Archive for the ‘Debates’ Category
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An era of stagnation, or the cusp of a new golden age?
… the painful part of the transition is largely complete and the second, Deployment Phase “has 20 to 30 years ahead, while serving as a platform for innovation in all sectors and for opening new radical paths in production and lifestyles …. The result is a quantum jump in innovation and productivity for all.” The politics surrounding expansion of the welfare state is a sticking point that might delay the transition from Installation Phase to the new golden age.
Tags: economy, globalization, participation, standard of living
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A Permanent Slump?
The financial crisis that started the Great Recession is now far behind us… by most measures it ended more than four years ago. Yet our economy remains depressed… and which only gets anywhere close to full employment when it is being buoyed by bubbles… central bankers need to stop talking about “exit strategies.” Easy money should, and probably will, be with us for a very long time. This, in turn, means we can forget all those scare stories about government debt…
Tags: budget, economy, globalization, ideology, standard of living
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Forget Duffy. Harper’s real war is with unions
… a more important battle is shaping up for the 2015 election. It’s between the Conservative Party and organized labour — as evidenced by the resolutions the party will be debating at its policy convention… Proposals include allowing secret ballots during strikes, banning the use of dues for political purposes, requiring increased financial disclosure by unions, and passing right-to-work legislation… In part, it’s ideological… The Tories’ antipathy toward unions also has a political aspect. Unions have long supported the NDP
Tags: economy, ideology, rights, standard of living
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Canada has learned a lot about free trade
Brian Mulroney’s 1987 claim that the Canada-U.S. free trade agreement would bring more prosperity, more jobs and cheaper imports was largely true. But the country had to go through a wrenching adjustment process to reap the gains… critics of the 2013 Canada-EU free trade pact aren’t forecasting doom or warning that our identity will wither. It is widely anticipated that the agreement will bring new business opportunities, price reductions and jobs… But first, the country will have to go through a jarring transition.
Tags: economy, ideology, rights, standard of living
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Close the loophole that excludes unpaid interns from safety rights
Providing free labour… is, unfortunately, an increasingly common way to get coveted work experience. And while it’s fair to say that a little hard (and unpaid) work doesn’t necessarily hurt, it’s also true that the students providing this free labour should be covered by the same health and safety laws as paid employees. Trouble is, many are not… a legislative loophole in the Occupational Health and Safety Act excludes some interns from province-wide health and safety rules.
Tags: economy, Health, ideology, rights, standard of living
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In U.K., work is no longer a way out of poverty: report
Having a job no longer offers a sure route out of poverty in Britain, with the working poor crushed by rising costs and stagnant wages… The Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission report concluded that the government must do more to help low-paid workers… the missing piece of the “policy jigsaw” is how to help people who are working but not economically stable
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, poverty, standard of living
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Economy is Stephen Harper’s weak spot despite Conservative bragging
… the proportion of Canadian adults with jobs is no better now than it was in 2009, during the worst of this recession… job growth under this government hasn’t kept up with population growth… Ottawa’s focus on fiscal austerity — on pulling government money out of the economy — only makes matters worse… the government is systematically taking aim at anything, from employment insurance to unionization, that keeps wages up. The Dickensian notion here is that full employment can be achieved only if most of us are willing to work for peanuts.
Tags: economy, ideology, standard of living
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Put minimum wage hike on table
… the Premier doesn’t hesitate to be declarative on minimum wage policy even though she has a panel of experts touring the province to consult with the public on the issue… Currently, a full-time, full-year worker on minimum wage earns more than $1,000 below the province’s official poverty line. How can the “social justice” Premier morally justify that disparity so quickly? / We don’t need more study. We need prompt and meaningful action.
Tags: economy, ideology, poverty, standard of living
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What does a living wage get you?
If you’re making a living wage, the report says, you’re not using the food bank and you’re not homeless… The report conceives of a hypothetical family – two parents, both working full-time, with two young children, living in a rental apartment in Peterborough – and calculates how much each parent would have to be earning, per hour, to pay basic bills… that means no retirement savings, no education savings and no fund for household or car repairs…
Tags: economy, poverty, standard of living
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10 ways to fix Ontario’s youth unemployment crisis
A new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives shows that, at 16.4 per cent, Ontario’s youth unemployment rate is among the worst in Canada, worse even than most of the struggling “rust belt” states in the U.S. It’s a complex problem to be sure, but one we are not powerless to address. Here are 10 ways we might begin to ease it.
Tags: economy, participation, standard of living, youth
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