Assorted content for your weekend reading.
- Ethan Cox reports on the massive public support in Canada for a wealth tax. David Hetherington writes that the wealthy few go out of their way to avoid any personal interaction with the realities of economic inequality - making it absurd to accept their attempts to rig the political system to exacerbate it. And Jim Stanford discusses the pattern of wage stagnation in Australia (which is of course all too familiar here as well).
- David Baxter reports on the latest report of Saskatchewan's advocate for children and youth highlighting the importance of mental health as an issue which is far too often ignored and underresourced. And Tyee Bridge points out that the recognition that older generations are willfully destroying the planet is causing particularly acute eco-anxiety.
- Meanwhile, Eoin Higgins notes that the short-term calculations of petro-politicians are helping to ensure their parties are toxic to younger voters. And Abacus Data's look at the priorities of young Canadians confirms they can see how they've been sold out by corporations and politicians.
- Finally, Bill McKibben discusses the opportunity for a moment of real political change. Varshini Prakash warns against accepting half measures in the face of an existential crisis. And Mitchell Anderson points out how tar sands operators have underreported their own greenhouse gas missions, making an already-privileged position in Canada's national climate change planning all the less justified.
Saturday, May 04, 2019
Thursday, May 02, 2019
Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading.
- Rick Smith and Ken Neumann write about the importance of developing a Green New Deal that includes participation from (and protection for) the workers affected by an economic transition.
- Meanwhile, Aditya Chakrabortty notes that the oil-backed right's personal attacks on Greta Thunberg and other politically engaged youth only serve to confirm their utter lack of anything constructive to offer in any political discussion. (See also Andrew Scheer's continued demurral in offering even a hint of a climate plan.)
- Peter Cary and Allan Holmes examine the paltry return workers received on billions in corporate tax cuts from the Trump administration. And James Moore reports on the "poverty premium" being extracted from the people who can least afford to pay it in the UK.
- On the bright side, the CCPA studies the living wage in Vancouver and finds that the Horgan government's child care policy alone has managed to reduce the effective cost of living by $1.41 per hour.
- Finally, Daniel Tencer reports on the Canadian resource companies using international trade deals to bully other countries into abandoning environmental protections. And Sarah Rieger reports on the 4,700 wells dumped into the public's lap for remediation by the failure of a single Alberta gas company.
- Rick Smith and Ken Neumann write about the importance of developing a Green New Deal that includes participation from (and protection for) the workers affected by an economic transition.
- Meanwhile, Aditya Chakrabortty notes that the oil-backed right's personal attacks on Greta Thunberg and other politically engaged youth only serve to confirm their utter lack of anything constructive to offer in any political discussion. (See also Andrew Scheer's continued demurral in offering even a hint of a climate plan.)
- Peter Cary and Allan Holmes examine the paltry return workers received on billions in corporate tax cuts from the Trump administration. And James Moore reports on the "poverty premium" being extracted from the people who can least afford to pay it in the UK.
- On the bright side, the CCPA studies the living wage in Vancouver and finds that the Horgan government's child care policy alone has managed to reduce the effective cost of living by $1.41 per hour.
- Finally, Daniel Tencer reports on the Canadian resource companies using international trade deals to bully other countries into abandoning environmental protections. And Sarah Rieger reports on the 4,700 wells dumped into the public's lap for remediation by the failure of a single Alberta gas company.
New column day
Here, pointing out how Drawdown's list of emission reductions which are possible based on peer-reviewed research into current technology (which received recent attention thanks to a CNN quiz and Vox update) only makes all the more clear the political divide on climate change.
For further reading...
- Bill McKibben highlights the need for urgent climate action. And Merritt Turetsky discusses the chain reaction of further carbon releases set off by melting permafrost.
- Akshat Rathi discusses how Extinction Rebellion succeeded in attracting attention and forcing action - including the UK's parliamentary declaration of a climate emergency.
- Aaron Wherry writes that Canada's political debate on climate change is stuck for the moment.
- And for those interested in participating in Regina's School Strike for Climate tomorrow, the event page is here.
For further reading...
- Bill McKibben highlights the need for urgent climate action. And Merritt Turetsky discusses the chain reaction of further carbon releases set off by melting permafrost.
- Akshat Rathi discusses how Extinction Rebellion succeeded in attracting attention and forcing action - including the UK's parliamentary declaration of a climate emergency.
- Aaron Wherry writes that Canada's political debate on climate change is stuck for the moment.
- And for those interested in participating in Regina's School Strike for Climate tomorrow, the event page is here.
Wednesday, May 01, 2019
Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.
- Emilie Prattico comments on the need to move past an economy that generates billionaires and widespread precarity in order to ensure that collective problems can be meaningfully addressed:
- Alicia Elliott questions why safe water supplies continue to be lacking for far too many Indigenous communities. And Emily Mathieu reports on Leilani Farha's work to point out the absurdity of a homelessness epidemic being allowed to fester in cities as wealthy as Toronto.
