Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Andrew Dessler writes about the non-linear nature of the environmental effects of carbon pollution - with the result that we're seeing cascading effects with each additional increase in temperature. And Sarah Kaplan discusses how we should be recognizing extreme weather events as alarm bells reflecting a climate breakdown in progress.

- The Guardian's editorial board writes that we can't afford to put our living environment on the back burner while perpetually finding other supposedly more immediate issues to prioritize first. And Margaret Shkimba points out the need for leaders to match rhetoric with action (though I'd argue there's a need to focus far more on policy decisions rather than personal theatre).

- Jonathan Freedland discusses how the oil sector has managed to control the public conversation about climate policy in order to keep lining its pockets at the expense of our planet. And Drew Anderson reports on yet another unconscionable UCP subsidy to dirty energy, this time paying $14 million in public money to make up for rent which oil barons couldn't be bothered to pay to landowners.  

- Lana Payne questions why the Bank of Canada is continuing to punish workers with increased interest rates and suppressed wages when there's little reason to believe that will do anything to limit inflation based on corporate profiteering. 

- Finally, David Macdonald and Ricardo Tranjan chart how much Canadian workers need to earn in order to afford housing - and how consistent a pattern there is of rents far exceeding what people can afford. 

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Winnie Byanyima discusses the importance of cooperation and coordination in responding to a pandemic. But Michael Lee contrasts the consistent message from doctors against the recalcitrance of governments in refusing to implement any public health measures as COVID and other respiratory illnesses plunge health care systems into crisis. And Martin Regg Cohn calls out Doug Ford for prioritizing cheap gas over vital health care. 

- Peter Zimonjic and Catherine Cullen report on Lana Payne's call for monetary policy that doesn't reflect a thinly veiled class war against workers. And Sara Jabakhanji reports on a new study showing that more and more people with jobs are being forced to rely on food banks. 

- Ruth Michaelson reports on yet another cynical attempt by the fossil fuel lobby to lock in decades of carbon pollution from gas as a "transition". And Maya Menezes rightly questions why so much of Canada's delegation to COP27 consists of oil and gas promoters, rather than people with any interest in averting climate breakdown. 

- Meanwhile, John Clarke contrasts how Canada's security state chose to treat a violent occupation by white nationalists compared to Indigenous defense of unceded land. 

- Finally, David Climenhaga highlights how the UCP sought to tie Alberta into the FTX Ponzi scheme as a low-wage, easy-money alternative to building a care economy. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Anne Sosin and Ranu Dhillon write that it's long past time to take the well-documented and devastating effects of long COVID into account as part of the measure of public health policy. And with a few provinces finally making second booster shots available, Prakash Nagarkatti and Mitzi Nagarkatti offer their take on the considerations to be taken into account in deciding whether to get boosted. 

- Fahad Razak et al. write that we can't begin to ameliorate a collapsing health care system without getting COVID-19 under control. And Kenyon Wallace reports on the warning from emergency room physicians about the crisis at the St. Joseph's Health Centre in Toronto, while Alexander Quon reports on the prospect that laboratory services disruptions in Saskatchewan are set to get even worse. 

- Isabella Weber and Mark Paul discuss how interest rate hikes will only exacerbate the difficulties faced by the working class as a result of corporate-driven inflation. Lana Payne writes that consumers should be angry at CEOs rather than workers for exploiting the opportunity to take windfall profits. And Adam King discusses how the left can find an opportunity in labour shortages. 

- Émile Boisseau-Bouvier and Laura Cameron highlight how the Libs are set to miss their deadline to end fossil fuel subsidies - and are hiding behind weasel wording to avoid any action at all. 

- Finally, Chris Hedges warns that the U.S. in particular is headed toward irreversible civilizational decline.  

