Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.
- Anna Coote discusses some of the potential problems with a universal basic income on its own - particularly to the extent it takes momentum away from the prospect of universal basic services.
- Scott Sinclair examines how little has changed - and how many substantial dangers haven't - in the latest iteration of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
- Joan Bryden reports on the Parliamentary Budget Officer's five-year fight for information to allow it to assess the money Canada loses to offshore tax evasion. And the report from Alex Boutilier, Marco Chown Oved and Robert Cribb highlights other available estimates suggesting the Canadian public loses from 6 to 15 billion dollars every year to tax havens.
- Rob Ferguson reports on the billions in costs to Ontario from its privatization of Hydro One, while Aaron Derfel notes that P3 hospitals and other projects are getting more and more expensive. Kate Osamor discusses how privatization schemes are diluting the effects of foreign aid funding. And Rob Merrick points out UK Labour's plan in the wake of the Carillion collapse to develop worker-run public services to ensure that the public sector isn't so easily sold off or outsourced in the future.
- Meanwhile, Eli Day comments on the role younger workers are playing in rejuvenating the U.S.' labour movement after finding that they need a collective voice to stand up for their interests.
- Finally, John Anderson discusses the importance of a strong left-wing message from the federal NDP. And Zi-Ann Lum reports that Jagmeet Singh isn't being shy about reclaiming the ground on electoral reform which the Lib falsely claimed in 2015.
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading.
- David Brady, Ryan Finnigan and Sabine Hubgen challenge the claim that there's any relationship between single motherhood and poverty. And Doug Saunders writes that there's an opening for progressive movements to take back the theme of family values which obviously bear no relationship to the policy cruelty of the right:
- Kate McInturff reminds us why the continued gender pay gap is everybody's problem.
- David Pugliese points out that the Libs' agreement to sell military helicopters to Rodrigo Duterte was made with full knowledge that human rights abuses would result. And Tom Parkin puts the helicopter sale to the Philippines in context with Justin Trudeau's general failure to match words about human rights with meaningful action.
- Finally, Terry Dance Bennink, Maria Dobrinskaya and Antony Hodgson make the case for a proportional electoral system in British Columbia.
- David Brady, Ryan Finnigan and Sabine Hubgen challenge the claim that there's any relationship between single motherhood and poverty. And Doug Saunders writes that there's an opening for progressive movements to take back the theme of family values which obviously bear no relationship to the policy cruelty of the right:
As the Brown University historian Robert O. Self found in his chronicle of this period, conservatives "energized by the legalization of abortion, the demands of feminists, the expansion of welfare, rising crime rates, and the increasing visibility of homosexuality, cast the nuclear family as in crisis and its defense as their patriotic duty … they sought to protect idealized families from moral harm."- Speaking of which, Renee Feltz reports on the lobbying by Koch-backed groups to undermine any movement toward paid sick leave in the U.S. - because for the plebes, the only acceptable response to illness is to suck it up and go to work anyway.
It was politically very successful. Yet it was built on a flawed premise. Poverty, inequality, crime and dependence are linked to family breakdown. But family-values conservatives got it backward: Broken families are not the cause of social and economic deprivation; they're an effect. Those dreaded big-state policies hadn't undermined the family; they'd protected it....Stable and successful two-parent families tend to flourish where there's strong promotion of birth control and robust sex education, where child-care resources exist so that parents don't have to choose between work or children, where housing and social-assistance policies allow couples to have stable long-term tenure, where laws and social practices allow couples outside the traditional sphere of the heterosexual nuclear family to enter the security of marriage.Beneath all that controversial liberal language of shifting identities and diversity and competing rights, you'll find the secret to family stability and, therefore, to upward mobility. If candidates are careful with that language, the next few years could see the return of the family-values left.
- Kate McInturff reminds us why the continued gender pay gap is everybody's problem.
- David Pugliese points out that the Libs' agreement to sell military helicopters to Rodrigo Duterte was made with full knowledge that human rights abuses would result. And Tom Parkin puts the helicopter sale to the Philippines in context with Justin Trudeau's general failure to match words about human rights with meaningful action.
- Finally, Terry Dance Bennink, Maria Dobrinskaya and Antony Hodgson make the case for a proportional electoral system in British Columbia.
Monday, February 12, 2018
Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week.
- Paul Krugman reminds us of the fraud that is right-wing bleating about deficits:
- Meanwhile, Torsten Bell highlights the sheer impossibility of overcoming the effects of structural inequality merely by trying to work and save with an average income.
- Martin Lukacs comments on the Trudeau Libs' eagerness to have an anti-science Trump administration lobby for pipelines. Ricardo Acuna challenges some of the spin being used to try to sell the Trans Mountain expansion, while Elizabeth McSheffery fact-checks Scott Moe's early attempt to use the office of the Premier to serve the oil lobby. And Mitchell Anderson questions why British Columbia (and anybody concerned about protecting our natural environment) should pay the price for Alberta's squandering of past oil revenue.
- Justin Mikulka writes about the gap between promises and reality in responding to spills of diluted bitumen.
