Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading.

- Richard Warnica discusses the end of a summer in which we've been far too lax about limiting the foreseeable effects of COVID-19. Aaron Wherry writes that the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic will hurt all the more since we've learned - but all too often ignored - how to limit its spread. Devi Sridhar points out that irregular lockdowns in response to dangerous flare-ups aren't the same as bringing the virus under control. Rebecca Solnit highlights how a misleading focus on individual responsibility rather than public policy has resulted in damage that we could have avoided. Sara Mojtehedzadeh examines the Ontario workplaces which have seen outbreaks. And Pam Belluck writes about the lingering effects of COVID-19 on people who are classified as having recovered.

- Kim Siever argues that rather than viewing union wages as unduly high, we should be demanding wage fairness through all kinds of workplaces. And Jeffrey Clemens and Michael Strain find that increased minimum wages increase union density - and not so much among the lower-wage workers who benefit directly, but among other workers who recognize the value of collective action.

- Paul Haavardsrud talks to Miles Corak about the options and opportunities in developing windfall taxes on the wealthy. And Alex Ledson reports on new research showing that the elimination of France's wealth tax hasn't produced economic gains, but has instead has served only to turbocharge the growth of inequality.

- Finally, Jeff Goodell writes that the U.S.' fracking boom has never been based on anything more than a Ponzi scheme. Javier Blas and Grant Smith discuss how OPEC is planning to flood the oil market, making Canada's reserves even less economical even if we ignore their environmental and social costs. And Ben Lennon notes that while many oil and gas workers haven't been presented with the offer of a just transition to cleaner energy, they tend to be enthusiastic about the prospect once they know it exists.