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Yan Wang et al. examine the feasibility of a zero COVID policy, and find that the even the development of the Omicron variants hasn't ruled out containment through appropriate interventions. Kirsten Wiens et al. study the spread of COVID-19 in U.S. schools, finding that while public health protections were effective, their elimination resulted in substantial avoidable spread. And Jen Christensen writes about the children suffering from long COVID - and the many different ways it can manifest itself. 

- Meanwhile, Bruce Arthur warns that Pierre Poilievre is determined to turn the Cons into the Convoy Party of Canada - with hostility to both science and public health ranking among its most dangerous traits. 

- The Energy Mix highlights new research concluding that Canada stands to lose trillions of dollars as the cost of climate breakdown, making for a far higher price than taking action to reduce carbon pollution. And Kat Kerlin reports on new research about California's 2020 wildfires - with the primary new issue being one of severity rather than area. 

- Jen St. Denis discusses the distributional problems with pushing existing tenants out of the way to build transit infrastructure (and new, more expensive housing). 

- Lana Payne points out that cost-of-living clauses negotiated by unions are one of the most effective ways to make sure workers don't bear the brunt of inflation. 

- Finally, Alejandra Bravo discusses the importance of building power as part of the effort to bring about change. 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Daniel Markovits argues for a wealth tax to fund the relief and rebuilding effort needed in response to COVID-19, while Paul Mason points out the need to not only tax existing wealth but build new economic structures which deter extreme wealth accumulation. Bill Bostock reports on the rightful refusal of Denmark and Poland (so far) to direct public support toward companies which have refused to keep up their end of any social contract. Amir Barnes writes that we shouldn't allow public bailout money to be diverted toward enriching executives or buying back shares. And Robert Reich notes that the real moral hazard in the U.S. involves the exploitation of both booms and busts by the rich.

- David McDonald discusses the need for stronger public institutions to meet the basic needs which have been highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. And Marc Andreessen makes the case to start working on building the society we want, rather than accepting cuts and tinkering as the limit of our ability to alter the status quo.

- Sara Mojtehedzadeh reports on the continued use of temp agencies to avoid ensuring either secure employment or safe long-term care facilities. David Climenhaga points out how the UCP's willingness to run interference for dangerous workplaces - including both tar sands operations and slaughterhouses - has exacerbated the spread of COVID-19 in Alberta. And PressProgress questions why the Trudeau Libs have put a corporate monolith with a cavalier attitude toward the safety of its own employees in charge of storing and distributing needed supplies. 

- Catherine Kim writes about the U.S. cities which are only dealing with homelessness in the face of the coronavirus, while Emily Pasiuk reports that Saskatchewan has thus far fallen short of even that basic response.

- Finally, Lana Payne offers her suggestions to make Employment Insurance into a far stronger and more accessible income support.

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Lana Payne points out the options to make life genuinely affordable for Canadians - while noting that the Cons' usual tax baubles don't make the list. And PressProgress both reveals Doug Ford's plans to slash Ontario's already-insufficient housing supports, and lists Brian Pallister's steps to take money away from Manitoba workers.

- Carl Meyer reports on Imperial Oil's use of a gala at which it funded every participant's attendance as an opportunity to lobby Andrew Scheer. But David Climenhaga offers a reminder (based on Jim Stanford's observations) that no amount of lobbying or denial can avoid the reality that dirty fossil fuels are a dying industry.

- Andy Blatchford reports that even the businesses which supposedly stand to benefit from corporate trade deals like the CETA neither know nor care about their terms - signalling just how few conglomerates are actually benefiting from trade rules biased toward the corporate sector.

- Richard McAlexander notes that the only connection between immigration and terrorism arises from the violence of domestic right-wing terrorists. Brennan MacDonald and Vassy Kapelos report on Justin Trudeau's appalling willingness to accept Donald Trump's abusive concentration camps (and general contempt for the concept of immigration and refugee status in any form) as "safe" for the purposes of asylum claims. And Emerald Bensadoun offers a wake-up call as to the long-term detention of immigrants in Canada.