- Finally, CTV reports on Trajectoire Quebec's research into the high costs of subsidizing the cost of driving.
- Paul Krugman reminds us of the fraud that is right-wing bleating about deficits:
- Thomas Walkom discusses how we shouldn't mistake a few peaks in a fluctuating stock market for more a sound economy. And Doug Henwood expands on the fact that the recent downturn reflects the aversion of wealthy shareholders to any wage growth.There have been many “news analysis” pieces asking why Republicans have changed their views on deficit spending. But let’s be serious: Their views haven’t changed at all. They never really cared about debt and deficits; it was a fraud all along. All that has changed is the fact that a Republican now sits in the White House.How do we know Republicans were never sincere about the deficit? It was obvious, even at the time, to anyone who looked at their fiscal proposals. These proposals always involved giant tax cuts for the wealthy — funny how that worked — offset by savage cuts in social benefits. Even so, assertions that deficits would go down depended entirely on assuming lots of revenue from closing unspecified loopholes and huge savings from cutting unspecified government programs. In other words, even at the peak of their deficit-hawk posturing, all Republicans really had to offer was redistribution from the poor to the rich....Please, let’s not talk about the wrongheadedness of fiscal policy — about imposing austerity in a depressed economy, then running up the deficit when we’re already near full employment — as a problem of “political dysfunction,” or assert that both parties are to blame. Democrats didn’t block stimulus when the economy needed it, or push a tax cut that will worsen inequality and explode the national debt.No, this is all about Republican bad faith. Everything they said about budgets, every step of the way, was fraudulent. And nobody should believe anything they say now.
- Meanwhile, Torsten Bell highlights the sheer impossibility of overcoming the effects of structural inequality merely by trying to work and save with an average income.
- Martin Lukacs comments on the Trudeau Libs' eagerness to have an anti-science Trump administration lobby for pipelines. Ricardo Acuna challenges some of the spin being used to try to sell the Trans Mountain expansion, while Elizabeth McSheffery fact-checks Scott Moe's early attempt to use the office of the Premier to serve the oil lobby. And Mitchell Anderson questions why British Columbia (and anybody concerned about protecting our natural environment) should pay the price for Alberta's squandering of past oil revenue.
- Justin Mikulka writes about the gap between promises and reality in responding to spills of diluted bitumen.
- Finally, CTV reports on Trajectoire Quebec's research into the high costs of subsidizing the cost of driving.
Sunday, February 11, 2018
Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading.
- Robert Jago comments on an all-white jury's acquittal of Gerald Stanley for the shooting death of Colten Boushie. Shree Paradkar notes that the issue of non-representative juries is far from a new one. Scott Gilmore recognizes that Boushie's death and its aftermath are just one more story in a far-too-long history of denying fairness and equality to Indigenous peoples, while Doug Cuthand also notes the social factors behind the tragedy. And Kyle Edwards writes that Stanley's verdict will only stoke distrust of the criminal justice system and government generally, while Dr. Dawg argues that it should lead us to push for reconciliation with far greater urgency.
- Sophia Harris writes about the raiding of Sears employees' pensions to enrich executive and shareholders - featuring the farce of the same shareholder whose control sucked the company dry somehow cared about nothing more than it it staying viable.
- John Atcheson points out how the U.S. stands to pay a steep price for an infrastructure scheme designed mostly to enrich wealthy investors. And Drew McMillin notes that Ontario's highways may not be maintained this winter due to the province's reliance on the collapsed Carillion to service them.
- Toby Helm reports on UK Labour's long-overdue push to bring public services back under public ownership. And Rob Merrick reports on Jeremy Corbyn's plans for a renewable energy revolution.
- Finally, Becky Bond, Adam Klug and Emma Rees discuss the hope of building a progressive movement in Canada comparable to the ones which have rallied behind Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders.
- Robert Jago comments on an all-white jury's acquittal of Gerald Stanley for the shooting death of Colten Boushie. Shree Paradkar notes that the issue of non-representative juries is far from a new one. Scott Gilmore recognizes that Boushie's death and its aftermath are just one more story in a far-too-long history of denying fairness and equality to Indigenous peoples, while Doug Cuthand also notes the social factors behind the tragedy. And Kyle Edwards writes that Stanley's verdict will only stoke distrust of the criminal justice system and government generally, while Dr. Dawg argues that it should lead us to push for reconciliation with far greater urgency.
- Sophia Harris writes about the raiding of Sears employees' pensions to enrich executive and shareholders - featuring the farce of the same shareholder whose control sucked the company dry somehow cared about nothing more than it it staying viable.
- John Atcheson points out how the U.S. stands to pay a steep price for an infrastructure scheme designed mostly to enrich wealthy investors. And Drew McMillin notes that Ontario's highways may not be maintained this winter due to the province's reliance on the collapsed Carillion to service them.
- Toby Helm reports on UK Labour's long-overdue push to bring public services back under public ownership. And Rob Merrick reports on Jeremy Corbyn's plans for a renewable energy revolution.
