Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Umair Haque discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic has been turned into a cash cow to be extended for profit, rather than a public health emergency to be ended for the sake of people's safety. And Jay S. Kaufman notes that science alone can't fully answer a pandemic where social trust and cohesion have broken down in ways that prevent people from working toward a common end.

- Don Braid writes that both the UCP's political plans and the provincial health care system are collapsing in Alberta, while PressProgress points out the shortage of ambulances in Calgary and Edmonton as one example of how the COVID crisis is affecting the health care system as a whole. 

- Guy Queeneville reports on Scott Moe's cuts to contact tracing just as the fourth wave began to rise, while Jessie Anton reports on the Saskatchewan Health Authority's restrictions on services due to the unchecked pandemic. Zak Vescera reports on the existence of modeling showing that mandatory masking could reduce community transmission by 50%. And Jason Warick discusses why Scott Moe can't be bothered to take even that basic step to keep people healthy and safe, while Phil Tank points out the giant load of nothing that was Moe's announcement yesterday.

- Luke Savage rightly makes the case for John Horgan's government to take the lead in legislating paid sick days for all.

- Finally, Peter Kalmus writes that both halves of a "net zero emissions by 2050" target represent grossly inadequate levels of concern for the preservation of our living environment. And Umair Irfain summarizes the IPCC's main scenarios for climate change going forward - with the "middle of the road" scenario in which countries fulfill their existing commitments and cooperate somewhat on environmental goals resulting in a catastrophic 2.7 degrees of warming.

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to start your year.

- Shawn Micallef highlights how the coronavirus pandemic has exposed the refusal by far too many people to follow a social contract - including anti-social leaders elected to shape and apply it.

- Owen Jones writes about the dangerous disinformation - spread with far too little thought within the media - that COVID-19 doesn't need to be taken seriously. And Niall McGee reports on the rise in stock promotion scams since the pandemic started.

- James Keller and Jaren Kerr note that hospitals which are already operating beyond their capacity are facing impending disaster as patient numbers rise, while James Keller and Stefanie Marotta point out the further strain on a health care system which will need to work out how to rapidly deliver a vaccine. Lawrence Wright goes into detail about the U.S.' utterly failed response, while Robson Fletcher looks at the causes of Alberta's December spike in COVID-19 deaths. And Moira Wyton discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us that while nobody is immune from a public health disaster, the harm falls disproportionately on people already facing severe disadvantages.

- Finally, Andrew MacLeod notes that even John Horgan was taken by surprise by the speed and effectiveness of the B.C. civil service's response to the coronavirus - showing that even our leaders most inclined to accept public-sector action are underestimating what it can achieve when given the chance (while concurrently putting too much emphasis on private interests).

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Derrick O'Keefe writes about the possibilities raised by the B.C. NDP's majority election win - as well as a need for far more ambition to achieve them.

- Elise von Scheel reports on new polling results showing that no matter how desperately Jason Kenney tries to fan the flames of separatism, Albertans aren't actually interested in abandoning Canada. But Arthur White-Crummey reports on Scott Moe's determination to keep echoing Kenney's laughable rhetoric about independence in order to avoid actually dealing with the provincial issues where he's failing miserably.

- Gwynne Dyer points out that regardless of the final results (which are looking somewhat less damning than the early returns), the U.S.' election is giving the rest of the world ample reason not to trust it as a rational actor. And Erik Strikwerda discusses the "Kenney stink" which is enveloping the people willing to risk their reputations to serve him.

- Finally, Chantal Hebert writes about the justified push by the NDP and the Bloc to secure an apology for Pierre Trudeau's blanket negation of civil rights through the War Measures Act. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Randy Robinson writes that Doug Ford's gratuitous austerity will have severe costs in both jobs and lives. And James Downie comments on the desperate need for a Biden administration to make major investments in an equitable and sustainable U.S. economy.

- Justin McElroy discusses how the B.C. NDP was able to win a majority government. And Christo Aivalis points out the importance of making the most of the opportunity by setting new standards for progressive government in Canada.

- Matt Wade reports on new research showing how an affordable basic income could wipe out poverty in Australia.