- Finally, Laura Dale writes that decriminalization represents a proven means of reducing the harm and social cost caused by drug use and addiction.

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Lana Payne writes about the perilous future we're leaving to future generations - as well as the hope we should draw from young activists demanding better.

- Sven Biggs debunks a few of Justin Trudeau's excuses for using public money to buy and build a pipeline. Erica Ifill points out the gross lack of environmental justice when toxic substances are consistently inflicted on the people least able to respond, while Christopher Ragan and Courtney Howard write about the health impacts of a climate breakdown. And Sarah Cox discusses the B.C. government's thoroughly underwhelming response to a report on the dangers of fracking.

- Meanwhile, Vanessa Ratjen asks why Canada is neglecting obvious opportunities to develop geothermal energy. But the Corporate Mapping Project's database of fossil fuel puppetmasters largely answers the question as to why healthier alternatives have been suppressed while oil and gas subsidies have only been ramped up.

- Finally, Evan Siddall discusses the need to ensure that housing policy focuses on making a home available to everybody, not merely serving the cause of turning ownership into a seemingly risk-free investment.

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Lana Payne discusses the need for outrage about the lack of enforcement even of corporate tax obligations which have been slashed for decades. And Hassan Yussuff writes about the obvious merits of a universal pharmacare system, along with the wealthy few determined to stop anything of the sort since it might cut into their windfall profits:

(Y)ou can bet there are plenty of wealthy corporate shareholders who are very satisfied with the status quo and who will always put those inflated profits ahead of people’s health care needs.

In fact, a report by the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions earlier this year uncovered a 600% increase in lobbying by at least one major industry group between 2017 to 2018.

“The pharmaceutical industry sees the implementation of pharmacare as worthy of the deployment of unprecedented lobbying resources,” concludes the report.

Our governments, though, serve the public good, not private interests. That’s why the independent advisory council has provided the clearest blueprint yet for this major investment in the people of Canada.

Will our elected officials support this national vision? Or will they toe the industry line and support half-measures that will continue to line industry pockets while putting people’s health at risk?

- J. David Hughes and Laura Cameron each discuss how an ongoing climate crisis demands that we transition to clean energy rather than subsidizing and forcing the further extraction of fossil fuels. Holly Lake exposes the shoddy and biased "research" used to secure the approval of dangerous industrial projects. And Tristan Hughes calls out Justin Trudeau's attempt to triangulate in the face of a threat to our living environment as a particularly dangerous form of denialism.

- Rhiannon Moore points out that climate change and plastic pollution are both symptoms of the same problem of consumerism. And Sandra Laville discusses the costs to people and to the planet of a culture of cheap and disposable clothing.

- Finally, Scott Smith writes that the right to repair should be extended to include farm machinery to ensure farmers aren't at the mercy of large equipment monopolists.

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Lana Payne comments on the war being waged by Canada's right-wing governments against workers.

- Dion Rabouin writes about the product of decades of giveaways to the rich - as the obscenely wealthy literally can't find any use for massive amounts of money other than to hoard it, even while refusing to pass any of it along. And Elizabeth Capelle discusses both how housing has become financialized, and how to reorient our view of it to serve the interests of people beyond the 1%.

- Frederick Hewitt points out how some of the most several long-term dangers of a climate breakdown involve the types of food supply disruptions which proved the undoing of past civilizations. Christopher Flavelle notes that the increasing recognition of the dangers of climate change is leading to higher costs and lower use of insurance to guard against foreseeable risks. And while Susan Delacourt wonders whether the climate crisis will lead to full social mobilization, the most telling part of her column is the thoroughly uninspired (and uninspiring) response from the Lib government:

My colleague here in the Star’s Ottawa bureau, Alex Ballingall, asked Environment Minister Catherine McKenna this week about whether wartime examples could inspire more collective public action on climate change.

