Saturday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your weekend reading.

- Jay Shambaugh, Ryan Nunn, and Lauren Bauer discuss the need for U.S. law and policy to adapt to protect independent workers who have been excluded from normal employment rights:

Armed with up-to-date, accurate data, policymakers and regulators can work to keep regulations relevant and appropriate to the modern labor market. One particularly pressing policy issue is the classification of contingent workers: should participants in the “gig economy,” and alternative work arrangements more broadly be treated as employees or independent contractors? As these new data demonstrate, a sizable share of workers in the United States remain outside the traditional employment structure and consequently lack many of the protections and benefits that come with being a traditional employee. Economists Jackson, Looney, and Ramnath document many of these disadvantages, also finding that the Affordable Care Act played an important role in providing health insurance for many workers in alternative arrangements.
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In their proposals, Harris and Krueger propose that independent workers have the right to collectively bargain as well as protection from various forms of employment discrimination. However, independent workers would not qualify for hours-based benefits like overtime or the minimum wage. Harris and Krueger argue this new classification would benefit both workers and businesses, reducing expensive litigation by clarifying the rights and obligations of each party.
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(A)lternative work arrangements or gig-employment may conceal insufficient labor demand. These workers may be perfectly willing to take a full-time job and are only in these arrangements because they cannot find traditional employment. Only 44 percent of on-call workers and 39 percent of temporary help workers preferred their work arrangements to traditional employment. In this case, these workers may act in a similar manner to unemployed workers or those out of the labor force who would like a job. A large number of such workers might keep downward pressure on wages despite low levels of unemployment, suggesting policymakers need to consider this reserve of semi-employed when assessing the extent of slack in the labor market.

- Kenyon Wallace and Mary Ormsby report on the recommendations of a coroner's jury following the death of a homeless man in Toronto - with the need for housing and income supports figuring prominently. And Melanie Green discusses the widespread food insecurity facing Indigenous children in Canada.

- Rhys Kesselman answers critics of British Columbia's modest steps to bring its property tax system in line with other jurisdictions by noting that property-based wealth provides a fair and efficient source of revenue.

- Equiterre highlights the increasing number of pipeline safety incidents in Canada. And Norm Farrell points out the connection between poorly-documented methane emissions and a systematic failure to make sure that polluters pay for the damage they do to our planet.

- Finally, David Climenhaga exposes the shadowy financing network - featuring both well-known U.S. wealth and the Canadian Taxpayers Federation - which is behind a right-wing attack on gay-straight alliances and LGBTQ rights in Alberta.

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Dana Brown and Thomas Hanna discuss the possibility of a public option for access to medication in the U.S. And while the Winnipeg Free Press warns that Brian Pallister might want to stand in the way of a national pharmacare program, that hardly seems a reasonable excuse to discard the possibility.

- Elaine Povich reports on the unexpectedly high revenue from Seattle's soda tax.

- Michael Geist is duly skeptical of the latest attempt to excuse the gouging of Canadian consumers by the telecommunications sector, while Bill Curry reports on Jim Balsillie's warnings about the spread of surveillance capitalism. And Yves Engler reminds us that rather than reining in the excesses of Stephen Harper's surveillance state, the Trudeau Libs are pouring more money and power into extending it.

- Ivan Ascher points out why corporate thinking patterns won't lead to the action we need to combat climate change, while Chantelle Bellrichard reports on Kinder Morgan's willingness to accommodate Nestle and other business interests even as it ignores the needs of people who stand to be affected by any Trans Mountain expansion. And Tom Embury-Dennis notes that Costa Rica's government leadership has led it toward becoming the world's first decarbonized society.

- Finally, Drew Brown rightly slams the plans of Jason Kenney and Alberta's UCP to forcibly out LGBT children to their parents.

Leadership 2017 Platform Analysis - Jagmeet Singh

Having once expressed my concern that Jagmeet Singh would use his front-runner status as a means to avoid releasing much policy, I'll again note that he's instead offered up a detailed and thoughtful policy agenda.

