduce inequality and fund social needs through a windfall profit tax. 

- Finally, Adam King discusses how the Canada Post strike fits into wider trends around precarious work and the destruction of public services. And Paris Marx points out the contrast between the strength and solidarity of public sector workers in a well-established bargaining unit, and the results of isolate-and-conquer practices imposed Amazon and other corporate giants. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Erin Prater reports on research showing how long COVID may be traced to excessive pruning of connections in the brain. Faye Flam highlights why anybody who's been infected will need to be on the outlook for stroke symptoms. And Norman Swan warns of the aging effect COVID-19 has on a person's body. 

- Adam Morton reports on a study suggesting that Australia's system of carbon credits managed to reward businesses for "forest regeneration" even as they reduced tree cover. And Nicholas Kusnetz discusses the likelihood that private equity is snapping up unviable fossil fuel properties with the intention of continuing to spew carbon pollution long past the point when any publicly-traded company could justify that course of action to shareholders. 

- Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood and Noah Kathen outline what a green industrial policy could look like if Canada wanted to invest in a liveable future, rather than prolonging the damage done by reliance on oil and gas. And David Macdonald highlights how the federal government (like its provincial counterparts) has plenty of fiscal room for both industrial policy and social supports if it wasn't bent on pushing austerity. 

- John Anderson laments that Canada Post's theoretical nod to postal banking has been set up as a corporate income stream rather than a service for people. And Paul Dechene reports on the City of Regina's farcical attempt to force a series of entertainment projects onto residents rather than paying any attention to its previous consultations and promises. 

- Finally, Nora Loreto points out how authoritarianism has consistently been the establishment response to meaningful labour activism in Canada. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac offer a stark look at the plausible worst-case scenario for a climate breakdown over just the next thirty years. And Zarah Sultana argues that in the UK (as elsewhere), we need to demand transformative politics to respond to our social and environmental crises:

The scale of the climate crisis means moderation won’t cut it. The only answers are radical. Socialists across borders will need to link up to campaign for an international Green New Deal. It will tax the super-rich and take on polluting profiteers who wreak havoc from Brazil to Bangladesh. It will create new, green industries that will save our communities while saving our planet too. None of it will be possible without confronting the existing order, where 100 companies are responsible for 70 per cent of global pollution. Our lives are threatened by their pursuit of profit. 
 
Call it ‘taking back control’ if you like — taking control away from the billionaires and winning it for workers in every corner of the planet. This means being clear that our allies are the dispossessed everywhere, and our enemies arrive by limousine not dinghy, with green politics as a new class politics for our age.

My generation grew up being told there was no alternative to cuts and declining opportunities. That was miserable enough. Now that dismal economic model is putting our planet in peril.

We can be the generation that rises to this existential challenge. We can end the cycle of capitalist destruction. As our planet burns, we must make good on the promise of an old socialist hymn: We will bring to birth a new world from the ashes of the old.

- Andrew Nikiforuk suggests that federal approval of the Teck Frontier mine could provide Alberta with a lesson in when to stop digging - though the danger is that even allowing Jason Kenney to oversee development could further destabilize the ground for everybody.

- Andrew MacLeod highlights how the RCMP has been interfering with free reporting in the course of its Wet’suwet’en raids - presumably with reference to its documented concern about allowing activists to with public support.

- Finally, Amir Barnea makes the case for Canada Post to offer affordable banking and financial services to people left behind by the financial sector.

New column day

Here, on the fundamental need for governments to provide a secure source of income and benefits - and the choice of the Trudeau Libs and Moe Sask Party alike to instead make citizens bear the brunt of political choices.

For further reading...
- The National Post offered a backgrounder on the Phoenix pay system which has resulted in federal civil servants getting shortchanged on the money they've earned for public service. The Auditor General reported on its inexplicable failings. And CTV reported on the continuing rallies to draw attention to hundreds of thousands of still-outstanding issues.
- Terry Farrell reported on Canada Post's orders which resulted in the delay of benefit cheques which CUPW specifically agreed to keep delivering. CUPW called out Patty Hajdu's misleading attempt to then use management decisions to attack workers' right to strike. And Nora Loreto pointed out that no government can reasonably expect labour peace while going out of its way to undermine the bargaining processes which are supposed to keep conflict contained.
- D.C. Fraser reported on how a rental supplement cut by the Saskatchewan Party will result in a year's gap in coverage since a federal replacement has been delayed - and since Scott Moe and company don't care enough about renters to fix the mess they've made.
- Finally, I'll point again to Noah Smith's post on the many facets of poverty and insecurity in order to highlight the importance of a government willing to reduce all of the drivers of precarity.

Monday Morning Links

Assorted content to start your week.

- Ritika Goel writes that good jobs lead to all kinds of ancillary benefits to both the health of workers, and the strength of the overall economy:

We are in a time of increasing part-time, casual, temporary and contract work, with less access to benefits, insurance and pensions. Women, racialized people, single parents and immigrants like Michael are more likely to be in these positions of precarious work, which we know are bad for your health. 

Precarious work is linked to higher rates of repetitive strain muscular and joint conditions, as well as worse mental health. We also know that food-handling workers, like Michael, who have an infectious stomach illness cite not being able to afford taking a day off as the reason to come into work sick, potentially passing on their sickness.

