Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Matthew Agius reports on the growing body of evidence indicating that long COVID may produce lifelong aftereffects. Henna Saeed reports on  the large number of Canadians now suffering from long COVID symptoms. And Lee Han-Soo discusses new research showing that a reinfection may be twice as deadly as an original one.

- Meanwhile, Emily Leedham reports on the Manitoba PCs' choice to lie about the motives behind an event to support health workers in order to have it shut down - even as they were happy to let antivaxxers influence their own government's policy. And Jessica Wildfire weighs in on the contrast between careful testing and environmental controls at Davos and the elite consensus throwing everybody else to the wolves. 

- Patty Winsa reports that Ontario's PCs have arranged for public health lines to direct patients toward pay-for-play corporate primary care, while Norman de Bono reports on the growing backlash against the privatization of surgeries. And Thomas Walkom writes that the Ford government's idea of health care reform completely misses the point as to how medicare needs to work to keep everybody healthy.

- Justin Chandler discusses how temporary, weather alert-based shelter systems leave unhoused people in readily-avoidable risk.

- Rupert Neate reports that there are still billionaires begging for wealth taxes to limit their own destructive class hegemony. And Umair Haque discusses how perilous our future as a civilization looks if we don't achieve major progress in the present.

- Finally, Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood discusses what a just transition means - and why it's in everybody's interest to work on putting it in place (no matter how a few well-funded extractivists scream about what amounts to a desire for short-term profits). And Guy Walton points out a few of the most immediate consequences of failing to avert a climate breakdown.

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Max Fawcett writes that the willingness to accept avoidable illness in children is an inescapable sign of an overall sick society, while Benjamin Mazer discusses how we're losing the race to fight COVID-19 with scientific discovery by limiting our own knowledge about an ongoing pandemic. Rong-Gong Lin Il and Luke Money highlight some of the steps which can help limit the spread of airborne diseases - though it's well worth noting how much more effective a focus on ventilation and prevention at a systems level would be. Matthew Cantor notes that masking in particular should be an easy call for individuals, while Bill Comeau makes the case for a mask mandate for those who have managed to retain some interest in preserving public health. And Harry Taylor reports on the sellout of strep A testing kits in the UK as another example of how leaving social health to the market results in little but windfalls for a lucky few, and shortages of essentials for the population at large.

- Thomas Walkom discusses why we can't presume that a 1980-style fix for inflation will accomplish anything but to inflict needless harm on workers. And Magdalena Sepulveda calls out the perpetuation of legislated poverty as the ruling class has chosen to impose the burdens of a pandemic - and more - on the people least able to afford it rather than taxing those with more than they know what to do with. 

- Meanwhile, Canadaland offers a reminder that we should consider every food bank as an unacceptable policy failure. 

- Finally, Steven Mufson and Timothy Puko report on the U.S. House investigation showing how the oil industry has blocked climate action while being fully aware of the damage that would do to our planet. But Harry Cockburn reports on the IEA's recognition that avoidable energy crisis caused by reliance on fossil fuels is giving rise to an accelerated transition to renewables.

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Alexander Quon reports on the belated announcement that Saskatchewan adults will be able to get a second COVID booster vaccination. And Pratyush Dayal reports that the Saskatchewan Health Authority is finally warning people about the dangers of monkeypox and making some testing available. 

- Thomas Walkom discusses how privatization doesn't achieve any of its supposed goals, but instead serves only to direct money for essential services into corporate hands. And Alex MacIsaac reports on Catherine Smart's warning that vulnerable people will suffer the most as care is only available to those with the money and privilege to navigate a privatized system. 

- Meanwhile, Kate Aronoff reports on Jamaal Bowman's work to have inflation limited through price controls which keep necessities affordable for everybody, rather than wage crackdowns which harm workers while doing nothing to limit corporate profiteering. And Natasha Bulowski writes that calls for windfall profit taxes on oil giants aren't going away anytime soon. 

- Bill Curry reports on newly-released documents showing the cost of the Flu Trux Klan escalating into the billions of dollars. 