- John Michael McGrath points out that the Ford PCs have chosen to maximize how much damage they do to the province in the name of satisfying base impulses, rather than paying any attention to the importance of programs and funding they're slashing. And Glen Pearson discusses the distinction between conservatism based on the preservation of institutions and values, and the current version built around lashing out in anger.
- Finally, Hassan Yussuff rightly argues that nobody should die for their job - even as over 1,000 Canadians do just that every year.
- Emilie Prattico comments on the need to move past an economy that generates billionaires and widespread precarity in order to ensure that collective problems can be meaningfully addressed:
While the public has never been as outspoken in its support of urgent and ambitious climate action, money talks, too—and that sound you’re hearing is the crushing din of an economy designed to further the interests of a capital-owning ruling class.- David Suzuki writes that we can't afford to fiddle while our planet burns. And Dennis Wamstead notes that even in the U.S., renewable electricity generation is now exceeding that from coal.
...
...(T)he kind of transformation we need to tackle climate change will require the overhaul of the entire economic system, not the incremental adjustments made by individual companies or countries. Shifting toward a net-zero carbon economy requires innovation in products and processes, the development of new business models, and new forms of cooperation across industries. It will unleash large amounts of investments into new, low-carbon plants and infrastructures. It will call for radically new legal, fiscal, and policy frameworks. It is highly unlikely to sustain the kinds of inequalities we witness today, nor support the existence of philanthropic billionaires.
...
The climate is the rare problem billionaires can’t throw their money at. We don’t need donations. We need a fundamentally different kind of economy, and radical action to profoundly transform the capitalist system that allows for billionaires to exist in the first place.
- Alicia Elliott questions why safe water supplies continue to be lacking for far too many Indigenous communities. And Emily Mathieu reports on Leilani Farha's work to point out the absurdity of a homelessness epidemic being allowed to fester in cities as wealthy as Toronto.
- John Michael McGrath points out that the Ford PCs have chosen to maximize how much damage they do to the province in the name of satisfying base impulses, rather than paying any attention to the importance of programs and funding they're slashing. And Glen Pearson discusses the distinction between conservatism based on the preservation of institutions and values, and the current version built around lashing out in anger.
- Finally, Hassan Yussuff rightly argues that nobody should die for their job - even as over 1,000 Canadians do just that every year.
Tuesday, April 30, 2019
Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading.
- James Murray highlights what climate protests have accomplished so far, while emphasizing the need to turn activism into policy change over the objections of the Very Serious People determined to dismiss climate action as impractical. And Kate Aronoff, Alyssa Battistoni, Daniel Aldana Cohen and Thea Riofrancos discuss how a Green New Deal can lead toward an updated set of fundamental freedoms.
- Meanwhile, Marc Lee points out that instead of believe Andrew Scheer and Jason Kenney's bluster for a second, British Columbians should be aware that their increased gas prices are mostly the result of corporate profiteering - offering all the more incentive to avoid being at the mercy of a greedy fossil fuel sector.
- Richard Florida weighs in on the economic benefits of improved minimum wages, including positive wage spillover effects. And as a reminder of the health implications of a more fair economic system, a new NBER paper shows that higher minimum wages also correlate to reductions in suicides.
- But Robert Reich writes that the U.S.' political system has instead been used to enrich (and bail out) the wealthy few using the limited resources of the many.
- Finally, Geoff Dembicki calls out Scheer, Maxime Bernier and the other right-wing politicians who are try to tap into veins of hate in the name of self-aggrandizement.
- James Murray highlights what climate protests have accomplished so far, while emphasizing the need to turn activism into policy change over the objections of the Very Serious People determined to dismiss climate action as impractical. And Kate Aronoff, Alyssa Battistoni, Daniel Aldana Cohen and Thea Riofrancos discuss how a Green New Deal can lead toward an updated set of fundamental freedoms.
- Meanwhile, Marc Lee points out that instead of believe Andrew Scheer and Jason Kenney's bluster for a second, British Columbians should be aware that their increased gas prices are mostly the result of corporate profiteering - offering all the more incentive to avoid being at the mercy of a greedy fossil fuel sector.
- Richard Florida weighs in on the economic benefits of improved minimum wages, including positive wage spillover effects. And as a reminder of the health implications of a more fair economic system, a new NBER paper shows that higher minimum wages also correlate to reductions in suicides.
- But Robert Reich writes that the U.S.' political system has instead been used to enrich (and bail out) the wealthy few using the limited resources of the many.
- Finally, Geoff Dembicki calls out Scheer, Maxime Bernier and the other right-wing politicians who are try to tap into veins of hate in the name of self-aggrandizement.
Monday, April 29, 2019
Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week.