- Finally, Becky Bond, Adam Klug and Emma Rees discuss the hope of building a progressive movement in Canada comparable to the ones which have rallied behind Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders.
Saturday, February 10, 2018
Friday, February 09, 2018
Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week.
- Jim O'Neill proposes an end to corporate free-riding (and an assurance of contribution to the society which allows for profit) through explicit "pay-or-play" rules:
- Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura writes that the UK is paying a massive long-term price in both human and budgetary terms for its reckless privatization of services.
- Andrew Longhurst discusses the public health benefits of a fair minimum wage - meaning that there figure to be plenty of long-term benefits from British Columbia's newly-announced (albeit gradual) increases.
- Finally, Michael Harris discusses the Libs' empty promises of reversing the Cons' environmental damage - particularly in the case of right whales. And Tom Parkin comments on the gap between Justin Trudeau's forced attempts at progressive branding and his consistent conservative policy choices.
- Jim O'Neill proposes an end to corporate free-riding (and an assurance of contribution to the society which allows for profit) through explicit "pay-or-play" rules:
- Meagan Day argues that it's time to end the habit of handing free money to corporations like Amazon based on nothing more than the faith-based belief that their profits will somehow serve the public good. And Jen Zielinski's report on Airbnb's long-overdue compliance with basic requirements for businesses should also serve as a reminder of how much of what's branded as innovation consists only of efforts to evade necessary regulation and taxation.Since proposing a pay-or-play scheme for the pharmaceutical industry, I have come to think that the same principle could be applied more broadly in business. Larry Fink, the CEO of the asset-management firm BlackRock, might agree. At a time when many people have come to doubt that the modern global economy serves their interests, Fink has called on all companies to do more to make a “positive contribution to society.”In my view, all companies, particularly those that are publicly listed, need to embrace the principle of enlightened self-interest, and recognize that a healthy society is better for their own business in the long run. But until they do, policymakers should start thinking about how pay-or-play schemes could be used to address growing popular disenchantment with a corporate sector where only insiders seem to benefit from rising profits.Here in the United Kingdom, there are a few areas where pay-or-play schemes could prove useful. For example, many companies now organize their affairs in such a way as to avoid paying UK corporate taxes, despite having conducted their business here. So, why not replace the tax on reported profits with a pay-or-play tax on a percentage of their overall sales?
...
To be sure, many corporate leaders would hate such an idea. But at a time when the public is increasingly skeptical of corporations, CEOs are hardly in a position to complain about the effects Brexit will have on their bottom line. They need to open their minds, take out their wallets, and have faith in the promise of enlightened self-interest.
- Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura writes that the UK is paying a massive long-term price in both human and budgetary terms for its reckless privatization of services.
- Andrew Longhurst discusses the public health benefits of a fair minimum wage - meaning that there figure to be plenty of long-term benefits from British Columbia's newly-announced (albeit gradual) increases.
- Finally, Michael Harris discusses the Libs' empty promises of reversing the Cons' environmental damage - particularly in the case of right whales. And Tom Parkin comments on the gap between Justin Trudeau's forced attempts at progressive branding and his consistent conservative policy choices.
Thursday, February 08, 2018
Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading.
- Michelle Chen takes note of the influx of young energy into the U.S.' labour movement:
- In contrast, Ellen Smirl studies Winnipeg's privatization of waste collection and finds that it's served mostly to reduce pay and job security for the workers delivering public services.
- Karolina Walczak and Fallon Hewitt write about the particular dangers faced by homeless women. And Blooms reports on the freezing death of one Portland woman in the immediate wake of her eviction from a home for seniors and people with disabilities.
- Finally, D.C. Fraser reports that after first dragging its heels establishing any policy to deal with the legalization of marijuana, the Saskatchewan Party still hasn't bothered to consider its budget impacts.
- Michelle Chen takes note of the influx of young energy into the U.S.' labour movement:
(I)n contrast to the myth of millennials’ being economically and politically adrift, they’re stepping in readily to fill the union ranks that have hemorrhaged middle-aged workers over the years—2017 actually saw an increase in the overall number of unionized workers over the previous year. A movement that we’re used to thinking of as getting older and smaller is actually growing stronger and younger—and they may well be leading the next progressive voting bloc in tandem with the labor movement.- Meanwhile, as a reminder of the long-term benefits of collective action by workers, Guy Chazan reports on one German union's success in winning both a 28-hour work week and a substantial pay increase.
...
millennials may experience unique push-and-pull factors that drive them into unions. As EPI details in a separate analysis, unionization counters the characteristics that make jobs lousy today: gender and racial discrimination, wage gaps and lack of advancement opportunities.
Union jobs provide a net wage premium for women, especially in service-sector jobs that often lack stability and livable wages. Collective bargaining and union representation are associated with significantly higher wages for black and Latino workers. Nationwide, unionized workers are more than 50 percent more likely to have an employer-sponsored pension, and the vast majority have health insurance through their employer—a virtual financial unicorn for millennials who are often tracked into freelance and gig work with few benefits. Workers under age 25 who are unionized earn roughly a fifth more than their non-union counterparts.