- Finally, Caitlin Dickerson reports on the U.S.' family separation policy which has deliberately traumatized children in an effort to punish immigrants. And Zak Vescera uncovers the control the Christian Centre Church and Academy have exercised over children and families who are only now seeing an opportunity to tell their stories and fight back. 

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Thomas Walkom points out that most Canadians have far more reason to fear an austerity-fuelled recession than any foreseeable level of inflation. J.W. Mason points out that the U.S. Fed is similarly looking to squeeze workers over inflation that has nothing to do with wages. And Jason Del Rey reports on leaked internal Amazon research finding that one of the most notorious abusers of labour may run out of workers to exploit as soon as 2024. 

- Edward Helmore reviews Bob Keefe's Climatenomics, including its analysis of how the climate breakdown is causing the supply chain disruptions which (along with corporate profiteering) represent the actual reasons for soaring prices. Matthew Rosza offers a warning as to how the 1930s dust bowl caused by a familiar disregard for sustainable development may offer a look at our future. And Fiona Harvey, Ashifa Kassam, Nina Lakhani and Amrit Dhillon discuss why extreme heat is only getting more severe.

- Emma McIntosh reports that Doug Ford's planned Highway 413 will do far more environmental damage than he has been prepared to admit. And Jesse Cnockaert reports on the warning from renewable energy experts at that the small nuclear reactors being pushed by petropoliticians as an alternative to wind and solar represent a delay tactic with dubious supposed benefits. 

- But then, Max Fawcett observes (with reference to Pierre Poilievre's attempt to hawk cryptocurrency) that the arsonist right is perfectly happy to be wrong - and indeed to cause massive damage to anybody foolish enough to believe them - as long as it serves their political ends.

- Finally, Lucette Cysique et al. study the ongoing cognitive impairment being discovered even in people who have only mild to moderate cases of COVID-19.

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Radheyan Simonpillai discusses new polling showing how COVID-19 has caused stress on multiple levels. Al Etmanski writes about the importance of continuing to operate based on a mindset of caring for each other even once the worst of the pandemic is over. And Katharine Viner interviews Naomi Klein about the dangers of merely returning to the status quo after a crisis which has exposed its unconscionability.

- Paris Marx suggests that governments respond to the factors which have led to both failed real estate investment and housing insecurity by turning vacant AirBNB properties into affordable housing.

- Moira Wyton discusses the widespread tragedy of drug overdose deaths in British Columbia, with hundreds of people now losing their lives every month. And Zak Vescera reports on the record number of overdoses taking place in Saskatoon even as Scott Moe's government refuses to fund any harm reduction.

- Meanwhile, Marie Agioritis and Jenny Churchill comment on the need to properly fund mental health and addictions services. And Erin Seatter points out the movement among health professionals calling for police funding to be diverted to public health supports.

- Finally, Thomas Walkom discusses the folly of fearmongering over deficits at a time when government support is necessary to sustain both citizens and businesses through a public health emergency.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Thomas Walkom writes about the Libs' dangerous efforts to turn the page on COVID-19 as Canada's primary political concern.

- Murray Mandryk highlights how Scott Moe's budget accomplishes nothing either to address our immediate crisis, or to chart a long-term course for Saskatchewan. And Sareth Pereis writes that a budget intended to paper over severe social, health and economic challenges until after election day only ensures that we'll face far more pain in the future.

- Robyn Urback rightly slams large grocery chains for trying to take back pay increases from their workers while a pandemic continues to put them at risk every day. And Rosa Marchitelli exposes how Colliers is among the employers engaged in systematic wage and time theft from employees - but faces none of the consequences common when the shoe is alleged to be on the other foot. 

- Bryan Labby reports on new polling showing that Albertans are increasingly willing to pay a sales tax in order to properly fund public services. 

- Jennifer Koshan, Lisa Silver, and Jonnette Watson Hamilton challenge the Jason Kenney UCP's attack on peaceful expression and assembly. And Brandi Morin reports on the racial targeting underlying Bill 1.