- Naureen Malik, Brian Eckhouse, Dave Merrill and Jeremy C.F. Lin report that peak demand for natural gas in the U.S. is approaching in a hurry (if it isn't here already), leaving no excuse for wasting time and public resources on a "bridge" to cleaner and more efficient renewables.

- Finally, Ashleigh Mattern interviews Jan Gelech about the psychology behind anti-maskers in a pandemic. And Andre Picard writes about the need to focus on preventing COVID-19 superspreader events. 

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Ryan Hayes and Edward Hon-Sing Wong discuss both the importance of collective action to protect workers' rights, and the strategies which are proving most effective. Hamilton Nolan writes about the increasingly strong case for sectoral bargaining. And Chelsea Nash examines the gig-worker unionization campaign at Foodora which led it to flee Canada rather than being required to deal fairly with its workers.

- Meanwhile, Samantha Melamed points out how people are being pushed into gig work by a lack of other alternatives. And Kait Bolongaro and Shelly Hagan discuss why Canadian farms are having difficulty recruiting the seasonal migrant workers who are normally relied on to harvest crops - though it's worth noting the problems with a sector being structured to rely on insecure labour.

- Rob Shaw reports that John Horgan is both pushing the federal government to implement paid sick leave so that workers aren't pressured to endanger themselves and others, and planning to ensure B.C. workers have that level of income security if Justin Trudeau can't be bothered. 

- David Bernstein reports on the false promise that massive tax breaks for a new Sears headquarters would lead to any sustainable jobs or economic development. And Christopher Reynolds reports on WestJet's demand to be handed the right to lay off thousands of employees without liability even as it's already receiving a 75% wage subsidy to keep people employed.

- Jack Hicks writes about the travesty that is Saskatchewan's current excuse for a suicide prevention plan.

- Finally, Kai Kupferschmidt writes about the factors which result in the "superspreading" of COVID-19 while many infected people don't pass it along at all. Andre Picard notes that while we should turn mask-wearing into a social norm, it's far from the only action we need to take in order to minimize the harm from the coronavirus. And David Fisman points out that the success we've had in limiting the spread of COVID-19 so far means that there's all the more to lose if we abandon the effort prematurely.

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Jane McDonald writes about the lessons we should learn for future crisis management from the coronavirus pandemic. And Jim Stanford discusses both the importance of social trust in response to an emergency situation, and the reason for optimism that Canadians can count on it as a factor working in our favour.

- Tonda MacCharles reports on the massive increase in testing needed before we can viably reduce restrictions in the face of COVID-19. And Melanee Thomas and Lisa Lambert discuss the rationale for punishing the people who put everybody at risk.

- Jason Foster and Bob Barnetson highlight the gross failures of Alberta's occupational health and safety system in allowing the spread of COVID-19 through meat packing plants. And David Carrigg notes that John Horgan is talking to employers about ensuring that workers aren't forced to stay at work while sick - though I'd think we should be able to say that the time for talk rather than government action has long since passed.

- Meanwhile, Arthur White-Crummey reports on the Moe government's choice not to ensure child care is even capable of being made available - let alone actually available - for the employees it plans to push back to work. And the Star-Phoenix' editorial board points out the need to do more to ensure the safety and quality of life of Saskatchewan seniors. 

- Finally, Dianne Saxe discusses the folly behind the federal government's bailout of a dying oil and gas sector based on the false assumption that it can (and must) be propped up indefinitely. And Max Fawcett rightly questions why the oil sector is continuing to fund CAPP and other propaganda and lobbying operations while pleading that it needs public money to make up for a lack of cash.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- John Miller takes note of the corporate media's bias against Wet'suwet'en land defenders and others engaged in demonstrations in solidarity. Stuart Trew comments that we shouldn't let demands for convenience override the ongoing need for reconciliation. Paige Raibmon writes about the obvious error in writing Indigenous law out of the "rule of law" for the purpose of delegitimizing land defenders. And Jennifer Ditchburn points out the absurdity of relying on the concept of the rule of law at all as a means of undermining well-recognized Indigenous rights, while Stephen Maher points out how the CPR's history is intertwined with the subjugation of Indigenous peoples.  