Because unions give workers a voice in their workplace, unions offer young people a progressive support network at work, including legal support if they suffer harassment and want to bring a grievance against an abusive supervisor, and a community of solidarity for organizing colleagues against biased or inequitable treatment.
...
(W)hether they just cast a union vote or just landed their first gig, millennials have a keen sense of what they’re up against in the new economy, understand the challenges and opportunities of taking action at work, and, see unions are a springboard into the jobs, and justice, that they need and deserve.
- In contrast, Ellen Smirl studies Winnipeg's privatization of waste collection and finds that it's served mostly to reduce pay and job security for the workers delivering public services.
- Karolina Walczak and Fallon Hewitt write about the particular dangers faced by homeless women. And Blooms reports on the freezing death of one Portland woman in the immediate wake of her eviction from a home for seniors and people with disabilities.
- Finally, D.C. Fraser reports that after first dragging its heels establishing any policy to deal with the legalization of marijuana, the Saskatchewan Party still hasn't bothered to consider its budget impacts.
New column day
Here, on the latest threats to a free and open Internet for Canadians.
For further reading...
- Again, Canadaland broke the story of Bell's push to make regulatory restrictions on website access a default answer to copyright issues here, while the FairPlay scheme is here (PDF). Michael Geist discussed some of the problems with Bell's position, while OpenMedia is leading the charge against it. And Sameer Chidra reported on the implicit response from the CRTC's Chris Seidl.
- Matthew Braga reported on Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien's push for a right to be forgotten by multiple means. And both Geist's response and David Fraser's previous submission are worth a look in analyzing the proposal.
- Finally, Marianela Ramos Capela discusses what should be a far larger issue - being the impact of high prices on general access to basic information services.
For further reading...
- Again, Canadaland broke the story of Bell's push to make regulatory restrictions on website access a default answer to copyright issues here, while the FairPlay scheme is here (PDF). Michael Geist discussed some of the problems with Bell's position, while OpenMedia is leading the charge against it. And Sameer Chidra reported on the implicit response from the CRTC's Chris Seidl.
- Matthew Braga reported on Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien's push for a right to be forgotten by multiple means. And both Geist's response and David Fraser's previous submission are worth a look in analyzing the proposal.
- Finally, Marianela Ramos Capela discusses what should be a far larger issue - being the impact of high prices on general access to basic information services.
Wednesday, February 07, 2018
Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.
- Ed Finn reminds us that Canada has ample resources to bring about positive social change - just as long as we start taxing the wealthy fairly, including by collecting taxes owed on money currently being stashed offshore.
- Pierre Fortin reviews the effects of Quebec's universal affordable child care program - and the reality that providing a similarly popular and effective program throughout Canada could similarly represent a net positive for public budgets (as well as a social benefit).
- Richard Partington examines the UK's growing inequality in the lead up to its Brexit vote. And Leonardo Bursztyn, Bruno Ferman, Stefano Fiorin, Martin Kanz and Gautam Rao study (PDF) the connection between a desire for status goods such as platinum credit cards, and a lack of self-esteem.
- Celine McNicholas, Heidi Shierholz and Marni von Wilpert discuss the new dangers to Americans after a year of Donald Trump's deregulation.
- Finally, Doug Cuthand comments on the clash between the Gerald Stanley murder trial and First Nations traditions, as well as the lack of representation on a jury where all Indigenous people were summarily excluded. And Murray Mandryk offers a reminder that there was only one victim in the shooting.
- Ed Finn reminds us that Canada has ample resources to bring about positive social change - just as long as we start taxing the wealthy fairly, including by collecting taxes owed on money currently being stashed offshore.
- Pierre Fortin reviews the effects of Quebec's universal affordable child care program - and the reality that providing a similarly popular and effective program throughout Canada could similarly represent a net positive for public budgets (as well as a social benefit).
- Richard Partington examines the UK's growing inequality in the lead up to its Brexit vote. And Leonardo Bursztyn, Bruno Ferman, Stefano Fiorin, Martin Kanz and Gautam Rao study (PDF) the connection between a desire for status goods such as platinum credit cards, and a lack of self-esteem.
- Celine McNicholas, Heidi Shierholz and Marni von Wilpert discuss the new dangers to Americans after a year of Donald Trump's deregulation.
- Finally, Doug Cuthand comments on the clash between the Gerald Stanley murder trial and First Nations traditions, as well as the lack of representation on a jury where all Indigenous people were summarily excluded. And Murray Mandryk offers a reminder that there was only one victim in the shooting.
Tuesday, February 06, 2018
Tuesday Evening Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading.
- Aditya Chakrabortty comments on the stunning turnaround experienced by the UK city of Preston after it started making a concerted effort to use public money to benefit citizens and local development.
- Meanwhile, CNN Wires notes that in contrast, massize Amazon warehouses don't do anything to add to net employment. The Hamilton Spectator laments the fact that Ontario's government has decided to hand Loblaws an effective monopoly on transit cards. And Landon Thomas Jr. writes about the World Bank's new role pushing P3s as an added means of extracting wealth from countries which are already short on resources of their own.