- Finally, Owen Jones discusses how the toppling of statues is forcing the UK to confront its own ongoing racism.

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Joseph Stiglitz discusses how the failure of neoliberalism to provide gains for any but the wealthiest few has led to risks to the democratic systems which have been treated as tied to laissez-faire economics. And Armine Yalnizyan challenges the false assumption that increased inequality can be justified in the name of competitiveness.

- Sarah Lawryniuk writes about the potential for Jason Kenney's wanton destruction of Alberta's public sector to produce massive social unrest along with economic damage. Rethinking Poverty writes about the importance of having policy designed by the people who experience its consequences, rather than being imposed out of ignorance by privileged people who presume anything that doesn't affect them personally must not matter. And Ash Sharkar writes that the UK's election may determine whether citizens see any hope of dealing with collective problems at the ballot box.

- Thomas Walkom puts Kenney's trumped-up complaints in perspective compared to the the enormity and importance of the global climate crisis. And Stephen Buranyi calls out the new form of conservative climate denial, which involves barely acknowledging the danger but refusing to do anything to actually cut greenhouse gas emissions.

- But Noah Smith writes that no matter how firmly oil-backed politicians remain in denial, there's no avoiding the fact that the age of fossil fuels is coming to an end.

- Finally, Jane Philpott and Danyaal Raza write that the time is now to put a national Pharmacare program in place.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Justin Fox writes that there are plenty of options available to push for the wealthiest few to pay their fair share toward a functional and compassionate society. And Christine Berry discusses the need for a progressive plan of attack to fundamentally restructure our economy to serve the interests of people rather than plutocrats.

- Meanwhile, Thomas Walkom suggests that Doug Ford's backpedaling should include revisiting his attacks on Ontario workers. Both David Climenhaga and Graham Thomson point out some of the glaring flaws in Jason Kenney's attempt to maximize the pain inflicted on public sector workers in Alberta. And Steven Greenhouse theorizes that the success of a widespread GM strike may encourage more collective action by workers.

- Michael Harris writes that it's obvious why Andrew Scheer should be done as the Cons' leader - but far less clear whether the Cons will actually be interested in avoiding the same problems in choosing a replacement. And Peter Loewen and Michael Bernstein note that the Con's refusal to offer any viable climate policy may have been a major factor in their election loss.

- Finally, Scott Gilmore rightly questions whether it makes sense for Canada to be deepening its dependence on the U.S. when its administration has proven to be both capricious and incompetent around the globe.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Paul Krugman writes that complaints by the U.S.' wealthiest few about Elizabeth Warren reflect their insistence that extreme wealth be coupled with absolute and unquestioned power:

The point is that many of the superrich aren’t satisfied with living like kings, which they will continue to do no matter who wins next year’s election. They also expect to be treated like kings, lionized as job creators and heroes of prosperity, and consider any criticism an unforgivable act of lèse-majesté.

And for such people, the prospect of a Warren presidency is a nightmarish threat — not to their wallets, but to their egos. They can try to brush off someone like Bernie Sanders as a rabble-rouser. But when Warren criticizes malefactors of great wealth and proposes reining in their excesses, her evident policy sophistication — has any previous candidate managed to turn wonkiness into a form of charisma? — makes her critique much harder to dismiss.

If Warren is the nominee, then, a significant number of tycoons will indeed go for Trump; better to put democracy at risk than to countenance a challenge to their imperial self-esteem.

- John Michael McGrath discusses how a combination of arbitrary privatization and governmental heel-dragging has resulted in it taking far more time and trouble than necessary to build public infrastructure. Bryan Eneas reports on the Regina schools which are far over capacity due to the Saskatchewan Party's poor planning and underfunding.

- Thomas Walkom puts the Libs' costly tax tinkering in perspective by comparing it to the puny sums on offer for major social priorities. And Jonathon Gatehouse notes that Andrew Scheer's bombast against foreign aid is as inaccurate as it is dehumanizing.