“Look, I mean, I am very supportive of more ambition on climate change. I hear good ideas every single day. I mean I think the idea that you need to link climate action with people and making sure that you are focused on how do you improve lives is critical,” McKenna told Ballingall. But the minister also said that any ambition has to be tempered with, yes, affordability. “People want action on climate change but they want life to be affordable and at the same time creating good jobs.”

So, not exactly Dunkirk or D-Day, at least not yet. Bill Nye may need a bigger blowtorch.

- Finally, Bruce Campbell comments on the need for a public inquiry into the Lac-Mégantic disaster and points out some of the questions which remain unanswered to this day. And Penelope Simons notes that the Libs' distaste for corporate accountability is endangering Canada's global reputation.

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Lana Payne discusses why we can't afford another Harper government - but also why we shouldn't merely accept the Libs as the only alternative no matter how dishonestly and angrily they try to limit our choices. And Tom Parkin highlights the need to empower social movements to shape our political system.

- The Economist discusses the range of new ideas developing among progressive thinkers in contrast to the pattern of stagnation and reactionary messaging on the right.

- Laurie Monsebraaten reports on the grim prospects of Ontarians with disabilities based on Doug Ford's imminent attacks on the province's social supports. And Alicia Bridges highlights similar uncertainty in Saskatchewan due to the Moe government's announcement of unspecified changes which they're not actually willing to present to the public.

- Meanwhile, Adam Hunter reports on the massive - and readily avoidable - travel bills being racked up by the Sask Party government which is inflicting cruel austerity on the province's citizens. And Anna Mikhailova and Charles Young point out how UK Conservative MPs are pointing to their adult children as an excuse to line their pockets with funding intended to defray child care expenses - even as they deny child care to parents who actually need it.

- Finally, William Snow writes from experience as to how the U.S.' elite universities serve as incubators for growing inequality of opportunity.

[Edit: added link.]

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Lana Payne highlights how the fight over carbon taxes fits into a broader framework of class warfare - and how the right's climate nihilism needs to be met with solutions which will include workers in the benefits of an economic transition. 

- Elise Stolte discusses how Edmonton has benefited from a carbon price which has reduced pollution from coal-generated power. And Lindsey Kines reports on the push by Victoria's city council for free public transit.

- Meanwhile, Steve Rukavina reports that Montreal is moving toward a ban on single-use plastic and styrofoam containers. And Ivan Watson, Jo Shelley, Sugam Pokharel and Ushar Daniele point out that we may not have a choice in the need to reduce our waste as Malaysia has become the latest dumping ground to decide it's not going to accept it anymore.

- Mathew Lawrence writes about Common Wealth's push to democratize the UK's economy as an important step in ensuring we recognize (and benefit from) our shared interests. And Tom Sandborn's review of Leigh Phillips and Michal Rozworski's The People’s Republic of Walmart reminds us that planning can serve public ends as well as profit motives.

- Finally, Hanna Rosin discusses how reduced empathy breaks the interpersonal bonds necessary for a functional society.

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Jake Bittle writes about rural homelessness as a seldom-discussed issue which calls out for a strong policy response to ensure the right to housing is met regardless of whether one's community is urban or rural:

While the trigger events that cause homelessness are similar everywhere—foreclosure, unemployment, addiction, illness—small towns have far fewer job opportunities and mental-health resources. And although the housing shortage in rural areas is not as severe as in large cities such as New York City, Seattle, or San Francisco, rural houses are older and more dilapidated on average than urban houses, according to HUD data. As a result, even though the housing crisis left thousands of vacant homes in rural areas, service providers often have trouble finding housing that meets HUD’s standards. This leaves advocates with an uncomfortable choice: Work with the limited resources available in their area, or advise homeless individuals to relocate, which can mean leaving their families and social networks behind.
...
(U)nless the federal government makes an attempt to tackle rural homelessness as a distinct problem, the issue will only worsen. Roman said NAEH helped Congress sketch out a special HUD program to solve rural homelessness, but that Congress never actually gave the department money to set the initiative up. Under President Barack Obama, the department reversed a years long rise in homelessness, and homeless aid is one of the few parts of the HUD budget that the Trump administration has not slashed. Still, Roman says, without a concerted effort to tackle rural America’s “hidden homeless,” the question of shelter in the United States will only be partially answered.