- Amina Zafar reports on some cuts to Canadian generic prescription drug prices arising out of an agreement not to pursue a tendering process for a few years. But Vik Adhopia notes that we'll still end up paying far more than in New Zealand among other jurisdictions where tendering processes are actually used - meaning that there's still every reason to push for a more fair deal for the public.
- Tom Parkin discusses the need for stronger protection against sexual harassment beyond what the Libs have introduced so far. And Nathan Heller points out that precarious and gig workers are particularly vulnerable.
- Finally, the Globe and Mail questions the Libs' decision to shield incumbents from any accountability in their ridings.
- Aditya Chakrabortty comments on the stunning turnaround experienced by the UK city of Preston after it started making a concerted effort to use public money to benefit citizens and local development.
- Meanwhile, CNN Wires notes that in contrast, massize Amazon warehouses don't do anything to add to net employment. The Hamilton Spectator laments the fact that Ontario's government has decided to hand Loblaws an effective monopoly on transit cards. And Landon Thomas Jr. writes about the World Bank's new role pushing P3s as an added means of extracting wealth from countries which are already short on resources of their own.
- Amina Zafar reports on some cuts to Canadian generic prescription drug prices arising out of an agreement not to pursue a tendering process for a few years. But Vik Adhopia notes that we'll still end up paying far more than in New Zealand among other jurisdictions where tendering processes are actually used - meaning that there's still every reason to push for a more fair deal for the public.
- Tom Parkin discusses the need for stronger protection against sexual harassment beyond what the Libs have introduced so far. And Nathan Heller points out that precarious and gig workers are particularly vulnerable.
- Finally, the Globe and Mail questions the Libs' decision to shield incumbents from any accountability in their ridings.
Monday, February 05, 2018
Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week.
- Joe Romm discusses new research showing that man-made greenhouse gas emissions have ended an 11,000-year era of climate stability.
- Thomas Walkom points out the contradictions in Justin Trudeau's declaration that there will be no federal climate policy without new pipelines. And David Climenhaga writes about the complete lack of any sustainable climate plan from the corporations profiting the most from the tar sands, while Kevin Orland reports that they're also putting off the work needed to remediate tailings ponds and otherwise clean up the damage already done to Alberta's environment.
- Meanwhile, James Wilt notes that a consensus against offshore drilling off the coast of Nova Scotia was apparently given no weight by the Libs as they decided to allow BP to drill oil wells. And Robert Cribb's report on the dangers of an unknown gas in Unity causing headaches and other health problems seems to have been needed for the provincial government to even acknowledge that anything was happening.
- Mariana Mazzucato and Gregor Semieniuk discuss the importance of actually shaping the economy through public policy and government investment, not merely treating government's role as one of fixing a system controlled by the corporate sector.
- Finally, Helaina Gaspard and Kevin Page offer some suggestions to ensure that the public has some say in Canada's federal budget process - both in having proposals included in budgets, and being able to track their progress.
- Joe Romm discusses new research showing that man-made greenhouse gas emissions have ended an 11,000-year era of climate stability.
- Thomas Walkom points out the contradictions in Justin Trudeau's declaration that there will be no federal climate policy without new pipelines. And David Climenhaga writes about the complete lack of any sustainable climate plan from the corporations profiting the most from the tar sands, while Kevin Orland reports that they're also putting off the work needed to remediate tailings ponds and otherwise clean up the damage already done to Alberta's environment.
- Meanwhile, James Wilt notes that a consensus against offshore drilling off the coast of Nova Scotia was apparently given no weight by the Libs as they decided to allow BP to drill oil wells. And Robert Cribb's report on the dangers of an unknown gas in Unity causing headaches and other health problems seems to have been needed for the provincial government to even acknowledge that anything was happening.
- Mariana Mazzucato and Gregor Semieniuk discuss the importance of actually shaping the economy through public policy and government investment, not merely treating government's role as one of fixing a system controlled by the corporate sector.
- Finally, Helaina Gaspard and Kevin Page offer some suggestions to ensure that the public has some say in Canada's federal budget process - both in having proposals included in budgets, and being able to track their progress.
Sunday, February 04, 2018
Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading.
- Victor Cyr discusses the problems with a public policy focus on capitalism without any concern for human well-being. And Ann Pettifor highlights the concentrated wealth and power arising out of corporate monopolies, while noting that political decisions are behind those realities.
- Alan Freeman points out that Canada is facilitating tax evasion due to a gross lack of corporate transparency. And Marco Chown Oved reports that the federal government is more interested in pointing fingers at the provinces than working toward solving that problem.
- Stephanie Smith examines the problems with British Columbia's faith-based regulatory system which (like many others) is increasingly based on corporate self-monitoring and self-reporting. And Alex Hemingway offers some suggestions for John Horgan's next provincial budget to bring needed progressive change.