- Finally, Owen Jones writes that we shouldn't be fooled by calls for both-sides "civility" as a response to organized violence and hatred by the right.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- George Monbiot argues that it's time to cap the amount of wealth any person can accumulate, while highlighting the importance of accepting that there's a point where we have enough.

- Donovan Vincent writes about the rental housing crisis in Toronto, while David Common reports on the stresses facing people in desperate need of affordable rental housing. But Aaron Hutchins points out that the Cons and Libs are instead focusing on non-rental housing with schemes that would drive prices even higher.

- Andrew MacLeod compares the prescription drug promises on offer from the NDP, Libs and Greens. And Thomas Walkom writes that we shouldn't confuse Justin Trudeau's back-of-a-napkin sketch of insufficient funding for an actual pharmacare plan.

- Finally, Aaron Wherry discusses how Andrew Scheer is offering nothing more than stale reruns from the Harper era. Bill Henderson writes that Justin Trudeau's duplicity and poor judgment were well established long before the blackface scandal emerged, while Chris Selley notes that young voters in particular have every reason to demand better than Trudeau's empty promises. Andrew Coyne contrasts the Cons' bad policy against the Libs' lack of any meaningful plans at all. And Karl Nerenberg comments on Jagmeet Singh's strong start to the election campaign.

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- The Globe and Mail's editorial board points out the gross dishonesty of Jason Kenney, Scott Moe and other spokesflacks for the oil sector who are looking to turn the slightest hint of consideration of the environment and Indigenous rights into grounds for a civil war. And Melanee Thomas discusses the dangers of deliberately inflaming anger over fabricated slights as a political strategy. 

- Meanwhile, Sharon Riley and Sarah Cox expose the massive amount of lobbying the oil industry poured into the unelected Senate to undermine any consideration of the public interest. And Riley also points out how the biggest oil companies and their executives are conspicuously avoiding the slump being used an excuse for attacks on public services and workers.

- Dominic Dudley reports on the continuing trend of fossil fuels becoming unaffordable compared to renewable alternatives. And in contrast, Brendan Haley writes about the opportunity for Canada to lead in the industries of the future by investing in green technology rather than a dying fossil fuel sector.

- Andrew Coyne notes that the Libs' recently-announced refusal to follow through on a necessary next phase of a carbon price can only be taken to signal that they're abandoning even Stephen Harper's emission reduction targets.

- Finally, Thomas Walkom writes that pharmacare makes sense now just as it did five-plus decades ago when it was included as part of Tommy Douglas' plan for medicare - meaning that it's long past time to implement a universal pharmacare system.

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Ian Austen discusses how Justin Trudeau plans to offer nothing but more of the same broken promises and favoritism for the Libs' corporate benefactors. And Mike Smyth examines what's set to be unearthed in British Columbia's money laundering inquiry - which of course never would have existed if the Libs' provincial cousins had clung to power.

- Vik Adhopia reports on the Libs' participation in a "national pharmacare program" forum which in fact consisted solely of corporate lobbying against universal prescription drug coverage. And Robert Jago points out what's missing - and misleading - in the Greens' outdated Indigenous policies.

- The UN points out how a climate breakdown will threaten food production around the globe, while Gaia Vince writes about the need for immediate and drastic steps to limit the damage from our climate crisis. Thomas Walkom discusses Jagmeet Singh's strong stance advancing a just transition toward a clean energy economy in Canada. And Kevin Griffin points out the immediate benefits of converting to electric vehicles, while CBC News reports on the development of zero-emission transport trucks in Alberta as a result of the Notley NDP's climate policy.

- Finally, CBC News also reports that like his predecessor, Scott Moe is insistent on energy sources which involve digging up hazardous substances with no regard for the lack of a safe disposal system - even if that means converting fossil fuel power production to nuclear (and in the process ignoring the public backlash against the Saskatchewan Party's previous attempt to pitch nuclear power).

[Edit: fixed formatting.]