And while much of what he's presented is relatively similar to the contents of Ashton's platform (and in some cases Caron's), a few elements do stand out:
- using the tax system to fight climate change both through taxes on high-emission vehicles, and incentives and rebates toward positive investments;
- providing for the collection of LGBTQI2S+-specific health data to ensure that care is available to meet patients' needs;
- amending the Working Income Tax Benefit both to be phased out more gradually, and to be paid more frequently;
- eliminating tax write-offs for entertainment and other corporate perks;
- providing specific protection for temporary workers, including the application of labour standards and a right to be made permanent within a cumulative total of six months of work; and
- aiming toward multiple additional benefits in federal infrastructure projects, including emission reduction, fair work and community benefits.

Like Angus and Caron, Singh has restricted his policy proposals to a few areas of particular interest. And that's particularly unfortunate given the level of thought put into the ones he's addressed: it would be a plus to see some detail given to areas like health care where relatively little is on the table other than Ashton's broad plans.

But Singh has provided both a strong indication as to which areas he'd prioritize, and a willingness to defend those choices where they prove controversial. And that can only help voters in deciding where to rank him in a strong group of candidates.

Leadership 2017 Links

The latest from the federal NDP's leadership campaign.

- Bruce Anderson and David Coletto take a look at public perceptions of Canada's political parties. And the relatively small differences in public views of the NDP as compared to the Liberals may offer either a suggestion as to what grounds of distinction appear most open at the moment, or a challenge to the leadership contenders to discuss how they plan to shift public opinion.

- The Canadian Federation of Students offers the candidates' responses on post-secondary education. Arshy Mann examines Niki Ashton's LGBTQ policy proposals. Radio-Canada interviews Guy Caron about his place in the race, including the danger of focusing unduly on fund-raising totals. And Ryan Maloney reports on David Suzuki's endorsement of Charlie Angus.

- Stephen Tweedale offers a thoughtful endorsement of Jagmeet Singh, with a particular emphasis on his income security proposals. And Matthew Green discusses how Singh persuaded him to join a political party, while Jules Sherred offers his view of what the theme of "love and courage" means.

- Meanwhile, Jenn Laura Lee supports Ashton as a transformational voice for youth. And David Heap sees her as an inspiration for members of the progressive movement to re-engage in party politics.

- Aaron Wherry discusses the implications of Singh electing not to move immediately to seek out a seat in the House of Commons if he wins. Molly Kraft comments on the significance of Singh's candidacy - and some responses to it - in determining how inclusive the NDP will be as a party. And Eric Grenier offers some projected numbers as to the candidates' first-ballot placement - and the membership totals Singh would need to bring in to rank at the top.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Owen Jones highlights the toxic stress and other health problems borne disproportionately by members of the LGBT community who face systematic discrimination. And Tayla Smith and Jaitra Sathyandran discuss how temporary foreign workers (and others facing precarious work situations) tend to suffer preventable harm to their health and welfare.

- Meanwhile, Robert Devet reports that Nova Scotia's NDP is proposing to relieve an important part of economic insecurity by making it a mandatory human rights obligation to ensure people have access to food, water, housing and basic services. Which in turn fits nicely with Trevor Hancock's reminder that we're better off investing in public health, rather than paying for after-the-fact treatment only once an illness or injury has surfaced.

- Reynard Loki discusses the impending global water crisis, while pointing out there's much to gain by ensuring people have access to clean and safe water.

- Andrew Coyne asks whether Justin Trudeau is trying to pull a fast one on electoral reform. Kelly Carmichael argues that the Libs need to be held to their clear promise to end first-past-the-post politics.

- Meanwhile, Dr. Dawg takes a more general look at how Trudeau is presiding over another term of Harperite government. Chantal Hebert points out that the list of similarities increasingly includes a refusal to engage constructively with anybody outside the federal government. And Robert Fife and Steven Chase report that cash-for-access is standard operating procedure for Trudeau's cabinet.

- Finally, CBC reports on Oxfam's latest study documenting the connection between the gender pay gap and the wider problem of inequality.