- Finally, Ian MacKenzie makes the case for B.C. to approve a proportional electoral system so that all votes count. Stephen Tweedale notes that proportional representation can help to remedy the control leaders now exercise over their parties by creating a stronger prospect that new parties can be viable. And Paul Wells sets out how Justin Trudeau's petulant refusal to consider any electoral system other than one which would promote even more false majorities for his party contrasts against the promises he made to win power:
- Victor Cyr discusses the problems with a public policy focus on capitalism without any concern for human well-being. And Ann Pettifor highlights the concentrated wealth and power arising out of corporate monopolies, while noting that political decisions are behind those realities.
- Alan Freeman points out that Canada is facilitating tax evasion due to a gross lack of corporate transparency. And Marco Chown Oved reports that the federal government is more interested in pointing fingers at the provinces than working toward solving that problem.
- Stephanie Smith examines the problems with British Columbia's faith-based regulatory system which (like many others) is increasingly based on corporate self-monitoring and self-reporting. And Alex Hemingway offers some suggestions for John Horgan's next provincial budget to bring needed progressive change.
- Finally, Ian MacKenzie makes the case for B.C. to approve a proportional electoral system so that all votes count. Stephen Tweedale notes that proportional representation can help to remedy the control leaders now exercise over their parties by creating a stronger prospect that new parties can be viable. And Paul Wells sets out how Justin Trudeau's petulant refusal to consider any electoral system other than one which would promote even more false majorities for his party contrasts against the promises he made to win power:
What did Trudeau’s platform say? Here is the section on electoral reform, in its entirety:
“We will make every vote count.“We are committed to ensuring that 2015 will be the last federal election conducted under the first-past-the-post voting system. We will convene an all-party Parliamentary committee to review a wide variety of reforms, such as ranked ballots, proportional representation, mandatory voting, and online voting. This committee will deliver its recommendations to Parliament. Within 18 months of forming government, we will introduce legislation to enact electoral reform.”And you know, it’s funny, because the Liberal platform of the day was both voluminous—88 pages—and capacious in its margins, in the manner of an undergrad essay formatted to fill as many pages as possible. And yet in all that white space, the Liberals could not, apparently, find room to add “which we very clearly believe would be harmful to Canada” after the words “proportional representation” in the excerpt above. Formatting is such a delicate thing.
It would have been handy if the Liberal leader had specified before people voted, and before his ministers spent a year consulting them, that he had already privately discarded one of the leading systems of electoral reform.
Saturday, February 03, 2018
On personal responsibility
Since the Saskatchewan Party's leadership campaign didn't do much to test Scott Moe's track record, it will fall to the rest of us to point out the reasons why his actions need to come under careful scrutiny. And one such reason comes from Moe's actions in threatening the provincial auditor's funding after he was first elected as an MLA - together with his excuse afterward:
It's obviously a problem if Moe continues to think it's in any way appropriate to threaten the funding of any organization charged with holding his government to account.
And it's even more worrisome if a new premier thinks it's any excuse for elected officials to barge ahead with actions based on a lack of knowledge after assuming a higher office, rather than taking even basic steps to understand their jobs.
We'll see if those issues surface again now that Moe is both in a new position himself, and responsible for the actions of the people acting at his direction. But his track record gives ample reason to worry.
Scott Moe, one of the Sask. Party MLAs on the committee, said after the meeting members were acting on their own.Now, the purpose of Moe's answer was presumably to distance Brad Wall from what quickly turned into a significant public issue. But there are a couple of implications of Moe's message which are of obvious concern now that he's in power.
"The questions that I saw in there were more around the scope of the auditor's office and what exactly the office does and questions you might expect from fairly newly elected members in there."
It's obviously a problem if Moe continues to think it's in any way appropriate to threaten the funding of any organization charged with holding his government to account.
And it's even more worrisome if a new premier thinks it's any excuse for elected officials to barge ahead with actions based on a lack of knowledge after assuming a higher office, rather than taking even basic steps to understand their jobs.
We'll see if those issues surface again now that Moe is both in a new position himself, and responsible for the actions of the people acting at his direction. But his track record gives ample reason to worry.
Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading.
- Thomas Kochan takes a look at what workers would want done with the cost of corporate tax cuts if they weren't being silenced by the U.S.' corporatist political system. And Steven Greenhouse points out a new set of protests and strikes intended to make sure that advocates for low-income people are heard.
- Marjory Givens, David Kindig, Paula Tran Inzeo and Victoria Faust write about the role of power imbalances in influencing health outcomes - as well as how we can use the power we have to improve matters:
- The Mound of Sound rightly calls out Justin Trudeau's appalling declaration that his government won't lift a finger to combat climate change unless new pipelines are built to make the problem worse. And Jessica Vomiero reports on Suncor's plans to mechanize ore-hauling among other Alberta operations - confirming that any push for pipelines or other tar sands-friendly policy has nothing at all to do with benefiting workers as opposed to wealthy investors and donors.
- Finally, Lana Payne discusses how adding women changes politics for the better.
- Thomas Kochan takes a look at what workers would want done with the cost of corporate tax cuts if they weren't being silenced by the U.S.' corporatist political system. And Steven Greenhouse points out a new set of protests and strikes intended to make sure that advocates for low-income people are heard.