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Matt Bruenig discusses how UK Labour's plans to ensure workers have an ownership stake in major corporations fits into the wider principle of common wealth:

The Labour Party’s John McDonnell recently unveiled a policy that would require large corporations with more than 250 employees to gradually place 10 percent of their shares into Inclusive Ownership Funds (IOFs) owned by workers. Under the plan, workers in each firm would exercise the ownership rights of the IOF shares and annually receive up to £500 of their shares’ dividends.

Along with nationalizing certain utilities, giving workers representation on corporate boards, and reinvigorating the trade union movement, collectivizing the ownership of a portion of company stock through the IOF scheme is meant to be a step towards democratizing the ownership and control of the UK economy.
...
(T)he need to come up with practical socialist governing ideas seems to be what is motivating the recent renaissance of the idea in the last 6 years or so. The surprising success of Jeremy Corbyn in the UK Labour Party has prompted policy organizations like IPPR to reinvigorate the idea so that it can be adopted ahead of the next UK election. In the US, a burgeoning socialist movement sparked by Bernie Sanders has pushed think tanks like People’s Policy Project to do the same thing.
...
Nonetheless, it is heartening to see the Labour Party pick up this long-standing socialist idea and run with it in earnest. The Inclusive Ownership Funds offer a promising strategy for gradually shifting ownership of the economy out of the hands of an oligarchic class and into the hands of Britain’s workers and its society as a whole. It is not a panacea to all that ails the British economy, but it does set it down the path towards a democratic socialist future.

- Bill Curry reports on the latest report of Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux indicating that while the federal government has money to spare, there's an urgent need for increased transfers to ensure provinces can meet their responsibilities. And the CCPA's Alternative Federal Budget offers a road map toward ending poverty and transitioning toward a sustainable economy in the relatively near future.

- Meanwhile, Katherine Scott points out the need for far more than sporadic awareness and action in pursuit of gender equity.

- Emilee Gilpin reports that the Libs' response to the Trans Mountain court decision about insufficient consultation and regulation has been to give interested parties a grand total of a week in which to register for a new hearing. And Jim Bronskill reports on the federal government's attempts to stifle any public knowledge of the steps taken to spy on environmental activists.

- Finally, Thomas Walkom writes that Canada should be walking away from NAFTA talks ather than keeping up the laughable pretense that the U.S. - particularly under Donald Trump - can be counted on to respect its continental commitments.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Patrick Kingsley points out how children are feeling the effects of the UK's austerity, including by being driven into avoidable poverty. And Michelle Bellefontaine reports on the predictable damage to Edmonton's schools even from the cuts being bandied about by Jason Kenney long before an election.

- Marshall Auerback discusses some important warnings that the use of political and financial power to further enrich the wealthy few while ignoring inequality only stands to push us toward predictable economic crises.

- Thomas Walkom writes about the rise of right-wing populism in New Brunswick as an example of the type of campaign which tends to be used as cover for corporatist policy. And Anita Anand discusses how Doug Ford is looking to undermine investor protections in the name of enriching the financial sector, while Sara Mojtehedzadeh reports on Ford's choice to hand billions to employers at the expense of injured workers (even as he also plans to halt a legislated minimum wage increase).

- Finally, George Monbiot argues that we can't expect to make a needed transition away from fossil fuels without challenging the industry-funded assumption that perpetual growth - including in polluting industries - is the only available economic goal.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Stephen McBride offers some important lessons on austerity from government responses to the 2008 economic crisis.

- Zoe Drewett reports on the rising level of poverty in the UK. Andrew Jackson points out how the Libs' measuring stick for poverty seems aimed at doing the bare minimum, and stands to leave many people behind. And Dawn Foster interviews Kate Pickett and Richard Wilkinson about the damaging effects of inequality on our health and well-being:

The Inner Level, their long-awaited follow up published earlier this year, looks at the more personal, individual effects of inequality: how the social effects of the gap between rich and poor impact on people. “We’re talking about how inequality affects our intimate lives, our inner lives; our mental wellbeing, our relationships with friends and family,” Pickett says.