- Laurie Macfarlane writes about the need to discuss how wealth is accumulated - including the growing roles of inheritances and luck - in order to build a movement to ensure that it's put to positive social purposes. Daniela Gabor worries that the EU's plans for a green economic transition are being designed mostly to further enrich the wealthy, rather than focusing on either environmental improvements or distributive justice. And Stefan Stern points out how much better off we'd be if the rich paid more in wages and taxes rather than claiming to be philanthropists.

- But on the bright side, PressProgress highlights British Columbia's plan to raise an extra $200 million per year by ensuring that its highest-income residents pay something closer to their fair share of the price of a civilized society.

- Finally, both the Globe and Mail's editorial board and Rob Breakenridge join the chorus calling for the UCP to shut down its backfiring war room. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Arno Kopecky points out that new highs in nominal standards of living around the globe are being paired with unprecedented environmental damage which puts our future at risk. And Laila Yuile responds to John Horgan's version of the line that any smaller jurisdiction can avoid responsibility for the planet by minimizing its contribution to a collective action problem.

- Don Lenihan asks whether "polarizing" political developments are doomed to fail - though the example of a carbon tax seems like an odd one, as it drew support from across the political spectrum (including being implemented by B.C.'s right-wing Libs) before attacks became incorporated into the core message of the Cons and their provincial cousins.

- Arif Jetha discusses how precarity is harmful to workers’ health. And Michael Mendelson offers a reminder that complex rules and stringent requirements around social benefits lead to worse outcomes for both recipients and governments.

- Tom Parkin notes that the Libs are trying to paper over a failure to keep their infrastructure promises by repackaging planned projects through the high-cost privatized infrastructure bank. And Mairin Prentiss reports on the Libs’ outsourcing of military cleaning work.

- Finally, Owen Jones comments on how the UK’s oligarch-controlled media has distorted public impressions and stacked the political deck in favour of the right.

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Lana Payne writes that there's no reason to turn Donald Trump's giveaway to the rich into an excuse for similarly destructive policies in Canada:

If tax policy levers need adjusting, there is a more effective and sophisticated approach that can be taken, rather than a swinging a machete through the corporate tax rate. Walmart doesn’t need a tax break.

For example, targeting tax incentives to those who need the support in order to invest in machinery, productivity and wages makes for smarter policy. It’s ironic how those who argue against universal social programs have no problem supporting universal tax cuts for corporations. No matter the problem, it’s their panacea.

Why give tax cuts to corporations stockpiling cash on their balance sheets? Why give them to corporations socking away billions in global tax havens rather than investing the capital in Canadian jobs and wages? Why give them to companies who are going to make certain investments anyway?

It is bad policy and it depletes much needed revenues to invest in priorities like child care, more affordable or free post-secondary education, better health care and green transit.

And it is leading to a place where researchers predict in the next 10 to 20 years, corporate taxes will be a thing of the past unless massive collective action is taken. That’s how effective corporations have been at convincing governments to do their bidding.

- David Climenhaga argues that progressive governments need to begin acting at least as decisively as conservative counterparts, rather than allowing policy to drift in the wrong direction. And Ian Bailey reports on some of the worker-friendly developments in British Columbia under John Horgan's NDP government.

- J.W. Mason's review of Quinn Slobodian's Globalists discusses the history of neoliberalism as a philosophy favouring the use of state power to reinforce existing inequalities in income and wealth.  And Drew Brown notes that if anything has changed in the relationship of the uber-rich to the rest of us, it's their explicit intention to disengage from humanity as a whole.

- Jason Furman discusses how work requirements and other access barriers to basic social programs serve solely to hurt poor families without accomplishing anything positive.

- Craig Scott writes that Doug Ford's trampling of municipal democracy in Toronto might well violate fundamental constitutional principles.

- Finally, Andre Picard comments on Canada's Epipen shortage, while noting that it fits into a larger pattern of essential medical products having fragile supply chains which leave public health at risk.