- Cory Booker rightly questions why corporations are hoarding the wealth created by the work of their employees. And Richard Reeves wonders why so many workers are left unable to find jobs with even remotely decent wages, particularly without signing over their lives in the process:
- Irina Ivanova discusses the new reality that wind and solar power are the U.S.' most affordable energy sources - at least when the fossil fuel lobby isn't actively obstructing their use. And CBC News reports on the Libs' latest plan to match any environmental protection with an equal and opposite step toward destruction, as they've opened up oil and gas drilling in a marine refuge off the east coast of Newfoundland while banning it in protected areas on the west coast.
- Finally, David Mowat responds to the short-sightedness of the Ford PCs by writing about the importance of investing in public health in order to prevent costly and avoidable harms. And Kate Haynes highlights the significance of the social determinants of health which are being ignored by Ford.
- Cory Booker rightly questions why corporations are hoarding the wealth created by the work of their employees. And Richard Reeves wonders why so many workers are left unable to find jobs with even remotely decent wages, particularly without signing over their lives in the process:
(I)he Great Recession also shone a light on trends long predating the downturn, not least in terms of stagnant wage growth for so many workers. By comparison with the postwar years, economic growth has been slow for the last few decades. At the same time, the transmission mechanism linking economic growth to the wages of workers appears to have broken. The share of income going to workers has dropped sharply, from 65% in 1974 to 57% in 2017.- Liv Grant writes that her work on David Attenborough's climate change documentary has left her with an inescapable sense of climate anxiety. And Bob McDonald points out the increasing costs and risks of climate breakdown as feedback loops reinforce each other.
In the last few years, as the zombie gradually wakes up, household incomes and wages have begun to nudge upwards – but families are still having to work more hours to get the income they need. Women are working more, and earning more (though the pay gap remains). But as men work less, and earn less, many families are simply standing still in economic terms. Since 1979, the median male wage in the US has dropped by 1.4% for white men – and by 9% and 8% for black and Hispanic men, respectively. Workers at the top of the earnings and education distribution have seen their paychecks continue to fatten: not so on the middle and bottom rungs of the labor market. Wage growth remains torpid in the middle of the distribution.
At the same time, the volatility of incomes at the bottom of the distribution has grown, in part because of shifts towards the so-called “gig economy”, intrinsically episodic, and in part because of the rise of unpredictable schedules. Most American workers are still paid by the hour, and half of them have no formal control over their schedules. Two in five hourly-paid workers aged between 26 and 32 know their schedules less than a week in advance. Hard to arrange childcare on that notice. Many American workers are fighting, like the trade unions of old, on two fronts: for money, and for time.
Why? Why, for so many for middle-class and working-class Americans has “economic growth become a spectator sport”, as the liberal economist Jared Bernstein memorably put it.
...
Whatever material gains workers managed to achieve came at the price of a profound loss of sovereignty. In her book Private Government: How Employers Rule Our Lives (and Why We Don’t Talk about It), philosopher Elizabeth Anderson argues that CEOs are the new totalitarians, who “think of themselves as libertarian individualists”, while acting in practice as “dictators of little communist governments”. We imagine ourselves free but effectively barter our freedom away in exchange for pay, effectively handing over our passports as we punch in.
What most people want is a job that pays a decent wage and offers both some satisfaction and security. The harsher critics of the system, like Anderson, believe that these goals are incompatible at a deep level with capitalist dynamics. But at least for some, especially for white men, market capitalism delivered pretty well for at least a generation. This is why it was so important to fight to crowbar the doors open for women and people of color. The progressive goal was not to curtail the market, but to open it.
- Irina Ivanova discusses the new reality that wind and solar power are the U.S.' most affordable energy sources - at least when the fossil fuel lobby isn't actively obstructing their use. And CBC News reports on the Libs' latest plan to match any environmental protection with an equal and opposite step toward destruction, as they've opened up oil and gas drilling in a marine refuge off the east coast of Newfoundland while banning it in protected areas on the west coast.
- Finally, David Mowat responds to the short-sightedness of the Ford PCs by writing about the importance of investing in public health in order to prevent costly and avoidable harms. And Kate Haynes highlights the significance of the social determinants of health which are being ignored by Ford.
Sunday, April 28, 2019
Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading.
- Derrick O'Keefe, Robert Hackett and Shane Gunster highlight how the TransMountain pipeline bailout and SNC-Lavalin scandal have cemented Justin Trudeau's status as a Potemkin progressive just in time for voters to hold him to account. And PressProgress offers a reminder that the amount of wealth being stashed offshore by corporate Canada continues to grow as the Libs dither on even basic steps to track and reverse the flow.
- Bill McKibben argues that we're at the point of lacking any choice but to taken urgent action to stop climate change, while Owen Jones muses that nationalizing the oil industry may be a necessary step along the road to decarbonizing our economy. David Rider reports that Toronto is among the jurisdictions looking at litigation to recover the costs of climate change from the people who have used it as a source of profit. Rachel Aiello reports that a shift from subsidizing fossil fuels to funding a transition to green energy is one of the NDP's top policy priorities. Rebecca Long-Bailey writes about UK Labour's push to declare a national climate emergency while leading an international movement toward a sustainable climate. And Kate Aronoff notes that a Green New Deal is part of Podemos' re-election campaign in Spain.
