Thursday #skvotes Links

Over 40,000 voters went to the polls in the first day of advance voting. But particularly for the many people who haven't yet cast a ballot, here's the latest from Saskatchewan's election campaign.

- Laura Sciarpelletti reports on Elections Saskatchewan's warning that it's facing a shortage of poll workers - making it all the more important that people who have the ability to do so get to the polls early.

- Nicholas Frew reports on the grades provided to Saskatchewan's parties by OUTSaskatoon and Saskatoon Pride - with the NDP ranking at the top, and the Greens just behind. And the Provincial Association of Transition Housing and Services grades the NDP with an A for its plan to deal with interpersonal violence - while lamenting that no other party has bothered to respond. 

- Meanwhile, Danielle Chartier discusses the desperate need to strengthen Saskatchewan's mental health care system.

- Murray Mandryk offers somewhat of a reminder of the 2017 Sask Party budget which began their current term in office. But it's worth noting that the well-justified public backlash was based not on Mandryk's deficit-scolding, but based on the callous slashing of services - and as others have pointed out, SaskForward provided an indication of the choices involved:

- Finally, Adrienne Ivey discusses a few of the issues seen as most important to rural Saskatchewan, while pointing out how their impact is felt throughout the province.

Leadership 2018 Links

The latest from Saskatchewan's NDP leadership campaign as voting day approaches.

- There will be no lack of opportunities to compare the candidates within a debate format, including the NDP's Prince Albert debate...



...as well as SaskForward's recent Regina forum which was covered by CTV among others. And another party debate will be held in Saskatoon tomorrow.

And for those looking for my take: while I haven't watched the debate schedule quite as closely as those in other campaigns, the debates ghaven't particularly shifted my own perceptions or expectations of the candidates. Ryan Meili continues to be more at ease in both storytelling and policy details, but has been somewhat awkward in answering what seem to be repetitive questions; Trent Wotherspoon is most comfortable challenging the Saskatchewan Party, but doesn't go as far in explaining what alternative he's offering.

- D.C. Fraser reported on the campaigns' responses to the party's final membership numbers.

- Meili has unveiled new policy planks dealing with poverty (including a basic income program), seniors and cities, while also releasing a closing appeal:


- And Wotherspoon bookended his campaign launch with another well-attended Regina event.

- Finally, Murray Mandryk has written candidate profiles of both Meili (focusing on increased public openness to policy) and Wotherspoon (framing him in terms of pragmatism). And Jill Morgan held a Q and A with Meili.

New column day

Here, on the hope that this past weekend's protests will be just the start of an activist response to Donald Trump and his corporatist and authoritarian allies.

For further reading...
- Robert Booth and Alexandra Topping reported on last weekend's rallies from a global perspective. Tanara Yelland discussed the march on the ground in Washington, while Caroline Mortimer commented on the protest in Sandy Cove, Nova Scotia and Morgan Modjeski wrote about the one in Saskatoon. And Kate McInturff rightly criticized far too many commentators for downplaying the significance of a widespread, international and women-based protest.
- On the subject of areas crying out for further activism, Human Rights Watch highlighted Russia's steps to minimize domestic violence and its perpetrators. And Adam Bienkov wrote about Theresa May's plans to make the UK in to even more of a haven for corporate tax avoidance, while Dave Seglins, Rachel Houlihan and Zach Dubinsky again reported on Canada's own poor track record in that area.
- Finally, I again mention SaskForward as a prime opportunity to start shaping what Saskatchewan's popular agenda will look like in the years to come.

New column day

Here, on the options available to the Wall government in responding to a budget deficit other than to renew its attacks on Saskatchewan's public servants - and why we shouldn't trust a premier whose answer to the failure of his anti-worker economics is to amplify the pain.

For further reading...
- In case we need a reminder of the Saskatchewan Party's systematic austerity no matter how much money is flowing into provincial coffers, here are just a few of the examples from 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016.
- Kent Peterson nicely sums up what Brad Wall's position seems to be on his own fiscal management:

This news release on the Sask. Party's latest deficit messaging is bold, if not a little unconventional... #skpoli pic.twitter.com/c4GEZDMTdy

— Kent (@SameOldKent) January 18, 2017

- And I'll note again that SaskForward is offering an opportunity to propose better ways than the Wall slash-and-burn plan.

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Per Molander examines new research on the sources of inequality which concludes that massive gaps in wealth and income inevitably arise purely out of chance rather than any individual merit:

Differences in income or assets that are based on differences in capabilities or effort are widely considered to be legitimate, but it is easy to verify that all observed differences cannot be explained in this way. In its 2016 report on the global distribution of wealth, Oxfam International reported that the richest 62 persons in the world own as much as the poorer half of the world’s population, about 3.5 billion people. Clearly, one person cannot be 100 million times as productive as another healthy and reasonably well-educated person. After all, a day and night comprises only 24 hours for all of us, rich or poor.

In a seminal paper on the drivers of inequality, Robert and Ricardo Fernholz have analysed the long-term distribution of wealth in an abstract growing market economy. They assume that the economy generates a surplus which is invested in a financial market. Even assuming that all individuals in this society are identical as far as capabilities, efforts, preferences, and initial assets are concerned, the distribution of assets will become increasingly skewed over time. In the long run, one household will own all the assets. The explanation for this is simple: small variations in return on assets will be magnified over time, because those who are lucky can afford to take somewhat higher risks and will be rewarded with even higher returns, and so on.

Simple as this mechanism may be, it has far-reaching consequences. Even in an imagined world of perfect equals, inequality will develop as a result of our innate tendency towards risk aversion – wealthy individuals can afford to take risks, whereas the less wealthy have to be more cautious. Equality is inherently unstable; even the slightest perturbation of a perfectly egalitarian equilibrium will cause it to degrade into a highly unequal society, where only the self-interest of the richer strata will set the limits.
...
In real societies, individuals differ in both capabilities and efforts. But, because of the self-reinforcing effect of differences, the inequalities that we observe will be completely out of proportion with differences in effort or capabilities. Inequality is largely a market failure. This is what makes the case for redistribution.

- Meanwhile, Seth Klein, Iglika Ivanova and Andrew Leyland highlight the desperate need for a poverty reduction strategy in British Columbia.

- Lola Butcher discusses how a housing first strategy can more than pay for itself by reducing burdens on the health care system and other social programs. And Marc Lee points out that tax incentives and subsidies for landlords figure to be far less effective than direct investment in affordable housing.

- Timothy Sawa and Lisa Ellenwood report on the massive amounts of money wasted on high-priced prescription drugs. And to her credit, Jane Philpott is at least examining how to reduce the cost of inflated drug prices - though it remains to be seen when that will lead to actual policy changes.

- Finally, the CCPA's submission to the SaskForward consultation process examines the futility of austerity.