The Inner Level examines a society that has dealt with 10 years of austerity, and seen almost every family impacted by stagnant wages, increased job insecurity, swingeing cuts and changes to the benefits system and public services nationally and locally, as well as a surge in problems with mental health across society. “It takes a whole argument and evidence about the effects of inequality to a deeper and more intimate level. In The Spirit Level we were dealing with things about society ‘out there’ – the size of the prison population, homicide rates, obesity rates and so on. But this takes it into the sphere of our social fears and anxieties,” Wilkinson says. “Worries about self worth: all the things that make social contact sometimes seem rather awkward and stressful. Your fears about self presentation and so on are all exacerbated by inequality.”

The problems scrutinised in the book – self doubt, social anxiety, stress, and fear of how we are seen by others – have an impact on day-to-day emotions for individuals, but also a wider impact on relationships, our ability to build functioning communities, and the health and wellbeing of entire populations. These issues are massively exacerbated by inequality, and a belief in meritocracy means that any failure is deemed a personal failure, the book argues. “The reality is that inequality causes real suffering, regardless of how we choose to label such distress. Greater inequality heightens social threat and status anxiety, evoking feelings of shame which feed into our instincts for withdrawal, submission and subordination: when the social pyramid gets higher and steeper and status insecurity increases, there are widespread psychological costs.”

The stress of poverty also influences the cognitive development of babies and children. Measuring the levels of the stress hormone cortisol in infants found that poverty, and the amount of time spent in poverty, can hamper the mental development of children. Pickett and Wilkinson find that “family income is a more powerful determinant of cognitive development than being brought up by single parents, or maternal depression”, and that if children are enrolled in support services like Sure Start and their equivalents in other countries, some of the effects of poverty are offset, and children’s educational and psychological performance improves.
...
Wilkinson and Pickett cite extensive statistical evidence that unequal societies are responsible for less fulfilling personal lives, and in turn harm public health, scupper educational progress, increase crime and lower life expectancy. “We debunk some of the myths that people use to explain why [society] is willing to tolerate greater levels of inequality, namely that inequality is a natural result of our human nature, that we are competitive, individualistic and out for ourselves – that’s the way we are, it’s just human nature and nothing can be done about it,” Pickett says. “That is not the case. We also provide evidence to counter the argument that actually we’re living in a meritocracy, and that inequality is simply a case of the capable and talented moving up, and those who are less capable, less clever, moving down.”

- Daniel Tencer reports on Canada's place among the riskiest housing markets in the world when comparing current prices to long-term averages. 

- Andrew Parkin and Erich Hartmann discuss the need for a national pharmacare program to be fair to provinces who have already made the effort to ensure residents have needed access to medications. And Thomas Walkom follows up on the work of the Institute for Research on Public Policy in showing how a pharmacare system could be put together.

- Finally, Bill Curry and Tom Cardoso report on the Libs' continued use of cash-for-access fund-raising events.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Thomas Walkom reminds us that the Libs's supposed tradeoff of climate policy for pipelines is failing as much in producing the former as the latter:

For almost two years, the Trudeau government has tried to finesse the contradictions of its climate-change policies.

On the one hand, the government has talked tough, promising to impose carbon taxes on those provinces that don’t have their own.
...
On the other, the proposed carbon tax itself — $10 per tonne of greenhouse gas emissions this year, rising to $50 by 2022 — is woefully inadequate to the task of weaning Canadians from their reliance on fossil fuels.

Experts I’ve talked to estimate that a carbon tax would have to start at $30 a tonne and reach at least $200 by 2030 to do any good.

The federal government has also insisted that Canada can merrily continue to mine the carbon-intensive tarsands and still meet its international greenhouse gas emission reduction obligations, which it cannot.  

- The Globe and Mail's editorial board discusses the need to keep fighting against climate change rather than succumbing to defeatism - though we also shouldn't be fooled by insufficient incremental steps in the face of a serious global problem. And Rebecca Harris, David Bowman and Linda Beaumont write about the Australian ecosystems that are collapsing as a result of climate change.