- And Bernie Sanders notes that the gap between the rich and the rest of us applies to agricultural communities, as agribusiness giants are extracting massive profits from increasingly precarious farms.

- Luke Savage discusses how the real working class - as opposed to an all-white male version of the same - receives virtually no attention from the U.S.' media. Andrew Coyne comments on Quebec's blatantly discriminatory Bill 21, and wonders whether Canada's federal politicians will start talking about what can be done at the national level to restrain bigotry at the provincial level. And Salimah Kassam writes about the dangers of white supremacists and the politicians who enable them, while Chauncey DeVega highlights the connection between Donald Trump's campaign appearances and racist violence.

- Pamela Palmater points out how the Libs' budget has once again put off the urgent needs and glaring disparities facing Indigenous women and children.

- Finally, Lana Payne rightly calls out the Cons as being the most faux of feminists - though it's worth noting that their obvious lack of genuine interest in addressing inequality doesn't mean there isn't ample reason to criticize the Libs' track record.

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Ed Finn writes that the Trudeau PMO's interference on behalf of SNC-Lavalin confirms Canada's plutocratic rule under Libs and Cons alike. And Carole Cadwalladr and Duncan Campbell report on Facebook's use of promised jobs to bribe its way out of the regulations which are supposed to protect citizens from corporate abuse.

- The Star's editorial board implores the Libs not to settle for a watered-down version of national pharmacare out of subservience to big pharma.

- The Edmonton Journal highlights the progress Alberta has made in reducing child poverty by half since the NDP first formed government.

- Meanwhile, Alex Soloducha reports on Saskatchewan's grossly inadequate social supports which make it impossible for people living in poverty to find housing. And Derek Cornet points out the continued scourge of hunger in the province.

- Gregory Beatty offers a reminder of the culture lost as a result of the Saskatchewan Party's elimination of the film industry - particularly as Netflix invests across Canada other than in Saskatchewan.

- Finally, Lana Payne discusses the Scheer Conservatives' choice to embrace racism out of political convenience.

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Suresh Naidu, Dani Rodrik and Gabrien Zucman write about the developing movement toward an economic discipline which recognizes the importance of human well-being, rather than being bound by neoliberal ideology and an assumption that GDP is the only end to be pursued.

- PressProgress examines the stranglehold on public policy enjoyed and exploited by a few major Canadian corporations. And Lana Payne discusses the problem with the concentration of wealth and power.

- Alex Paterson laments the Trudeau Libs' decision to add one more piece to a patchwork of prescription drug coverage rather than developing a national pharmacare program.

- Meanwhile, Theresa Boyle reports on the latest study showing that billions of dollars are wasted on unnecessary lab tests. And Bob Bell points out how Doug Ford appears set to hand increased profits to home care operators with no regard for the well-being of residents. 

- Finally, George Monbiot offers due credit to the young people now leading the way in building a mass movement toward action on climate change. But Jonathan Freedland argues that our reaction to the activism being led by high school students should be one of shame rather than admiration alone.

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Jason Hickel challenges the spin that poverty and inequality are being meaningfully reduced around the world as our global economy is currently structured. Sarah Marsh reports on the reemergence of "Dickensian diseases" as a result of cuts to social supports in the UK. And Richard Reeves discusses how maternal depression (caused by poverty among other factors) serves as a barrier to social mobility.

- Meanwhile, Chuck Collins highlights how a wealth tax could simultaneously provide the U.S. with both a massive infusion of needed public resources, and a necessary rebalancing of political power.