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Tom Parkin discusses the need for a new Tommy Douglas to start leading the way toward national social programs - and the hope that Andrea Horwath can earn that role in Ontario's provincial election:

Since Douglas’s time, Canadian health care has been defended from periodic rounds of cuts. But only the rare politician has picked up the threads of Douglas’s legacy in an attempt to extend health care. One of those rare times may be coming.

If she is elected premier next month, Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath vows to end the cuts causing the current bout of hallway medicine. But she’s also pledged to build on Douglas’s medicare legacy by adding pharmacare and dental care. And those plans—and her child care pledge—could set in motion a new era in co-operative federalism that takes those plans across Canada.
...

(W)ith 80 per cent of voters repeatedly telling pollsters they want change, between Horwath and Ford there couldn’t be a more stark contrast. If Horwath is the new Tommy Douglas, PC Leader Doug Ford is the exact opposite.

Horwath sees social programs as critical to our prosperity. Ford views them as costs to be cut. Horwath promises to add new drug and dental plans, paying for it with higher taxes on incomes over $220,000. If she can pull out a win, that’ll build on Douglas’s legacy. Ford offers more corporate tax cuts and a continuation of Wynne’s privatization schemes. His election would result in billions and billion in cuts—eroding what Douglas built.
...
(W)ith provinces bickering and the Trudeau Liberals off course, a Ford win would bring even more confrontation and division to federal-provincial politics. But initiatives by a Premier Horwath could revive co-operative federalism and get Ottawa back on track. Her ideas offer the hope of a more co-operative federation and a stronger Canadian identity. Douglas’s efforts sure did.

- Meanwhile, Gary Mason is genuinely pleased to thrilled to see John Horgan's government making housing more affordable through a more fair property tax system. And David Camfield discusses the importance of building a stronger progressive movement on the prairies.

- Robert Cribb, Carolyn Jarvis and Andrew Bailey report on the embarrassing pollution from Canadian refineries compared to their southern counterparts nearly two decades after Canada was supposed to adopt U.S. standards.

- Doyle Rice reports on the unsurprising news that greenhouse gases are at their highest point in human history (and far beyond). James Wilt points out the credibility problems with the climate change data the Libs have recently unveiled. And Aaron Wherry figures there's now a consensus on the need to reduce emissions - though I'd think it's more likely the Cons' plan is once again merely to criticize any form of action which seems like it could possibly be implemented.

- Finally, Andrew Crosby and Jeffrey Monaghan offer an important reminder about the criminalization of dissent - and particularly the Indigenous movement seeking to protect land and water.

Sunday Morning Links

Assorted content for your Sunday reading.

- Nick Falvo offers a useful summary of the federal-provincial framework on housing - including its lack of any specific mention of homelessness and supportive housing among other deficiencies.

- Meanwhile, Justin McElroy reports on the Horgan government's plan to ensure more rights for tenants, including by applying significant penalties to landlords who evict tenants in bad faith to seek higher profits.

- The Journal of the American Medical Association studies the U.S.' severe health disparities (and the social factors which contribute to them). And Laura Donnelly reports on the NHS' recognition that a health care system which pushes seniors into unsuitable settings may cause lasting damage.

- Philip Newell reports that among his other attacks on the public interest, Scott Pruitt is ordering the Environmental Protection Agency to stop tracking the ancillary benefits of its work - including its effect on health and survival.

- Finally, Juan Manuel Herrera examines (PDF) the effects of Ontario's increased minimum wage, including improved wages for low-income workers with no substantial impact on employment. And Marilisa Racco discusses the continued pay equity gap between men and women.

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Livia Gershon discusses why relative equality plays a far greater role in people's well-being than absolute income in developed countries. And Stefanie Stantcheva writes about the cultural roots of the U.S.' relative acceptance of extreme inequality (though it's worth noting that even in the U.S. public preferences are far more egalitarian than actual results):

Despite their country’s mounting income gap, Americans’ support for redistribution has, according to the General Social Survey, remained flat for decades. Perhaps John Steinbeck got it right when he supposedly said that, “Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat, but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.”