- Mattha Busby reports that UK employers are taking advance of Conservative loopholes by paying a record number of workers less than the minimum wage. And Hassan Yussuff offers a reminder of the need to ensure workers are safe on the job in the face of right-wing pushes to let employers endanger their employees.
- Finally, Adam Burns reports on the foreseeable social harms Ontario can anticipate from Doug Ford's determination to facilitate increased alcohol consumption.
- Derrick O'Keefe, Robert Hackett and Shane Gunster highlight how the TransMountain pipeline bailout and SNC-Lavalin scandal have cemented Justin Trudeau's status as a Potemkin progressive just in time for voters to hold him to account. And PressProgress offers a reminder that the amount of wealth being stashed offshore by corporate Canada continues to grow as the Libs dither on even basic steps to track and reverse the flow.
- Bill McKibben argues that we're at the point of lacking any choice but to taken urgent action to stop climate change, while Owen Jones muses that nationalizing the oil industry may be a necessary step along the road to decarbonizing our economy. David Rider reports that Toronto is among the jurisdictions looking at litigation to recover the costs of climate change from the people who have used it as a source of profit. Rachel Aiello reports that a shift from subsidizing fossil fuels to funding a transition to green energy is one of the NDP's top policy priorities. Rebecca Long-Bailey writes about UK Labour's push to declare a national climate emergency while leading an international movement toward a sustainable climate. And Kate Aronoff notes that a Green New Deal is part of Podemos' re-election campaign in Spain.
- Mattha Busby reports that UK employers are taking advance of Conservative loopholes by paying a record number of workers less than the minimum wage. And Hassan Yussuff offers a reminder of the need to ensure workers are safe on the job in the face of right-wing pushes to let employers endanger their employees.
- Finally, Adam Burns reports on the foreseeable social harms Ontario can anticipate from Doug Ford's determination to facilitate increased alcohol consumption.
Saturday, April 27, 2019
Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading.
- Lana Payne highlights how the fight over carbon taxes fits into a broader framework of class warfare - and how the right's climate nihilism needs to be met with solutions which will include workers in the benefits of an economic transition.
- Elise Stolte discusses how Edmonton has benefited from a carbon price which has reduced pollution from coal-generated power. And Lindsey Kines reports on the push by Victoria's city council for free public transit.
- Meanwhile, Steve Rukavina reports that Montreal is moving toward a ban on single-use plastic and styrofoam containers. And Ivan Watson, Jo Shelley, Sugam Pokharel and Ushar Daniele point out that we may not have a choice in the need to reduce our waste as Malaysia has become the latest dumping ground to decide it's not going to accept it anymore.
- Mathew Lawrence writes about Common Wealth's push to democratize the UK's economy as an important step in ensuring we recognize (and benefit from) our shared interests. And Tom Sandborn's review of Leigh Phillips and Michal Rozworski's The People’s Republic of Walmart reminds us that planning can serve public ends as well as profit motives.
- Finally, Hanna Rosin discusses how reduced empathy breaks the interpersonal bonds necessary for a functional society.
- Lana Payne highlights how the fight over carbon taxes fits into a broader framework of class warfare - and how the right's climate nihilism needs to be met with solutions which will include workers in the benefits of an economic transition.
- Elise Stolte discusses how Edmonton has benefited from a carbon price which has reduced pollution from coal-generated power. And Lindsey Kines reports on the push by Victoria's city council for free public transit.
- Meanwhile, Steve Rukavina reports that Montreal is moving toward a ban on single-use plastic and styrofoam containers. And Ivan Watson, Jo Shelley, Sugam Pokharel and Ushar Daniele point out that we may not have a choice in the need to reduce our waste as Malaysia has become the latest dumping ground to decide it's not going to accept it anymore.
- Mathew Lawrence writes about Common Wealth's push to democratize the UK's economy as an important step in ensuring we recognize (and benefit from) our shared interests. And Tom Sandborn's review of Leigh Phillips and Michal Rozworski's The People’s Republic of Walmart reminds us that planning can serve public ends as well as profit motives.
- Finally, Hanna Rosin discusses how reduced empathy breaks the interpersonal bonds necessary for a functional society.
Friday, April 26, 2019
Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week.
- Bob Hepburn discusses how Doug Ford has turned a populist campaign into government solely for the benefit of the privileged few. And Paul Krugman rightly notes that it's the Republicans who stoke resentment in the U.S.' rust belt who actually express contempt for the plight of the people living there.
- Meanwhile, Ross Belot points out how far too many Albertans were snookered by the unfortunately-unchallenged claim that the grim future of the oil sector is the result of a lack of pipelines, rather than the absence of a business case for dirty and costly energy. And Campbell Clark writes that Andrew Scheer has made clear that he too is serving the immediate bottom line of oil barons rather than the interests of the Canadian public.