- Gary Mason discusses how systematic money laundering may be even more prevalent in Canada than previously known. And Mathieu Galarneau examines our dubious position of paying more to telecoms for mobile data than any other country on the planet - though it's again worth noting that the provinces with public-sector options represent exceptions to the national pattern.

- Courtney Carlberg and Jen Budney examine Saskatchewan's woeful standing in Canada when it comes to child care. And Angela Brown reports on Ryan Meili's needed push for a mental health strategy - including both a greater focus on the causes of mental illness, and the availability of treatment for people who need it.

- Finally, Lana Payne calls out the focus of right-wing governments on punishing perceived enemies rather than serving the public.

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Paul Krugman examines the economics of a higher tax rate on extreme high-income individuals:

Diamond, in work with Emmanuel Saez — one of our leading experts on inequality — estimated the optimal top tax rate to be 73 percent. Some put it higher: Christina Romer, top macroeconomist and former head of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, estimates it at more than 80 percent.

Where do these numbers come from? Underlying the Diamond-Saez analysis are two propositions: Diminishing marginal utility and competitive markets.

Diminishing marginal utility is the common-sense notion that an extra dollar is worth a lot less in satisfaction to people with very high incomes than to those with low incomes. Give a family with an annual income of $20,000 an extra $1,000 and it will make a big difference to their lives. Give a guy who makes $1 million an extra thousand and he’ll barely notice it.

What this implies for economic policy is that we shouldn’t care what a policy does to the incomes of the very rich. A policy that makes the rich a bit poorer will affect only a handful of people, and will barely affect their life satisfaction, since they will still be able to buy whatever they want.
...
(W)hen taxing the rich, all we should care about is how much revenue we raise. The optimal tax rate on people with very high incomes is the rate that raises the maximum possible revenue.

And that’s something we can estimate, given evidence on how responsive the pre-tax income of the wealthy actually is to tax rates. As I said, Diamond and Saez put the optimal rate at 73 percent, Romer at over 80 percent — which is consistent with what AOC said.

- Lana Payne writes about the continued class war being waged by the rich, while Sharmini Peries interviews Cornel West about the need to build a stronger collective movement to fight back. And Lynne Fernandez and Shauna MacKinnon discuss the connection between a "right to the city" movement and social justice generally.

- Jonathon Schuldt and Y. Connie Yuan write that the vast majority of Americans are far more favourable toward fighting climate change than their political leaders, while David Akin notes that same holds true in Canada. David Roberts warns that right-wing blather about "innovation" doesn't reflect any serious attempt to address the climate crisis, particularly where it's aimed primarily at shoveling free money toward polluters. And even as the Sask Party's waste of billions of dollars on CCS technology fits squarely into that category, D.C. Fraser reports that Scott Moe is pushing any emission reduction enforcement whatsoever into 2021 at the earliest. 

- Finally, Ellen MacArthur points out the prospect of planning intended to achieve a virtuous circle of responsibly managing resources - in contrast to the current economic model based on short-term profits and disposability.

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Jeffrey Sachs writes that the fight against climate breakdown demands a concerted solution to global problem - rather than political wrangling over whether anybody will accept any responsibility for desperately-needed change. And Adam Tooze points out the foreseeable political threats posed by rising sea levels.

- James Wilt notes that a carbon tax at the levels on offer in Canada will fall far short of making a meaningful dent in our obligations - and argues that a relatively narrow issue placed front and centre for the political benefit of both the Cons and Libs is keeping us from having a necessary discussion about how to accomplish far more. And Harry Zehner writes about the problems with a neoliberal response to climate change:

In practice, neoliberalism favors the wealthy over the working class, the entrenched powers over social mobility and the individual over the collective good. It takes the training wheels off of global capitalism through deregulation and tax cuts, giving corporate powers free reign to raze the environment in the name of their bottom line. It chips away at the power of unions, collective action and the idea of social welfare, preferring to let a rigged market decide who prospers.