- Gabriel Elizondo offers a reminder of the massive amount of plastic being dumped in our oceans. And Bethany McLean writes that in addition to being an environmental disaster, the U.S.' increased push toward fracking is setting up an economic house of cards.

- David Climenhaga points out that the Trump administration's depiction of an utterly feckless Canadian NAFTA bargaining team rings all too true.

- The CP reports on Quebec Solidaire's promise of a public wireless network to ensure that telecom giants can't limit access to the Internet through price gouging and selective deployment. 

- Finally, Chase Rutting discusses the urgent need for Saskatchewan to confront the violent racism in its midst - rather than catering to it as the Saskatchewan Party has chosen to do.

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Joseph Stiglitz writes that history has proven wrong the theory that the weak recovery from the 2008 economic crash was the result of "secular stagnation" rather than a woefully insufficient public policy response. And Sam Pizzigati points out how the U.S. public is picking up the bill for obscene executive pay rather than seeing public money used for beneficial purposes.

- Thomas Walkom points out the futility of signing trade deals with unreliable partners. And Theophilis Argitis observes that there's been no reality to past threats about the consequences of failing to follow Donald Trump's regressive economic policies.

- Oliver Milman reports on California's move toward 100% clean electricity, signalling how forward-looking jurisdictions are planning their energy futures.

- Rick Smith discusses how the defence of democratic decision-making has become a genuinely controversial issue in the face of right-wing politicians increasingly determined to warp electoral systems and public institutions to exclude any other voices. And Linda McQuaig notes that Doug Ford has picked up a class war on behalf of the rich where Mike Harris left off.

- Finally, Luke Savage highlights the need to properly define and apply the concept of populism, rather than using it as a shorthand which simultaneously dismisses legitimate criticisms of the status quo and reinforces misleading messages:

(T)he label’s almost uniformly negative connotation has created a parochial shorthand by which any serious critic of the status quo can be summarily dismissed regardless of their actual analysis or their ultimate political demands (whether you favour them or not, calls for tuition-free universities or universal social programs are categorically not equivalent to closed borders or fear-mongering about immigration). For another, it often has a way of needlessly glamorizing political behaviour that is, in fact, quite traditional. Is Doug Ford, for example, really a populist or is he just the scion of an entrenched political dynasty who’s cavalier with the truth and likes to say “folks” so much that people forget he’s a multimillionaire? Let’s avoid ascribing some ethereal mystique to good old-fashioned political posturing or demagogy. But finally, and most straightforwardly, incoherence is generally harmful for democracy—when people go to vote, we presumably would like them to have some idea of what they’re actually voting for, and not all populisms are created equal.
...
(I)n its contemporary usage, populism seems to be more of a floating signifier than something that usefully connotes a specific ideology, tendency, or political project. True, antiestablishment posture seems a common thread in these examples. But establishment and elites are themselves quite mutable terms and refer to completely different groups and institutions depending on who you ask. Are “elites” and members of the “establishment” state bureaucrats? Academics? The media? Corporate CEOs? People who prefer a glass of sherry to a pint of beer or happen to live in a major metropolitan area near the coast? The various individuals, parties, and movements cited above would likely offer very different answers.
...
As fashionable as it has become, then, the populist label may only be useful in a broad, aesthetic sense, and even then its value may be limited. Unhelpfully, it often grafts an aura of novelty on to well-worn ideological divides and, in the process, puts completely disparate politicians and movements into the same box. In trying to interpret various movements of the left and right, let us stop conflating a political style with a distinctive ideology.

[Edit: fixed typo.]

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Lambert Strether points out that standard estimates of income inequality (jarring though they are to begin with) tend to ignore the capital gains which accrue disproportionately to those who already have the most.

- Scott Alexander makes the case for a basic income as opposed to a jobs guarantee - including the observation that the requirements of work (including housing location and transportation) can themselves be contributors to poverty and stress.