- Rabble points out new research showing that people living in poverty have to pay more for housing.
- James Bowden writes that unlike (and in direct contrast to) Justin Trudeau, Francois Legault's cAQ government is on the verge of implementing a proportional representation in Quebec based on an electoral mandate. And Andrew Coyne offers a reminder as to how outdated and unfair a first-past-the-post system is in a multi-party world.
- Finally, the Globe and Mail's editorial board highlights how decriminalization of drugs would largely eliminate the epidemic of overdoses.
- Bob Hepburn discusses how Doug Ford has turned a populist campaign into government solely for the benefit of the privileged few. And Paul Krugman rightly notes that it's the Republicans who stoke resentment in the U.S.' rust belt who actually express contempt for the plight of the people living there.
- Meanwhile, Ross Belot points out how far too many Albertans were snookered by the unfortunately-unchallenged claim that the grim future of the oil sector is the result of a lack of pipelines, rather than the absence of a business case for dirty and costly energy. And Campbell Clark writes that Andrew Scheer has made clear that he too is serving the immediate bottom line of oil barons rather than the interests of the Canadian public.
- Rabble points out new research showing that people living in poverty have to pay more for housing.
- James Bowden writes that unlike (and in direct contrast to) Justin Trudeau, Francois Legault's cAQ government is on the verge of implementing a proportional representation in Quebec based on an electoral mandate. And Andrew Coyne offers a reminder as to how outdated and unfair a first-past-the-post system is in a multi-party world.
- Finally, the Globe and Mail's editorial board highlights how decriminalization of drugs would largely eliminate the epidemic of overdoses.
Thursday, April 25, 2019
Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading.
- James Whittingham argues that the time for climate action measured in small household tweaks has long since passed. And Yanis Varoufakis and David Adler discuss the need for an International Green New Deal, while Stephen Buhler writes that oil industry workers recognize the importance of a Canadian version while worrying about being left behind in a transition process.
- Meanwhile, Kori Sidaway highlights how refineries are capitalizing on the right-wing carbon tax hysteria by taking far more in windfall profits than any increase attributable to new taxes (including in provinces where the federal carbon tax doesn't apply).
- Global Witness points out how trillions of dollars are being dumped into developing new fossil fuel projects which are entirely incompatible with averting climate breakdown. And Phil Willon reports that California may be joining Norway and other forward-thinking jurisdictions by defying Justin Trudeau's blinkered spin and taking action to limit any additional dirty energy development.
- The Canadian Press reports on Canada's painfully slow progress in catching up to the developed world on combating corporate corruption. And Ed Finn offers a reminder that our financial system has been set up to ensure that public projects are funded so as to produce private bank profits.
- Finally, Robert Benzie reports on the billion-dollar public price tag attached to Doug Ford's belief that beer is the only thing that matters. And Randy Robinson notes that Ford is slashing funding for flood protection just as rising waters threaten numerous Ontario communities.
- James Whittingham argues that the time for climate action measured in small household tweaks has long since passed. And Yanis Varoufakis and David Adler discuss the need for an International Green New Deal, while Stephen Buhler writes that oil industry workers recognize the importance of a Canadian version while worrying about being left behind in a transition process.
- Meanwhile, Kori Sidaway highlights how refineries are capitalizing on the right-wing carbon tax hysteria by taking far more in windfall profits than any increase attributable to new taxes (including in provinces where the federal carbon tax doesn't apply).
- Global Witness points out how trillions of dollars are being dumped into developing new fossil fuel projects which are entirely incompatible with averting climate breakdown. And Phil Willon reports that California may be joining Norway and other forward-thinking jurisdictions by defying Justin Trudeau's blinkered spin and taking action to limit any additional dirty energy development.
- The Canadian Press reports on Canada's painfully slow progress in catching up to the developed world on combating corporate corruption. And Ed Finn offers a reminder that our financial system has been set up to ensure that public projects are funded so as to produce private bank profits.
- Finally, Robert Benzie reports on the billion-dollar public price tag attached to Doug Ford's belief that beer is the only thing that matters. And Randy Robinson notes that Ford is slashing funding for flood protection just as rising waters threaten numerous Ontario communities.
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.
- Tom Parkin writes about the need for workers to be at the centre of a Green New Deal for Canada:
- Greg Jericho points out how Australia's citizens are among many who severely underestimate how unequally wealth is distributed in their country.
- Finally, Nora Loreto writes that online hate is threatening to undo what limited progress has been made in encouraging gender balance in Canadian politics. And Jonny Wakefield reports on new research documenting the dangers of hate-motivated violence in Alberta.