Neoliberalism doesn’t believe in systemic inequality. Instead, it tells those stuck in generational poverty that if only they worked harder and acted smarter, they would be rewarded by the free market’s unbiased invisible hand. The neoliberal ethos tells us climate change is a result of our personal habits, of our commute to work, of our diet, of our heating bill, while a handful of companies responsible for the vast majority of emissions get tax cuts and subsidies. Since its mainstream introduction by Thatcher and Reagan, neoliberal ideals have led to worsening wealth inequality, stagnant wages and a dwindling middle class.

It is this thinking that informs policies like Macron’s fuel tax.

The incentive-based logic behind the tax, that a high fuel price will lead people to switch to more efficient means of transportation, is faulty. Fossil fuel dependence is more than a personal choice, despite what the free-market enthusiasts would like you to believe. A working woman or man from France or the United States or Nigeria or Vietnam can’t respond to the brute force of a fuel tax if there’s no feasible alternative for them to turn to. Fossil fuel addiction exists on a structural level, not an individual one. 

...

By attempting to implement a surface level solution to a deeply ingrained problem, Macron handed the Right a talking point on a silver platter. His botched tax has likely set substantive climate action back years. At the same time, it has provided much needed clarity. There is only one path forward: governments must intervene to ensure affordable, ecologically friendly alternatives. Placing the burden of environmental healing on the working class isn’t just unfair; it’s impractical.

- Meanwhile, Mia Rabson reports on the Libs' claim that a move toward more efficient transportation may bridge the massive gap between the emission reductions they've promised and the policies they've offered.

- Karl Nerenberg points out how the Libs are alienating workers across the country even as they offer far more public resources to the oil sector than to other, cleaner forms of development.

- Nisha Kansal and Arnav Agarwal discuss the importance of health care as a human right, including for migrants who are currently excluded from the Canadian health care system.

- Finally, Lana Payne offers a few inspirational stories of activism to celebrate over the holidays and take as examples in the new year.

Monday Morning Links

Assorted content to start your week.

- Chris Turner rightly recognizes the urgency in implementing effective policies to avert climate breakdown - though he does set the bar too low in the process. The Star's editorial board highlights how the latest IPCC report confirms the danger of politicians fighting against climate action rather than exercising power responsibly. And Rebecca Solnit reminds us that the most important chapters in our fight against climate breakdown remain to be written.

- Lana Payne writes that the benefits of a more fair and proportional electoral system would set up needed incentives for leaders to think past the next election cycle on issues such as climate change.

- Alex Himelfarb discusses the need for an antidote to apathy and despair - both to encourage participation by people now disenchanted with politics, and to prevent those who do remain engaged from falling prey to demagoguery.

- Finally, Noah Smith comments on the difficulties associated with uncertain incomes, particularly for people already facing the risks associated with poverty:

If risk is scary for the rich, think how much more terrifying it is for the poor. The kind of event that causes a low-income American to suddenly need money isn’t a wedding or college or a comfy retirement — it’s coping with an eviction, or getting robbed, or a broken pipe in their house, or their car breaking down. The life of a poor American is a nonstop sequence of sudden disasters and looming threats. If you don’t understand this, read “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City” by Matthew Desmond. For a middle-class American, the situation is less awful, but big medical bills and other surprise expenses are still a very significant risk, and many Americans have little savings in the bank to cushion the blows life throws at them.

Given the risks of life in America, and the paucity of savings, a consistent income is very important. The more you live paycheck to paycheck, the more you need to be sure that the paychecks won’t stop coming — and that their size will be relatively constant from month to month and year to year. Unfortunately, during the past 40 years, income volatility has risen for the average American.
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So what’s to be done about income volatility? A big part of the job, of course, is avoiding repeats of the Great Recession. Beyond that, financialization, especially private equity’s practice of taking over companies and imposing mass layoffs, has to be thoroughly reexamined. And it may also be useful to encourage the creation of new kinds of work contracts that offer more long-term stability. In any case, though, it seems clear that income volatility is a problem that has received too little attention.