For those who believe that a society should offer its members equal opportunity, and that anyone who works hard can climb higher on the socioeconomic ladder, redistribution is unnecessary and unfair. After all, equal opportunists argue, if everyone begins at the same starting point, a bad outcome must be due to an individual’s own missteps.

This view approximates that of a majority of Americans. According to the World Values Survey, 70% of Americans believe that the poor can make it out of poverty on their own. This contrasts sharply with attitudes in Europe, where only 35% believe the same thing. Put another way, most Europeans consider the poor unfortunate, while most Americans consider them indolent. This may be one reason why European countries support more generous – and costlier – welfare transfers than the US.
...

An even more striking pattern is that Americans are overly optimistic about social mobility in parts of the country where actual mobility is low – including the southeastern states of Georgia, Alabama, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. In these states, respondents believe that mobility is more than two times greater than it is. By contrast, respondents underestimate social mobility in northern states – including Vermont, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Washington – where it is higher.

As part of our study, we shared data on social stratification in Europe and America with our participants. We found that self-identified liberals and conservatives interpreted this information differently. When shown pessimistic information about mobility, for example, liberals became even more supportive of redistributive policies, such as public education and universal health care.

Conservatives, by contrast, remained unmoved. While they acknowledged that low social mobility is economically limiting, they remained as averse to government intervention and redistribution as they were before we shared the data with them.

- George Monbiot discusses how a program to combat isolation has produced substantial social and health benefits for one UK community.

- The CCPA has released its Alternative Federal Budget as a reminder of what we could accomplish at the federal level with a modicum of political will and social values, while Andrew Jackson focuses on the opportunity to expand the Working Income Tax Benefit. And Paul Willcocks comments on the potential long-term benefits from the B.C. NDP's first budget under John Horgan.

- Nav Persaud makes the care for a national pharmacare program by pointing out the problems with tying prescription drug access to jobs.

- Finally, Jeremy Nuttall highlights the lack of any improvement in the latest iteration of the Trans-Pacific Partnership - no matter how reflexively the Liberals slap the term "progressive" on it.

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Jim O'Neill proposes an end to corporate free-riding (and an assurance of contribution to the society which allows for profit) through explicit "pay-or-play" rules:

Since proposing a pay-or-play scheme for the pharmaceutical industry, I have come to think that the same principle could be applied more broadly in business. Larry Fink, the CEO of the asset-management firm BlackRock, might agree. At a time when many people have come to doubt that the modern global economy serves their interests, Fink has called on all companies to do more to make a “positive contribution to society.”

In my view, all companies, particularly those that are publicly listed, need to embrace the principle of enlightened self-interest, and recognize that a healthy society is better for their own business in the long run. But until they do, policymakers should start thinking about how pay-or-play schemes could be used to address growing popular disenchantment with a corporate sector where only insiders seem to benefit from rising profits.

Here in the United Kingdom, there are a few areas where pay-or-play schemes could prove useful. For example, many companies now organize their affairs in such a way as to avoid paying UK corporate taxes, despite having conducted their business here. So, why not replace the tax on reported profits with a pay-or-play tax on a percentage of their overall sales?
...
To be sure, many corporate leaders would hate such an idea. But at a time when the public is increasingly skeptical of corporations, CEOs are hardly in a position to complain about the effects Brexit will have on their bottom line. They need to open their minds, take out their wallets, and have faith in the promise of enlightened self-interest.

- Meagan Day argues that it's time to end the habit of handing free money to corporations like Amazon based on nothing more than the faith-based belief that their profits will somehow serve the public good. And Jen Zielinski's report on Airbnb's long-overdue compliance with basic requirements for businesses should also serve as a reminder of how much of what's branded as innovation consists only of efforts to evade necessary regulation and taxation.

- Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura writes that the UK is paying a massive long-term price in both human and budgetary terms for its reckless privatization of services.

- Andrew Longhurst discusses the public health benefits of a fair minimum wage - meaning that there figure to be plenty of long-term benefits from British Columbia's newly-announced (albeit gradual) increases.

- Finally, Michael Harris discusses the Libs' empty promises of reversing the Cons' environmental damage - particularly in the case of right whales. And Tom Parkin comments on the gap between Justin Trudeau's forced attempts at progressive branding and his consistent conservative policy choices.