- Marjory Givens, David Kindig, Paula Tran Inzeo and Victoria Faust write about the role of power imbalances in influencing health outcomes - as well as how we can use the power we have to improve matters:
What this history also demonstrates is how a sustained imbalance in power that consistently benefits some over others can become reinforced in the systems and structures that affect decision making and resource allocation. The resulting dynamic creates persistent and avoidable inequities through the decisions produced but also through the reinforced opportunity to accrue resources, such as money, knowledge, or influence, that benefit those in positions of power. In other words, those who lack power experience inequities in opportunity and health. As stated by Anthony Iton in the documentary series Unnatural Causes, “Powerlessness is making us sick.”- Meanwhile, Amanda Michelle Gomez discusses how the U.S.' cuts to disease control pose a global public health risk.
Advancing equity, therefore, requires attention to power (as a determinant) and empowerment, or building power (as a process). We have seen efforts to build and exercise power to advance equity in grassroots social movements that address sustained imbalances, including the campaign for women’s suffrage, resulting in the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, and the Civil Rights Movement. And although important health-promoting policies such as the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and Earned Income Tax Credits have been achieved through the skillful use of power by leaders across many sectors, we also have a glimpse of how tenuous these policies may be when the systems and structures for decision making and resource allocation themselves are not changed.
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We can take direct action on root causes of health inequities by translating evidence to practice and policy. We can show up in support of social justice movements. We can grow meaningful relationships with community organizers and policy makers that increase appreciation of community science and restore credibility and trust in research. We can shift the narrative around the things we know shape health, making the most of the strategic levers and influence that scientists can have. These are all ways we can use the power we have to advance health equity.
- The Mound of Sound rightly calls out Justin Trudeau's appalling declaration that his government won't lift a finger to combat climate change unless new pipelines are built to make the problem worse. And Jessica Vomiero reports on Suncor's plans to mechanize ore-hauling among other Alberta operations - confirming that any push for pipelines or other tar sands-friendly policy has nothing at all to do with benefiting workers as opposed to wealthy investors and donors.
- Finally, Lana Payne discusses how adding women changes politics for the better.
Friday, February 02, 2018
Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week.
- Joseph Stiglitz discusses the apparent destructive belief among Davos' elites that irrational exuberance and top-heavy economic gains are remotely sustainable:
- Polly Toynbee writes about the link between privatization, pollution and poor health in the UK. And Julia Conley discusses how Donald Trump's latest giveaway to polluters will put water quality at risk for Americans.
- Finally, Hayley Peterson reports on Whole Foods' use of stringent "scorecards" to control and punish employees, while Ellen Tannam reports on Amazon's plans to take constant monitoring to new extremes with bracelets to track warehouse employees' whereabouts at all times. And Sara Mojtehedzadeh points out how Ontario is continuing to allow employers to use temporary workers as a means of avoiding responsibility for health and safety.
- Joseph Stiglitz discusses the apparent destructive belief among Davos' elites that irrational exuberance and top-heavy economic gains are remotely sustainable:
- And Arwa Mahdawi comments on the "class-passing" needed for anybody to try to break through increasingly rigid class barriers.The world is plagued by almost intractable problems. Inequality is surging, especially in the advanced economies. The digital revolution, despite its potential, also carries serious risks for privacy, security, jobs, and democracy – challenges that are compounded by the rising monopoly power of a few American and Chinese data giants, including Facebook and Google. Climate change amounts to an existential threat to the entire global economy as we know it.Perhaps more disheartening than such problems, however, are the responses. To be sure, here at Davos, CEOs from around the world begin most of their speeches by affirming the importance of values. Their activities, they proclaim, are aimed not just at maximizing profits for shareholders, but also at creating a better future for their workers, the communities in which they work, and the world more generally. They may even pay lip service to the risks posed by climate change and inequality.But, by the end of their speeches this year, any remaining illusion about the values motivating Davos CEOs was shattered. The risk that these CEOs seemed most concerned about is the populist backlash against the kind of globalization that they have shaped – and from which they have benefited immensely.
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For the CEOs of Davos, it seems that tax cuts for the rich and their corporations, along with deregulation, is the answer to every country’s problems. Trickle-down economics, they claim, will ensure that, ultimately, the entire population benefits economically. And the CEOs’ good hearts are apparently all that is needed to ensure that the environment is protected, even without relevant regulations.Yet the lessons of history are clear. Trickle-down economics doesn’t work. And one of the key reasons why our environment is in such a precarious condition is that corporations have not, on their own, lived up to their social responsibilities. Without effective regulations and a real price to pay for polluting, there is no reason whatsoever to believe that they will behave differently than they have.
- Polly Toynbee writes about the link between privatization, pollution and poor health in the UK. And Julia Conley discusses how Donald Trump's latest giveaway to polluters will put water quality at risk for Americans.
