Archive for the ‘Economy/Employment’ Category
Employment changes would mean working more and earning less overtime pay
Sunday, March 17th, 2019
The key changes proposed by the PCs concern ministry of labour oversight of excess hours of work and overtime averaging agreements, and could result in many Ontarians working more hours and earning less overtime pay… An inevitable result will be the proliferation of overtime averaging agreements in workplaces where no justifying circumstances are present, and employers are simply seeking to cut costs at their employees’ expense. Employees are typically told to sign these agreements at their time of hire, and overwhelmingly do so for fear of being passed up for a candidate who will.
Tags: ideology, rights, standard of living
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Taxing the rich and finding the sweet spot in the tax debate
Sunday, March 17th, 2019
… soaking the top 1 per cent with higher income taxes does not lead to a massive change in government revenues because there simply are not that many of them… Rather than getting caught up in simple fixes to tax rates, Canadians would do well to get behind a review of our tax system to ensure that all its parts – from taxation of small businesses and corporations, to the treatment of capital gains and dividends – helps Canada grow faster.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, ideology, tax
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Time for Canada to tax foreign digital corporations
Saturday, March 16th, 2019
… other countries are coming up with alternatives that apply taxes to the revenues of large digital corporations that won’t necessarily be applied to consumers… In addition to a sales tax, Canada can even the playing field by getting rid of the current deductibility companies receive for foreign internet advertising… A digital tax would go a long way in balancing the playing field for our companies and protecting the thousands of Canadian jobs that contribute to our democracy.
Tags: budget, economy, globalization, ideology, jurisdiction, standard of living
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What to do about housing?
Friday, March 15th, 2019
A policy that increases supply will lower prices and increase quantities, improving both household debt and affordability… The reality is that plenty of land is earmarked for development, but we often lack the necessary infrastructure. Without water, sewage, and highways, why would a developer build? Getting these infrastructure projects going, in tandem with other levels of government, should be job Number 1.
Tags: budget, housing, ideology, standard of living
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US Tax Changes should Trigger Bold Reform in Canada
Thursday, March 14th, 2019
The authors propose a cash-flow tax, or what economists call a tax on economic “rents” which would involve the immediate write-off of all capital expenditures coupled with the elimination of the debt-interest deduction. The idea is to replace the corporate income tax with a tax that applies only to above-normal return on investment and is, therefore, neutral with respect to business investment and financing decisions.
Tags: economy, ideology, standard of living, tax
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Debunking billionaire claims of heroic capitalism
Thursday, March 14th, 2019
… the arrival of modern capitalism has resulted in vast numbers of people being forced to give up a self-supporting existence and ending up as impoverished labourers… Even in the four decades since 1981, there’s been no decline in global poverty… an exception occurred in the period following the Second World War (1945 to 1975) when equality actually increased… largely due to the very progressive tax systems enacted by governments, notably in the Anglo-American countries, including Canada.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, poverty, standard of living
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Economists of all stripes have for centuries advocated for universal basic income. Here’s why
Wednesday, February 20th, 2019
Now the UBI is back, supported by an unlikely coalition of allies: progressives eager to renew the “War on Poverty” and libertarian billionaires from Silicon Valley. This is paralleled by enthusiasm overseas… Perhaps there’s room for a grand compromise of the kind envisioned by Mill, Friedman, Galbraith and others: a universal basic income that brings the end of traditional welfare programs. But if UBI becomes yet another hybrid of welfare and workfare, history suggests it’s doomed to fail.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
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Finnish basic income trial creates happiness, but not jobs
Saturday, February 9th, 2019
In the Finnish experiment, the basic income is below what unemployment benefits pay… The basic income is tax free, but barely enough to live on for someone paying rent, so it keeps pressure on the recipients to join the work force… basic income recipients appeared less stressed, healthier and more confident in the future than a 5,000-member control group of unemployment benefits recipients… those on basic income and the unemployed people in the control group ended up working roughly the same number of days.
Tags: economy, globalization, participation
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Premier needs primer in the value of universal basic income to the economy
Saturday, February 9th, 2019
It might be news to the premier that most poor people in Ontario have jobs — and quite a few put in longer hours than he does. UBI is not a novel concept. Thomas More championed it in Utopia(1516). Canada saw positive outcomes from a 1970s “mincome” experiment in Manitoba, but the project was of insufficient duration to be deemed conclusive.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, Health, housing, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, standard of living
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Full-day kindergarten keeps women in the work force. Let’s not mess with it
Thursday, February 7th, 2019
… since its full deployment, study after study has demonstrated the benefits for children and families. According to the University of Manitoba’s 2014 research, FDK “is especially beneficial for children of low socioeconomic status or educationally disadvantaged backgrounds.” For a government that purports to put Ontarians back to work to even consider changes to full-day kindergarten invites pause…
Tags: budget, child care, economy, ideology, participation, women
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