- Tom Parkin writes about the need for workers to be at the centre of a Green New Deal for Canada:
- Susan Lazaruk reports on Vancouver's set of "big moves" to respond to a climate emergency, while the federal NDP has unveiled a full building retrofitting plan as the first plank in its climate platform. And David Roberts interviews Paul Hawken about his detailed set of plans to rein in and reverse global warming - featuring this tidbit on the only action the Saskatchewan Party can claim:Those determined to reverse austerity, inequality and environmental damage need to help Canadians be clear that there’s a huge difference between a Green New Deal and a Green Neoliberal Deal. Something new that reproduces the same old downward pressure on wages, the same tax unfairness, the same lobbyist machine at the heart of the system – and the same bonanza pay-off for investors -- is no Green New Deal.Policy designers also need to resist thinking a Green New Deal is just a stimulus package – a one-time boost of money to get the decarbonizing job done. An initial flush of stimulus should launch it, but a new deal isn’t temporary, it’s a re-setting of the economic model -- a change that keeps needed investments flowing and delivers economic benefits more equally....Architects of a Green New Deal for Canadians can use federal authority where there is jurisdiction. They can re-establish co-operative federalism by reversing the tax-cut spiral and rebuilding provincial trust. And when that work is done, a Green New Deal can set out specific strategies that encourage provincial participation and shift the economic model to support public services, reduce inequality and decarbonize the economy.That policy work is challenging enough. But perhaps the biggest and most immediate challenge is to ensure working people get engaged -- that Canadians can spot a sham deal, and know a real Green New Deal is focused on improving their lives. Even the most artful federalism and smart policy crafting won’t amount to much if those it aims to benefit don’t want it.
- Meanwhile, the Canadian Press reports on the continued increase in Canada's greenhouse gas emissions even based on reported figures. And Zach Dubinsky reports on Environment Canada's revelation that tar sands operations are spewing 64 per cent more carbon emissions than they've previously acknowledged.David Roberts
How big a role does carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) play in your schema?Paul Hawken
None. It’s unaffordable. It doesn’t work. It has to work first, and then has to be affordable. Using carbon capture in Saskatchewan for depleted oil wells isn’t exactly a solution, especially when it’s only 40 percent capture and the company’s depending on the province to subsidize it.
- Greg Jericho points out how Australia's citizens are among many who severely underestimate how unequally wealth is distributed in their country.
- Finally, Nora Loreto writes that online hate is threatening to undo what limited progress has been made in encouraging gender balance in Canadian politics. And Jonny Wakefield reports on new research documenting the dangers of hate-motivated violence in Alberta.
Tuesday, April 23, 2019
On self-serving claims
Others have pointed out a few of the problems with Stuart Thomson's hagiography of Jason Kenney. But let's take a look at one part of Kenney's spin which can be tested against other available evidence - and which highlights just how implausible his claims are.
Here's Kenney on the UCP's plan to slash taxes for corporations:
I'm not aware off hand of public polling on the exact same issue, and would certainly be interested to see what's out there. But there has been plenty of polling across Canada around related aspects of tax policy - with findings including:
Here's Kenney on the UCP's plan to slash taxes for corporations:
It may seem eccentric to stake the farm on a massive corporate tax cut even as populist politicians around the globe are taking aim at big business, but Kenney believed he had an ace up his sleeve: The party’s internal polling on the issue was absolutely off the charts.Setting aside the folly of shaping tax policy based primarily on polling rather than the actual impact of rates and revenues, how likely is it that public opinion would actually be anywhere near what Kenney claims?
“It was like, shocking,” Kenney said in an interview with the Post. “I was even shocked. It was like 70-30 in favour of this. There’s like 25 per cent of the population that wanted us to go deeper, wanted us to go to a 50-per-cent reduction in the business tax rate.”
I'm not aware off hand of public polling on the exact same issue, and would certainly be interested to see what's out there. But there has been plenty of polling across Canada around related aspects of tax policy - with findings including:
- only 14% of respondents across Canada accepting the claim that we should engage in a race to the bottom against the U.S. (which is effectively what Kenney claims a large majority supporting);
- 69% of respondents nationally supporting increased taxes on the rich to support the poor (a number which matches Alberta's support for corporate tax increases in the past), and
- 90% of Canadians ("consistent across provinces") agreeing that it's wrong for corporations to dodge taxes and demanding legislative action to stop tax avoidance.
Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading.
- Kurtis Alexander points out how climate change is exacerbating the gap between wealthy and poor countries. Megan Mayhew Bergman highlights the importance of discussing climate change even where it's all too often treated as a taboo topic, while Jeff Sparrow points out that politicians are largely lagging behind the public's interest in climate action. And Kyle Pope and Mark Hertsgaard note that we also need to see more and better coverage of the impact a collapsing climate has on our lives.
- Meanwhile, Zach Dubinsky reports on new research suggesting that the tar sands are producing even more carbon pollution than previously assumed.
- Peter Walker reports on new research from the UK showing how first-past-the-post politics may tend toward extreme positions and poor reflections of public values by forcing voters into one of two camps. And the Canadian Press reports on Prince Edward Island's election and referendum which may finally bring proportional representation to Canada.
- The Financial Post points out a new survey showing an increasing number of Canadians - now 48 per cent - saying they're $200 or less per month away from insolvency. And Melody Judilla writes about the need for the rich to start contributing their fair share to a functional society.