- Finally, Hayley Peterson reports on Whole Foods' use of stringent "scorecards" to control and punish employees, while Ellen Tannam reports on Amazon's plans to take constant monitoring to new extremes with bracelets to track warehouse employees' whereabouts at all times. And Sara Mojtehedzadeh points out how Ontario is continuing to allow employers to use temporary workers as a means of avoiding responsibility for health and safety.
Leadership 2018 Links
The latest from the Saskatchewan NDP's leadership campaign as the Saskatchewan Party's election of Scott Moe brings the province's political playing field into greater focus (while also offering a reminder of the fallibility of leadership campaign polling).
- Trent Wotherspoon has unveiled his post-secondary education education policy (accompanied by endorsements from several young New Democrats). And Ryan Meili has offered up his anti-poverty plan.
- Meanwhile, both Jason Hammond and Jon Herriot have offered their endorsements of Meili.
- Finally, Alex MacPherson reports on the NDP's membership numbers, with just under 13,000 members eligible to vote in the leadership campaign. For reference, that's somewhat more than in 2013 (which saw just over 11,000), and roughly on par with the 2009 leadership election.
Meanwhile, for those looking to estimate the anticipated turnout, roughly 80% of all eligible voters cast ballots in both 2009 and 2013 (though some of those dropped off between ballots). If that pattern holds, then we should expect the winning candidate to need in the range of 5,200 votes.
- Trent Wotherspoon has unveiled his post-secondary education education policy (accompanied by endorsements from several young New Democrats). And Ryan Meili has offered up his anti-poverty plan.
- Meanwhile, both Jason Hammond and Jon Herriot have offered their endorsements of Meili.
- Finally, Alex MacPherson reports on the NDP's membership numbers, with just under 13,000 members eligible to vote in the leadership campaign. For reference, that's somewhat more than in 2013 (which saw just over 11,000), and roughly on par with the 2009 leadership election.
Meanwhile, for those looking to estimate the anticipated turnout, roughly 80% of all eligible voters cast ballots in both 2009 and 2013 (though some of those dropped off between ballots). If that pattern holds, then we should expect the winning candidate to need in the range of 5,200 votes.
Thursday, February 01, 2018
Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading.
- Nathan Akehurst writes that the Carillion collapse was just the tip of the iceberg in the corporatization and destruction of the UK's public services. And Neil Macdonald points out that the Trudeau Libs are pitching privatized infrastructure as easy money for investors - and that they can only make that offer at the public's expense:
- Francine Kopun reports on the latest details from the bread price-fixing scheme among Canadian grocers, with both wholesalers and retailers colluding to increase prices 15 times over a 14-year period.
- Judith Lavoie points out a new study from the David Suzuki Foundation charting unreported releases of methane from British Columbia's natural gas sector. And the Corporate Mapping Project examines the massive carbon liabilities in Alberta oil sector.
- Finally, Geoff Leo reports that the latest step in the Saskatchewan Party's plan to counter the global movement toward renewable energy by burning the dirtiest substances possible involves a project to use chemical-soaked railway ties as fuel.
- Nathan Akehurst writes that the Carillion collapse was just the tip of the iceberg in the corporatization and destruction of the UK's public services. And Neil Macdonald points out that the Trudeau Libs are pitching privatized infrastructure as easy money for investors - and that they can only make that offer at the public's expense:
Pretty clearly, Morneau and his masters in the PMO don't want people understanding the infrastructure scheme too well. So far, it's been rather vaguely explained, something his own staff have complained about.- Meanwhile, Fatima Syed writes that Canada's opaque financial system makes us an easy tool for tax evaders and money launderers.
The official version is that the government tosses in some money, then investors arrive and jump in with an awful lot more money, enough to build roads and bridges and electrical grids and train lines and waterways and who knows, maybe even new hospitals and airports, and things will get done that simply wouldn't happen otherwise, and Canadians will have a sparkling new public square without the tiresome, conventional pain of paying for it.
Quietly, meanwhile, the government has reportedly been promising big investors a dream: lots of return, not much risk.
According to information in documents obtained by the Canadian Press, the government is promising a healthy, guaranteed "revenue stream" for years. The exact return is not specified, but such investors tend to demand between 10 and 20 per cent – "equity-like return and bond-like risk," as the Wall Street aphorism so neatly puts it.
Best of all for the investors, according to the documents, the government is suggesting it might even chip in some extra cash to pad investors' returns. It's a path to heaven with no alternate route to hell.
And guess who will pay for all this? The cheery fog exhaled by Morneau and his fellow cabinet ministers isn't very specific about that, but there is ultimately only one bill-payer, and we all know who he, or she, is.
- Francine Kopun reports on the latest details from the bread price-fixing scheme among Canadian grocers, with both wholesalers and retailers colluding to increase prices 15 times over a 14-year period.
- Judith Lavoie points out a new study from the David Suzuki Foundation charting unreported releases of methane from British Columbia's natural gas sector. And the Corporate Mapping Project examines the massive carbon liabilities in Alberta oil sector.
- Finally, Geoff Leo reports that the latest step in the Saskatchewan Party's plan to counter the global movement toward renewable energy by burning the dirtiest substances possible involves a project to use chemical-soaked railway ties as fuel.
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