- Josh Eidelson points out how the U.S. has allowed "prevailing wage" data which is intended to ensure reasonable pay on federal projects to fall decades out of date. And Noam Scheiber reports that Donald Trump is attacking both the job security of federal employees and their ability to defend themselves collectively - while William Brown and Chris Wright write that exactly the opposite steps represent the best hope of protecting the UK's labour standards in the face of Brexit. 

- Harry Quilter-Pinner argues that there's no excuse for failing to limit avoidable air pollution which causes serious public health risks. 

- Finally, Andrew Nikiforuk examines the true costs of the Libs' Trans Mountain subsidies and giveaways - with a price tag likely to approach $20 billion. Bill McKibben criticizes Justin Trudeau's decision to become an oil executive rather than governing in the interest of Canadians, while Thomas Walkom notes that buying up a pipeline doesn't solve any of the underlying factors pointing against pipeline expansion while rewarding Kinder Morgan for its petulance. And Vicky Mochama offers some suggestions as to Trudeau's anticipated pitch to try to sell off the pipeline in the years to come.

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Quirks & Quarks examines the potentially devastating effects of a dilbit spill on British Columbia's coast. And David Climenhaga warns that Kinder Morgan is looking at NAFTA to provide it an alternate source of risk-free profits at public expense.

- Mia Rabson reports on Canada's continued failure to come anywhere close to our already-insufficient emission reduction commitments. And Laura Kusisto and Arian Campo-Flores examine how oceanfront properly is beginning to lose its value as buyers recognize the impending effects of climate change.

- Thomas Walkom offers his take as to why Canada needs a universal pharmacare system. But Andre Picard points out the need to be much more specific about what will be included and how it will be funded. 

- Hugh Segal argues that prosperous societies have a particular duty to eliminate poverty and insecurity - including by guaranteeing a basic income.

- Finally, Stop the Cuts weighs in on yet another austerity budget from the Saskatchewan Party. And Murray Mandryk criticizes the Moe government's belief that it's above any need for ethics.

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Tom Parkin discusses the Libs' identity politics - and how they endanger people's substantive interests both in what the Libs fail to do, and in the predictable reaction from right-wing populists:

For Liberals, identity politics is a distraction from economic policies that are very hard on many people. Trudeau won’t increase the federal minimum wage. He sells off public assets through his Infrastructure Bank. Ignores looming personal debts. Weakens private pension plans. Lets Sears default on their promises to workers. Cuts Canadians’ healthcare funding. Spends billions on tax cuts that give the biggest benefit to incomes over $90,000.

There’s no solution to economic insecurity and inequality — it’s just extend old policies that don’t work and pretend everything’s alright.

So it should be no surprise if Canadians — especially poor and working class people who are most affected — now reject Trudeau and, with him, the empty identity politics he uses as cover.
...
The hollowness of liberal identity politics has Trudeau recognizing the wrongs of colonialism, sexism and racism — then letting the people who have all the power and money keep all the power and money. That’s the hijacking of the political left.

But liberal identity politics also empowers the most enduring form of identity politics — conservative identity politics.

If we are all essentially different and stranded on our little islands of identity, then the point of the alt-right is proven: we are all just tribes in a constant state of war. So every time Trudeau says it’s our differences that make us stronger, he sets the table for the alt-right to feed at. And they gorged.
...
Since the last economic recession there’ve been two great games — the economic game of extend and pretend and the distraction game of identity politics. Both urgently need credible replacements.

- Meanwhile, David Gray-Donald documents how the right-wing hate machine targeted Nora Loreto for daring to mention the disparity in public reactions between tragedies. 

- Mark Rank offers a reminder that immediate investments in eliminating child poverty produce dramatic returns over time. And Cherise Seucharan writes about the need to expand public health care, rather than allowing profiteers to take it over.

- Jeffrey Sachs writes that we should be investing in sustainable, clean infrastructure, not throwing public money into fossil fuels.

- Finally, Thomas Walkom points out Donald Trump's predictable decision to favour the wealthy over everybody else through the Trans-Pacific Partnership - and how it renders futile any attempt to rely on NAFTA to protect citizens from corporate control.