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Victor Cyr discusses the problems with a public policy focus on capitalism without any concern for human well-being. And Ann Pettifor highlights the concentrated wealth and power arising out of corporate monopolies, while noting that political decisions are behind those realities.

- Alan Freeman points out that Canada is facilitating tax evasion due to a gross lack of corporate transparency. And Marco Chown Oved reports that the federal government is more interested in pointing fingers at the provinces than working toward solving that problem.

- Stephanie Smith examines the problems with British Columbia's faith-based regulatory system which (like many others) is increasingly based on corporate self-monitoring and self-reporting. And Alex Hemingway offers some suggestions for John Horgan's next provincial budget to bring needed progressive change.

- Finally, Ian MacKenzie makes the case for B.C. to approve a proportional electoral system so that all votes count. Stephen Tweedale notes that proportional representation can help to remedy the control leaders now exercise over their parties by creating a stronger prospect that new parties can be viable. And Paul Wells sets out how Justin Trudeau's petulant refusal to consider any electoral system other than one which would promote even more false majorities for his party contrasts against the promises he made to win power:

What did Trudeau’s platform say? Here is the section on electoral reform, in its entirety:

“We will make every vote count.

“We are committed to ensuring that 2015 will be the last federal election conducted under the first-past-the-post voting system. We will convene an all-party Parliamentary committee to review a wide variety of reforms, such as ranked ballots, proportional representation, mandatory voting, and online voting. This committee will deliver its recommendations to Parliament. Within 18 months of forming government, we will introduce legislation to enact electoral reform.”

And you know, it’s funny, because the Liberal platform of the day was both voluminous—88 pages—and capacious in its margins, in the manner of an undergrad essay formatted to fill as many pages as possible. And yet in all that white space, the Liberals could not, apparently, find room to add “which we very clearly believe would be harmful to Canada” after the words “proportional representation” in the excerpt above. Formatting is such a delicate thing.

It would have been handy if the Liberal leader had specified before people voted, and before his ministers spent a year consulting them, that he had already privately discarded one of the leading systems of electoral reform.

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Lana Payne discusses the divergence between an upper class with soaring incomes, and the bulk of the population facing stagnation and precarity:

(W)hile the nation’s wealth or GDP looks good, less of it is getting shared around and more and more of it is hoarded at the top end.

Governments are collecting less from the rich and corporations, limiting their ability to share wealth and invest and build things that benefit everyone.

At the same time, household debt levels are at their highest, sitting at 168% last year.

Many Canadians are feeling less secure in their employment, experiencing deteriorating job quality, with almost two-thirds earning less than the average wage. Indeed the share of Canadians earning less than the average wage has continued to climb over the past two decades.

This is directly linked to a rising share of low-wage jobs, according to the CIBC Capital Markets’ job quality report issued in late 2016. So while the job market on the surface looks good, wages are lagging.

Late last fall, Ekos pollster Frank Graves did a deep dive on this widespread feeling of economic insecurity.

Fewer Canadians, he found, identify with being in the “middle class” and more and more Canadians are feeling pessimistic about their futures.

A multitude of tax cuts has not helped assuage the economic angst.
...
The 2018 World Inequality Report says progressive taxation is crucial to stop rising inequality.

The fact is there is plenty of money in the economy. It’s how that money is not getting shared.

- Michal Rozworski rightly critiques the media's response to minimum wage increases, both in reproducing anti-worker propaganda and in spinning economic analyses to ignore the positive effects of increased wages. David Moscrop offers a reminder of the importance of looking at the effect of policy on people's lives - and particularly workers benefiting from high wages. The Hamilton Spectator weighs in on the obvious benefits of a more fair minimum wage. And CBC has followed up on the treatment of workers at Tim Hortons as a prime example of how unscrupulous employers are trying to twist positive public policy changes into an excuse to further exploit workers.

- Graham Riches writes that John Horgan (and others in power) should be working on ending reliance on food banks, not merely promoting them. And Luke Savage discusses how Toronto's cold snap and resulting discussion of homelessness have laid bare its blithe acceptance of avoidable poverty and insecurity.

