‘China Syndrome’ rears head in coming U.S. election
Feb. 02, 2012
The truth is we are no longer living in “one nation under God” – we are living in one world under God. Globalization is working – the world over all is getting richer. But a lot of the costs of that transition are being borne by specific groups of workers in the developed West… The irony today is that the real internationalists are no longer the bleeding-heart liberals, they are the cutthroat titans of capital… Smart policy, however, can make a big difference… Americans might want to study how Germany has turned the China Syndrome to the benefit of both its chief executives and its blue-collar workers.
Tags: economy, globalization, standard of living
Posted in Employment Policy Context | No Comments »
Statscan numbers highlight concerns about aging and the work force
Feb. 03, 2012
“Since 2006 the share of the working-age population has decreased in most eastern provinces; it has remained the same or increased in Ontario and western provinces,” the Statscan document says… Canada will soon reach, or has already reached, the point where the number of younger people of age to enter the labour force equals the number of Canadians old enough to leave it. Immigration and delayed retirement, however, could ease this looming pressure on the work force.
Posted in Employment Policy Context | No Comments »
Pension reform raises questions about effect in provinces
Feb. 02, 2012
Several provinces require citizens to prove they receive the federal Guaranteed Income Supplement for low-income seniors to qualify for their own programs aimed at helping poor seniors… If Ottawa raises the current eligibility age of 65 for Old Age Security and the GIS… it would impact these other programs… The GIS is a top-up program tied to Old Age Security… [which] can only be claimed by seniors with incomes under $16,368… “The interaction with provincial programs will exacerbate the impact on low-income seniors”
Tags: budget, ideology, pensions, poverty, standard of living, tax
Posted in Governance Policy Context | No Comments »
Why not try after-hours care the Dutch way?
Feb. 02, 2012
… the Netherlands and France, have created 24/7 physician coverage. Health care is often provided in people’s homes or at a nearby clinic, not at the nearest hospital… You’d think such a system would be prohibitively expensive. Yet, when it comes to chronic illness management, Canada spends far more than either the Netherlands or France.
Tags: budget, Health, standard of living
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
Why isn’t EI reform on Harper government’s radar?
Feb. 01, 2012
A system that treated each jobless worker equally regardless of the local environment would encourage labour mobility and improve productivity. No wonder Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall damns the existing system as a “huge disincentive against getting people to go where there is a job. The principle infused into this ought to encourage people to go where the work is.” … Whatever the reason, reforming employment insurance so that all workers are treated equally, however much it would benefit the economy, is a can the Tories appear to have kicked down the road.
Tags: budget, ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Employment Debates | No Comments »
Can Ottawa spark innovation? It hasn’t yet
Feb. 01, 2012
the federal government has… more than 100 programs, institutes and regional development agencies to support business. That figure doesn’t include an array of tax incentives, the largest of which is the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax credit. All together, these business programs cost $6.44-billion in the fiscal year 2010-2011… Whether government programs are at the heart of the problem is doubtful, given that the R&D tax credits have been among the most generous in the world… Canada has industries that just don’t do much research and development…
Tags: economy, standard of living, tax
Posted in Employment Policy Context | No Comments »
Why care less about the disabled fetus?
Jan. 19, 2012
… if sex selection can be characterized as a social or cultural practice informed and perpetuated by demeaning attitudes toward women that many of us can agree is discriminatory, what about the selection of fetuses on the basis of disability? For those of us living with, or living with someone with, Down syndrome, a cleft lip or a missing limb, the selection against fetuses with these characteristics is as troubling as the selection against female fetuses.
Tags: disabilities, Health, ideology, standard of living, women
Posted in Equality Debates | 1 Comment »
The Liberals need a new leader: What about Bob?
Jan. 28, 2012
Mr. Rae is one of the people “driving this vision” of the party as an engaged, open network that reaches out across all kinds of channels to build community and draw young people into a real discussion about ideas. “The party needs a leader who understands this generation, their culture, their modus operandi… as a self-defined “recovering politician,” he developed a reputation for taking on difficult issues: the Air India bombing, the restructuring of the Red Cross, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the crisis at Burnt Church and nation-building in the Forum of Federations.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, multiculturalism, Native, participation, standard of living, youth
Posted in Governance History | No Comments »
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