The Ins and Outs of Foreign Investment
Sunday, November 14th, 2010
Nov. 12, 2010
Instead of continuing to wordsmith an Act that has almost always been a rubber stamp, we should undertake a more honest and wide-ranging examination of the pros and cons of foreign investment. And the starting point of that examination should be a review of where we stand right now… If foreign investment enhances the real capacity of our national economy (by adding real capital investment, technology, and export opportunities that we wouldnt have had otherwise), then its a no-brainer: we clearly benefit. But for the most part, thats not the kind of foreign investment weve been getting lately.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, privatization, standard of living
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
The new protectionism is shutting us out
Friday, September 24th, 2010
Sep. 23, 2010
World trade collapsed in the 1930s because of collapsing consumer demand, not protectionism; competitive tariffs were a response to that implosion, not its cause. For the same reason, world trade plunged 12 per cent last year, despite the G20 promises… . Almost universally, countries around the world are becoming more aggressive in protecting and stimulating domestic output and employment. They don’t usually jack up tariffs… instead, they use less visible but equally effective tactics… Our passivity in the face of others’ pro-activity has taken us from trade feast to famine.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, standard of living
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Taxes and public services help build a better city
Wednesday, September 8th, 2010
Sep 08 2010
Successful industries need positive inputs, not an absence of taxes. Skill. Quality infrastructure. Clusters — so specialists can meet and learn from each other. Strategic supports for investment. And markets. Big markets. Toronto must do more to nurture its key tradable clusters… Collectively, we need to invest more in the things that make Toronto a great place to live (like transit, parks and culture). And invest more in addressing the growing problems that threaten to undo that successful civic recipe (like concentrated poverty, underhousing and precarious, low-wage employment).
Tags: featured, ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
We need business to speed up our sluggish recovery
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010
Sep. 01, 2010
Business should be leading economic recovery, borrowing money (from households and banks) to fund new investments and jobs. That’s how capitalism is supposed to work. In today’s lean-and-mean world, however, business is free-riding on the spending efforts of others. Despite tax cuts and other business-friendly policies, the private sector isn’t taking on the risks, and taking on the debt, necessary to fuel broader recovery.
Tags: economy
Posted in Debates | 1 Comment »
Stephen Harper’s $130 Million Chapter 11 Giveaway
Friday, August 27th, 2010
Aug. 27, 2010
Stephen Harper’s Conservative government reached a $130 million out-of-court settlement with the bankruptcy trustees overseeing the restructuring of AbitibiBowater Inc., a failed forestry and paper giant… The Abitibi settlement ranks as the largest Chapter 11 payout ever made by any North American government. Ottawa’s capitulation will clearly encourage more companies to take aggressive action through the NAFTA kangaroo court, over any government action (nationally prejudicial or otherwise) seen to hurt business profits and the interests of any investors, whatever their nationality.
Tags: globalization, privatization, rights, standard of living
Posted in Debates | 1 Comment »
Bottom line: Canadian banks should pay their fair share
Friday, April 30th, 2010
April 30, 2010
…the Finance Minister’s tough talk is providing useful cover for the fact that his government is actually cutting bank taxes – not increasing them. On Jan. 1, corporate taxes fell by a full percentage point; under Mr. Flaherty’s plan, they will fall three more points by 2012. That will save Canada’s über-profitable financial sector about $2-billion a year… Financiers are economically and morally obliged to make a larger contribution to the cost of running our government. This is justified by their uniquely profitable and protected status – not to mention that, if the state hadn’t ridden to their rescue, the bankers would all be wearing barrels today.
Tags: economy, globalization, tax
Posted in Governance Debates | 1 Comment »
A reason to celebrate: The lowest paid in Ontario just got a raise
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
Mar. 31, 2010
The recent rebound in minimum wages still hasn’t fixed the damage from decades of neglect. In real terms, the average minimum is still a dollar lower than in 1976. And relative to average hourly productivity, minimum wages have continued to shrink…. to help low-wage workers capture the same share of output as they did in the 1970s, minimum wages should be increased to $12.50 an hour. To bring low-wage workers up to the poverty line, it should go higher.
Tags: featured, standard of living
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
This agreement isn’t worth the cost
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
Published on Monday, Feb. 08, 2010. Last updated on Tuesday, Feb. 09, 2010.
…for individual companies genuinely harmed, this deal won’t make any difference. Yet, our politicians want to permanently tie our hands governing a major additional chunk of our economy – just so they can prove (like in 1988) they did something.
Posted in Debates | 1 Comment »
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