- Finally, Brent Patterson argues that the federal Libs need to stop stalling on legislation to reverse the Cons' voter suppression tactics. And Ian Boekhoff reports on the possibility that Prince Edward Island might break new ground in Canadian electoral reform.

New column day

Here, on how Donald Trump is just one of far too many politicians trying to undercut needed counterbalances in the media, political systems and civil society.

For further reading...
- Rem Reider's story offers a few examples of Trump's attacks on the press.
- Althia Raj reported on Bill Morneau's complaints about opposition MPs doing their job, while Andy Blatchford addressed his claim that he doesn't report to journalists.
- John Paul Tasker discussed Jane Philpott's attempt to silence critics of the Libs' failures on Indigenous issues (and particularly the implementation of Jordan's principle).
- And Keith Baldrey's year-end interview with John Horgan included the latter's comment on setting activism aside.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Ashifa Kassam writes about the elements of Canada's health care system which call for ambitious improvement rather than imitation:

“I think privatisation is a major threat to public health care in Canada,” said Natalie Mehra of the Ontario Health Coalition.

Earlier this year, her organisation released a report documenting 136 private clinics across the country and highlighted that 71 of these were selling faster access to services covered by the country’s health care system. What’s more, the report suggested that many of the clinics were charging patients while also billing the public health care system – a practice that runs contrary to Canadian law.
...
Raza pointed to jurisdictions that most resemble Canada, such as Australia, where the introduction of private providers diverted doctors’ time and attention, resulting in longer wait times in the public system. “The only people who benefitted were people who were able to buy their way to the front of the line,” said Raza.

An alternative solution may lie in the growing support among Canadians to expand the country’s coverage – which currently only covers hospitals and physician care – to areas such as pharmacare and dental, he said.

The merits of doing so were hinted at in a recent ranking of health systems in wealthy countries by the Commonwealth Fund.
...
As the Vermont senator touts plans for a far more comprehensive and equitable system south of the border, Picard is among the many in Canada who hope it will prompt Canadians to revisit the glaring gaps in their own system.

“I don’t think we’re ambitious enough,” he said. “Canada has limited ourselves to doctors and hospitals, and there’s no reason like the rest of the developed world that our public plan couldn’t cover all kinds of things, from dental care, home care to long term care.”

- Andrew MacLeod reports on the Horgan government's first steps toward reducing poverty in British Columbia. And the Canadian Press notes that a basic income could be a substantial part of the solution.

- Judith Lavoie reports on a new study from the United Nations Environment Programme showing that Canada is responsible for more mining tailings pond spills than any country other than China. And Ashley Renders examines the obscenely low royalty rates which allow mining companies to make a killing in the north while contributing virtually nothing.

- Jonathan Watts discusses the new records in greenhouse gas emission pollution being set every year. And the New York Times' editorial board weighs in on the alarming prospect of an insect armageddon.

- Finally, the Canadian Press exposes the Libs' plans to let the airline industry self-regulate when it comes to pilot training rather than even continuing standard regulatory oversight.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Roderick Benns interviews Ryan Meili about the value of a basic income in freeing people from perpetual financial stress. And Doug Cameron reminds us that we have a choice whether to show empathy toward people facing homelessness - even if far too many forces try to push us to do otherwise.

- Kadhim Shubber reports on the utter failure of the UK's attempt to privatize adult training and apprenticeships, as the corporation which received hundreds of millions of pounds of public funding ignored massive chunks of its responsibilities, then tried to suppress the evidence. And Kristin Rushowski examines an analysis of Ontario education funding which shows that grants to poorer areas are far more than outweighed by the push to rely on fund-raising in wealthier ones.

- Meanwhile, Tanara Yelland responds to Galen Weston's attempt to suppress the wages of low-income workers in order to pad his own multi-billion-dollar accumulation of wealth. And Zohra Jamasi and Michal Rozworski expose the most glaring errors and omissions from the Ontario corporate lobby's attempt to silence advocates of a fair minimum wage.

