Archive for the ‘Debates’ Category
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Tear down the economic barriers
Wednesday, June 30th, 2010
Jun. 29, 2010
What this country needs is a legislated Economic Charter of Rights for Canadians laying out our right to be welcome economically throughout our national home while respecting our constitutional division of powers, backed by an Economic Freedom Commission able to investigate breaches of the charter and litigate over them on behalf of small businesses and individuals who can’t afford to sue provincial authorities with bottomless pockets… The horde of petty restrictions on our right to buy, sell and work freely throughout Canada is pointlessly harmful to prosperity.
Tags: economy, ideology, standard of living
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Economics: The shaky science
Monday, June 28th, 2010
June 28, 2010
In major advanced countries — the 31 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development — unemployment stands at 46.5 million people, up about 50 percent since 2007. It’s not just that people lack work. Lengthy unemployment may erode skills, leading to downward mobility or permanent joblessness. But what more can governments do? It’s unclear… Economics has become the shaky science; its intellectual chaos provides context for today’s policy disputes at home and abroad.
Tags: economy, ideology
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Skills training, good jobs and growth
Monday, June 28th, 2010
Jun 28 2010
They asked the International Labour Organization (ILO), a Geneva-based United Nations agency, to develop a training strategy for consideration at their June 27 G20 summit in Toronto. The 34-page document, entitled A Skilled Workforce for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth, was presented at yesterday’s meeting. It was far-sighted, intelligent and practical. It gave G20 leaders a way to put decent jobs at the heart of the post-recession economy.
Tags: economy, globalization, standard of living
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The $7-trillion challenge
Sunday, June 27th, 2010
Jun. 26, 2010
… too many governments for too long have relied on cutting taxes as the surest way to spark economic growth. It works as long as there is enough revenue coming in to pay for governments’ obligations or bond traders are willing to finance the spending. With the revenue from booming economies gone, and bond markets less willing to finance bloated government deficits, policy makers must now look for more complicated solutions…
Tags: budget, economy, globalization
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Look to Chinese strikers for hope
Saturday, June 26th, 2010
Jun 25 2010
Even though chances are slim that the G20 meeting will prove a watershed moment in outlining an ambitious agenda for decent jobs, income equality, poverty reduction, environmental protection and peace, I firmly believe these are still achievable goals… it will be the actions of working people and community members, together, building solidarity and raising their voices that will drive this positive and progressive social and economic agenda.
Tags: globalization, participation, rights, standard of living
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World leaders embracing austerity are playing with fire
Thursday, June 24th, 2010
Jun 24 2010
Canada will urge fellow G20 members to slash their deficits in half in just three years. Britain’s new Conservative-led government just tabled a budget with the most severe cutbacks since the Second World War… In Europe, the eurozone debt crisis earlier this year has nations differing only in the speed and severity of their austerity measures… Myopic deficit-eradication nostrums, while not defunct, have been thoroughly debunked.
Tags: economy, ideology
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The HST is good for you. Yes it is. Is too
Monday, June 21st, 2010
June 21, 2010
Opponents of harmonization claim that the elimination of sales taxes on business inputs and the expansion of the sales tax base would result in a shift of the tax burden from business to individuals. However, such a view ignores that the ultimate burden of all taxes falls on people in the form of higher prices, lower wages, or reduced rates of return… The HST is a significantly more efficient sales tax system that will improve the investment climates in both provinces and ultimately benefit Canadians through more opportunities, higher rates of economic growth and increased prosperity.
Tags: economy, globalization, standard of living, tax
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Living wages are key to poverty eradication
Tuesday, June 15th, 2010
June 14, 2010
A worldwide movement is gaining momentum to disrupt complacency about poverty… a robust social movement has been devising creative solutions that meld progressive ideals with a pro-business approach to ensure that people with jobs can actually provide for their families… A study of L.A.’s 1997 living-wage law… discovered that the ordinance had increased pay for an estimated 10,000 jobs. Employment reductions amounted to 1%, or an estimated loss of 112 jobs. Most firms gained from reduced employee turnover, which can be costly and disruptive.
Tags: economy, poverty, standard of living
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Blue collar workers left behind
Friday, June 11th, 2010
Jun 11 2010
Canadians will never know what happened to most of the 575,000 manufacturing workers who lost their jobs in the recession and the economic shake-out that preceded it. They’ll hear about the lucky minority that is rehired… According to Statistics Canada, the recession ended eight months ago. According to the government, the economy is likely to grow by 2.6 per cent this year and 3.2 per cent next year. According to Ford, General Motors and Chrysler, they’re all making profits. The economy is recovering. Its victims aren’t.
Tags: globalization, participation, standard of living
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A new pension deal
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010
June 1, 2010
The requirements for an improved retirement savings system have to include cost-effectiveness and adequacy while reaching a broad base of Canadians. The infrastructure, expertise, capacity and proven cost-efficiency to meet those requirements already exists in the private financial service sector’s workplace-based retirement savings programs, including pensions, group RRSPs and deferred profit-sharing plans. These capital accumulation plans have grown 70% in eight years and the potential for increased participation is clear…
Tags: pensions, standard of living
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