A decent wage would allow Michael to contribute to his local economy by meeting his basic needs, save money to send to his family, perhaps move closer to this workplace, have time to build social connections and improve his mental health. Having paid sick days would allow him to recover when needed and not put the public at risk by handling food when unwell. In fact, having these measures implemented would allow Michael to better do his job. A study looking at employers who provide paid sick leave found that doing so was associated with fewer workplace injuries benefitting employers with a healthier workforce.

There is no doubt that the strong connection between good jobs and good health is widely proven in research. It thrills me to see that this is now also becoming a common perspective in the business world. At the Smart Employers Talk conference I attended this week, I got to hear directly from business owners who understand the importance of investing in their staff, so much that one employer referred to his workers as his company’s greatest asset. 

...

While I know some businesses have raised concerns about not being able to afford a $15 minimum wage, it gave me confidence to meet businesses owners from a variety of sectors who are already implementing and benefiting from these higher labour standards. They are proof that this can be done, and will benefit businesses on top of the health of workers and public health.

- Meanwhile, Paul Walsh discusses the pitch economy - where everything is a matter of constant competition - as the ultimate example of harmful precarity in work and life. And Jacqueline Nelson reports on a new study from the Bank of International Settlements showing how Canada is at risk due to high household debt levels.

- Melinda Trochu reports on a push by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers to ensure that our postal system provides needed services including banking and food shipping.

- Colin Perkel reports on Canadian doctors who support tax fairness - and are fighting to avoid being lumped in with professional associations and lobbyists invoking their profession to try to hinder it.

- Finally, Ross Belot writes that the Libs' hot air on climate change hasn't been matched with anything approaching commensurate action.

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Bessma Momani writes that Donald Trump's plan to leave the U.S. at the mercy of unregulated financial markets figures to cause another crisis comparable to - or worse than - that of 2008:

Nearly 10 years ago, the U.S. financial industry was exposed as a glorified Ponzi scheme that bundled toxic assets and failing mortgages into seemingly respectable pension plans and investment schemes that were sold across the world. The Obama administration spent its first term, with global support of the G20 and other countries focused on tighter international standards, to introduce regulations that the financial industry bitterly fought but lost. These regulations, loosely known as the Dodd-Frank act in the U.S. Congress, are about to be dismantled, bit by bit.
...

But it can get worse. In an era of what economists call secular stagnation, where we have a global savings glut, fewer global investment opportunities and low interest rates, global money is also pouring into the United States on expectations of a surge in infrastructure spending, a clampdown on offshore corporate tax havens and the lowering of Dodd-Frank financial regulations.

This is coinciding with global money leaving many emerging market economies that look geopolitically unsettled, such as Turkey, and those rattled by Mr. Trump himself, such as Mexico. With a euro zone that looks shaky in a post-Brexit era and experiencing a rise of nationalists competing in a slew of upcoming elections, ironically, the U.S. still manages to look like the safest investment for the capital industry. Meanwhile Chinese plutocrats are charging Communist Party members with corruption as President Xi Jinping conveniently also consolidates his hunger for centralized power, causing another slow exodus of Chinese wealth.

Here we have the perfect storm brewing of hot money going into the United States in search of higher interest rates and the likely dismantling of financial regulations meant to place a check on speculative bankers and investors. The end result might just be that we return to the same conditions of the mid-2000s, the eve of the international financial crisis. The sky is not yet falling, but the cracks are getting wider and wider and we ought to start listening to Chicken Little on the global economy.

- Meanwhile, Mike Palecek reminds us how Canadians could enjoy both improved accessibility and lower costs in banking services with a postal bank - so long as the possibility isn't squelched to preserve profits for private banksters.

- Dani Rodrik examines the sometimes-conflicting pressures in trying to reduce inequality at the level of both countries and individuals within them. And the Sunday Times reports on one practice sure to exacerbate both, as Italy is planning to require immigrants to perform unpaid labour in order to seek asylum.

- Finally, Sean McElwee examines why on abortion (and other issues) widely-shared progressive positions are losing out in the U.S. due to the lack of stronger connections between partisan politics and popular movements.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Valerie Strauss discusses the disastrous effects of corporatized education in the U.S. And Alex Hemingway examines how B.C.'s government (like Saskatchewan's) is going out of its way to make it impossible for a public education system to do its job of offering a bright future to all students.

- CJEM reports on a new survey showing just how many Saskatchewan residents are on the edge of a financial cliff if not already on the descent - with more than a third of those surveyed already unable to pay their bills, and over 60% having at best minimal ability to absorb any additional expenses.

- Colin Freeze and Jim Bronskill report on Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien's annual report - with Freeze focusing on his call for legislation governing metadata, and Bronskill on the total lack of regard for Canadians' privacy in the analysis and application of Bill C-51.

- David Bush critiques the Canada Post Task Force's study which looks to set the stage for worse service at higher prices, rather than seriously evaluating options such as postal banking which could reverse both of those outcomes.

- Finally, Andrew Coyne suggests that the Senate's authority to disrupt public business should match its non-existent legitimacy. And Carlito Pablo reports on Maxwell Cameron's view that we should expect decisions to be made by representatives elected through a fair and proportional system.