- Paul Willcocks explores what John Horgan will need to do to restore any semblance of a functional environmental regulator in British Columbia. And Sharon Lerner documents the appalling risks foisted on poorer U.S. communities through corporate environmental racism.

 - Finally, Geoff Dembicki writes that Canada's tar sands are set to become non-viable within a generation no matter what happens with pipelines or environmental regulations - making it an utter waste of public money to try to prop them up. And Don Pittis writes that Brad Wall and his ilk need to take responsibility for foolishly blowing the proceeds of a resource boom when the bust cycle is never far away.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Asher Schechter examines new studies showing how massive markups are enriching corporations at the expense of workers:

The two standard explanations for why labor’s share of output has fallen by 10 percent over the past 30 years are globalization (American workers are losing out to their counterparts in places like China and India) and automation (American workers are losing out to robots). Last year, however, a highly-cited Stigler Center paper by Simcha Barkai offered another explanation: an increase in markups. The capital share of GDP, which includes what companies spend on equipment like robots, is also declining, he found. What has gone up, significantly, is the profit share, with profits rising more than sixfold: from 2.2 percent of GDP in 1984 to 15.7 percent in 2014. This, Barkai argued, is the result of higher markups, with the trend being more pronounced in industries that experienced large increases in concentration. 

A new paper by Jan De Loecker (of KU Leuven and Princeton University) and Jan Eeckhout (of the Barcelona Graduate School of Economics UPF and University College London) echoes these results, arguing that the decline of both the labor and capital shares, as well as the decline in low-skilled wages and other economic trends, have been aided by a significant increase in markups and market power.

...

De Loecker and Eeckhout find that between 1950 and 1980, markups were more or less stable at around 20 percent above marginal cost, and even slightly decreased from 1960 onward. Since 1980, however, markups have increased significantly: on average, firms charged 67 percent over marginal cost in 2014, compared with 18 percent in 1980.

...

Markup increases, De Loecker and Eeckhout find, became more pronounced following the 2000 and 2008 recessions. Curiously, they find that economy-wide it is mainly smaller firms that have the higher markups, which according to De Loecker is indicative of widely different characteristics between various industries. Within narrowly defined industries, however, the standard prediction holds: firms with larger market shares have higher markups as well. “Most of the action happens within industries, where we see the big guys getting bigger and their markups increase,” De Loecker explains. 

- Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood and Stuart Trew rightly question the Libs' attempt to paint platitudes and corporate giveaways as a progressive trade agenda as they sit down to renegotiate NAFTA. And David Climenhaga notes that John Horgan may be nothing but pleased with threats from Alberta Conservatives to remove British Columbia from the corporate-driven New West Partnership.

- Muhammad Hamid Zaman comments on the importance of reliable and complete data to shape public policy choices in the health sector (and elsewhere).

- Meanwhile, Andrew Seaman reports on new research suggesting that poverty can manifest itself in arterial buildup even in young children. And Jordan Press discusses the link between foster care and youth homelessness.

- Katie Hyslop highlights the importance of preparing children to bring a critical eye to manipulative media. But Tom Pride notes that the UK Cons have other ideas - instead encouraging parents to teach children not to share (and to value their property over all else) to avoid even the slightest hint of social responsibility.

- Finally, Denise Balkissoon rightly points out the problem with a white supremacist and anti-social movement built around the preservation of undeserved privilege.

New column day

Here, on how the historical competition between the NDP and the Greens hasn't precluded cooperation where it counts in British Columbia - and how the governing accord there might offer an example of cross-party collaboration for all levels of government.

For further reading...
- Martyn Brown wrote about the danger the Greens might have posed to a change in government early in the election campaign.
- Nancy MacDonald documented the post-election negotiations on all sides, including the common ground between John Horgan and Andrew Weaver once they got to talking. And Andrew MacLeod reported on what Horgan's NDP and Weaver's Greens were able to agree to.
- Finally, Andrew Coyne discusses Justin Trudeau's contempt for the public which has helped smooth over any differences between the NDP and Greens at the federal level. And the Greens' adoption of a preference for a mixed-member proportional electoral system offers an area where it may be possible to translate agreement between the two parties into policy change.