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Lana Payne offers a reminder (with reference to Lars Osberg's new book) that extreme and growing inequality is a choice rather than an inevitability - but that it also represents a self-reinforcing trend:

“The Age of Increasing Inequality: The Astonishing Rise Of Canada’s 1%” doesn’t merely detail years of data about how inequality has grown in Canada, but argues why ever-increasing equality is so harmful to our democracy.

Osberg has been saying that for some time. It is a predictable outcome. Those with money get more say and the more money they get, the more say they get. The rich also have no trouble exercising their unlimited access and influence over the political class and political decisions.

Osberg argues that Canada is at risk of instability because of rising wealth disparity. There is little doubt this is also at the root of the rise of populist politics across much of the world, including Canada.

The bottom half of Canada’s population is economically stuck. While the top half have improved somewhat over the past several decades, they find themselves further and further behind those at the very top, the 1 per cent.

That’s because the 1 per cent are taking an ever-growing share of income and wealth. This reinforces a sense of unfairness and insecurity as those at the top are so far ahead of everyone else.

- Meanwhile, Gauri Sreenivasan rightly argues that Canada should know better than to race the U.S. to the bottom when it comes to corporate tax rates and regulations.

- Doreen Nicoll reports on Doug Ford's closed-door meetings to sell off even more of Ontario's fresh water over the objections of affected municipalities. And Ed Finn discusses how corporatist politics are destroying natural forests.

- Finally, Aaron Saad comments on the tragi-comic state of carbon pricing politics in Canada. And Cameron Fenton is dubious that an already-compromised National Energy Board can carry out any meaningful review of a Trans Mountain pipeline expansion within the rushed timeline set by the Trudeau Libs.

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Lana Payne's column for the Labour Day weekend comment on the role unions play in pushing for advancements for everybody.

- Paul Krugman offers a reminder that a focus on GDP alone as a measure of economic development misses the issue of inequality. And Simon Kuper discusses how the wealthiest people have looted their own countries in order to further distance themselves from the rest of society, while Assaf Razin and Efraim Sadka study the consequences of elite-driven globalization in undermining fair revenue systems and the social programs they fund.

- Neil Schoenherr reviews Gerrit De Geest's new book on how marketing has contributed to rent-seeking by the few at the expense of the many. And James Wilt argues that instead of focusing on consumer behaviour, we should be working on developing models of production and consumption that are less destructive:

There is nothing inherently wrong with the consumption of energy and materials. The problem is that consumption is largely undemocratic, exploitative, and unsustainable: all realities that can be dramatically altered.

We know that many socially destructive sectors consume a vast chunk of resources. For example, the U.S. military is the institution which consumes the greatest amount of oil in the world. At last count, over half of the energy used in Canada was consumed by the industrial sector – the likes of mines, factories, and fossil fuel extraction. A 2011 study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives concluded that the top one per cent of income earners in B.C. emitted almost six times the amount of carbon pollution as residents in the bottom 10 per cent.

And corporations have created a status quo of obscene food waste, planned obsolescence, and entrenched fossil fuel interests that obstruct a rapid transition to low-carbon communities.
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We must abandon the language and sentiment of overconsumption and organize our cities and towns through unions, co-ops, community centres, and activist organizations – with a primary focus on improving conditions and services in low-income communities of colour.
...
The so-called problem of consumption is a convenient distraction from the hard work that needs to be done to overhaul the exploitative and destructive systems that currently concentrate a vast majority of the wealth and power in the hands of the very few. Such greed won’t dissipate by individual moralizing or using fewer plastic bags.

It’ll take radical collective action – and an impassioned desire for all of us to be able to consume more of the things that are sustainable, just, and fulfilling.

- Finally, David Climenhaga notes that the obsession with the rule of law trumpeted by pipeline pushers against protesters has disappeared now that the Federal Court of Appeal has held that approvals handed out without meaningful consultation are themselves illegal.