- Finally, Julian Borger reports on the U.S.' plans to block any resolution prohibiting the use of rape as a weapon of war if it's taken to include any access to support for victims.
- Kurtis Alexander points out how climate change is exacerbating the gap between wealthy and poor countries. Megan Mayhew Bergman highlights the importance of discussing climate change even where it's all too often treated as a taboo topic, while Jeff Sparrow points out that politicians are largely lagging behind the public's interest in climate action. And Kyle Pope and Mark Hertsgaard note that we also need to see more and better coverage of the impact a collapsing climate has on our lives.
- Meanwhile, Zach Dubinsky reports on new research suggesting that the tar sands are producing even more carbon pollution than previously assumed.
- Peter Walker reports on new research from the UK showing how first-past-the-post politics may tend toward extreme positions and poor reflections of public values by forcing voters into one of two camps. And the Canadian Press reports on Prince Edward Island's election and referendum which may finally bring proportional representation to Canada.
- The Financial Post points out a new survey showing an increasing number of Canadians - now 48 per cent - saying they're $200 or less per month away from insolvency. And Melody Judilla writes about the need for the rich to start contributing their fair share to a functional society.
- Finally, Julian Borger reports on the U.S.' plans to block any resolution prohibiting the use of rape as a weapon of war if it's taken to include any access to support for victims.
Monday, April 22, 2019
Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week.
- Robin Sears writes that it's long past time for Canada's wealthiest people and corporations to start paying their fair share of taxes. And Leo Gerard points out how the U.S. has gone in exactly the wrong direction by slashing its corporate tax rates and revenues to no end other than the further concentration of wealth, while Alexandre Tanzi notes that the upper middle class up to the 90th percentile is suffering as a result of an economy designed to favour only the most privileged few.
- Meanwhile, Karina Roman reports on the Libs' pathetic response to the glaring lack of protection for pensions and benefits in cases of corporate restructuring.
- Stephen Leahy writes about the absurdity of expanding the environmental destruction wrought by the extraction of Alberta's tar sands even as the world grapples with imminent climate catastrophe, while Mike Doherty interviews Bill McKibben about the role Canada needs to play to avert disaster. And Brent Patterson discusses the Extinction Rebellion and its efforts to foster direct action in the face of governmental climate negligence.
- Sarath Peiris points out that after using the issue briefly to beg for federal money, the Saskatchewan Party has resumed neglecting the province's liability for abandoned oil and gas wells.
- And finally, Allison Jones reports on the Ford PCs' decision to slash flood management funding just as its importance is most readily apparent.
- Robin Sears writes that it's long past time for Canada's wealthiest people and corporations to start paying their fair share of taxes. And Leo Gerard points out how the U.S. has gone in exactly the wrong direction by slashing its corporate tax rates and revenues to no end other than the further concentration of wealth, while Alexandre Tanzi notes that the upper middle class up to the 90th percentile is suffering as a result of an economy designed to favour only the most privileged few.
- Meanwhile, Karina Roman reports on the Libs' pathetic response to the glaring lack of protection for pensions and benefits in cases of corporate restructuring.
- Stephen Leahy writes about the absurdity of expanding the environmental destruction wrought by the extraction of Alberta's tar sands even as the world grapples with imminent climate catastrophe, while Mike Doherty interviews Bill McKibben about the role Canada needs to play to avert disaster. And Brent Patterson discusses the Extinction Rebellion and its efforts to foster direct action in the face of governmental climate negligence.
- Sarath Peiris points out that after using the issue briefly to beg for federal money, the Saskatchewan Party has resumed neglecting the province's liability for abandoned oil and gas wells.
- And finally, Allison Jones reports on the Ford PCs' decision to slash flood management funding just as its importance is most readily apparent.
Sunday, April 21, 2019
Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading.
- Morris Pearl and Pramila Jayapal make the case for raising more revenue from the people with the most to contribute. And Jayati Ghosh notes that a minimum effective corporate tax rate would go a long way toward avoiding the offshore sheltering of corporate wealth.
- Dan Traficonte and Ian Wells write about the need for public research and planning to support a Green New Deal. And Ellen Brown examines the potential for public banking to both better address underserved communities, and ensure that investment serves the common good.
- Meanwhile, Michael Leger points out how SNC Lavalin fits into the legacy of corporate and political cronyism reinforced by the Trudeau Libs - though I'd hope there's little doubt that we should expect more from our leaders than to accept self-serving spin about the economy depending on lawless corporatists never being held accountable for their actions. And Laila Yuile writes the SNC Lavalin is now trying to manipulate public opinion the way it's already pulled the strings in Trudeau's PMO.
- Dorothy Woodend interviews Phyllis Ellis about the hidden dangers lurking in poorly-regulated cosmetic and personal care products. And Sigal Samuel offers a reminder of the gender data gap resulting from the default assumption that consumers and patients are men.
- Finally, Omar Mosleh discusses the spread of violent white supremacy which is causing significant fear in Edmonton's minority communities. And Antonia Zerbisias highlights the need to fight the normalization of reactionary conservatism.
- Morris Pearl and Pramila Jayapal make the case for raising more revenue from the people with the most to contribute. And Jayati Ghosh notes that a minimum effective corporate tax rate would go a long way toward avoiding the offshore sheltering of corporate wealth.
- Dan Traficonte and Ian Wells write about the need for public research and planning to support a Green New Deal. And Ellen Brown examines the potential for public banking to both better address underserved communities, and ensure that investment serves the common good.
- Meanwhile, Michael Leger points out how SNC Lavalin fits into the legacy of corporate and political cronyism reinforced by the Trudeau Libs - though I'd hope there's little doubt that we should expect more from our leaders than to accept self-serving spin about the economy depending on lawless corporatists never being held accountable for their actions. And Laila Yuile writes the SNC Lavalin is now trying to manipulate public opinion the way it's already pulled the strings in Trudeau's PMO.
- Dorothy Woodend interviews Phyllis Ellis about the hidden dangers lurking in poorly-regulated cosmetic and personal care products. And Sigal Samuel offers a reminder of the gender data gap resulting from the default assumption that consumers and patients are men.
- Finally, Omar Mosleh discusses the spread of violent white supremacy which is causing significant fear in Edmonton's minority communities. And Antonia Zerbisias highlights the need to fight the normalization of reactionary conservatism.
Saturday, April 20, 2019
On full considerations
Max Fawcett is right to a point in discussing the need to acknowledge the political problems with carbon taxes as matters stand now. But there's a serious problem with the conclusion he tries to draw.
It's true that carbon taxes were originally - and understandably - pitched as the form of greenhouse gas emission reduction which fit best with laissez-faire economic theory. And there are still a few lingering aftereffects of that outlook, including the British Columbia tax which remains on the books after being implemented by the right-wing Campbell Liberals.
But if the opportunity for a consensus has been lost, we shouldn't pretend that has anything to do with carbon taxation as a theory.
Surely we're past the point where anybody will pretend for a second that the oil lobby and its servants on the right will engage in good faith with any type of proposal which might cut back on the profits linked to dirty energy.
For the most egregious example, remember that it took approximately two minutes for the Liberals to abandon a carbon tax after the 2008 federal election. And as soon as that happened, Stephen Harper's Cons in turn started slamming a cap-and-trade system of the type included in their own election platform as being a carbon tax in order to try to capitalize on their existing line of messaging.
Likewise, Doug Ford's PC government in Ontario scrapped a cap-and-trade regime which served as a substitute for the federal carbon tax - only to go to court to challenge the federal system it volunteered to join.
Moreover, even as the political environment for all types of climate policy has worsened, so too has our global climate outlook.
Policies which might have been sufficient to rein in climate change on their own if implemented twenty years ago will be insufficient to turn matters around in the next decade from a far worse starting point. And even a strict regulatory crackdown on industries alone would leave a dangerous amount of carbon pollution untouched, as households have historically represented a substantial percentage of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions.
In sum, the effort to avoid climate breakdown needs to include all available tools. And we can't afford to let a group of manipulative arsonists-for-hire dictate how we're supposed to avert a future conflagration.
[Edit: fixed wording.]
It's true that carbon taxes were originally - and understandably - pitched as the form of greenhouse gas emission reduction which fit best with laissez-faire economic theory. And there are still a few lingering aftereffects of that outlook, including the British Columbia tax which remains on the books after being implemented by the right-wing Campbell Liberals.
But if the opportunity for a consensus has been lost, we shouldn't pretend that has anything to do with carbon taxation as a theory.
Surely we're past the point where anybody will pretend for a second that the oil lobby and its servants on the right will engage in good faith with any type of proposal which might cut back on the profits linked to dirty energy.
For the most egregious example, remember that it took approximately two minutes for the Liberals to abandon a carbon tax after the 2008 federal election. And as soon as that happened, Stephen Harper's Cons in turn started slamming a cap-and-trade system of the type included in their own election platform as being a carbon tax in order to try to capitalize on their existing line of messaging.
Likewise, Doug Ford's PC government in Ontario scrapped a cap-and-trade regime which served as a substitute for the federal carbon tax - only to go to court to challenge the federal system it volunteered to join.
Moreover, even as the political environment for all types of climate policy has worsened, so too has our global climate outlook.
Policies which might have been sufficient to rein in climate change on their own if implemented twenty years ago will be insufficient to turn matters around in the next decade from a far worse starting point. And even a strict regulatory crackdown on industries alone would leave a dangerous amount of carbon pollution untouched, as households have historically represented a substantial percentage of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions.
In sum, the effort to avoid climate breakdown needs to include all available tools. And we can't afford to let a group of manipulative arsonists-for-hire dictate how we're supposed to avert a future conflagration.
[Edit: fixed wording.]
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