Archive for the ‘History’ Category
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The Verdict on Thatcherism Is Clear
Thirty-five years after she swept to power as British prime minister, it is ironic that socialist Norway now has $830 billion in the bank and enjoys fully funded social programs that most of us can only dream of. Meanwhile the U.K. is enduring another round of wrenching austerity and owes over £1.3 trillion — about US$2.2 trillion. That massive debt grows by about $3.8 billion each week, while every seven days Norway adds another billion dollars to their bank account.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, globalization, ideology, privatization, standard of living, tax
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If I Had a Hammer [automation/employment]
In many cases today artificially intelligent machines can make better decisions than humans.” So humans and software-driven machines may increasingly be substitutes, not complements… the speed and slope of improvement… [is] very fast and steep… our generation will… [be] relying on fewer people and more technology… we need to rethink deeply our social contracts, because labor is so important to a person’s identity and dignity and to societal stability.
Tags: economy, featured, globalization, participation, standard of living
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Free trade’s tarnished silver anniversary
The FTA/NAFTA was a big business-driven initiative whose primary purpose was investment deregulation… Contrary to assurances given Canadians prior to the FTA/NAFTA, big business lobbied hard to reduce program spending and taxes. Unemployment insurance, health and education transfers, social assistance and housing programs, etc. were “harmonized downward” toward U.S. levels. Governments cut taxes… it helped weaken the bonds of nationhood embodied in the Canadian social state.
Tags: economy, featured, globalization, ideology, jurisdiction, privatization, rights, standard of living, tax
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How Ottawa has frequently changed employment insurance
Employment insurance – or unemployment insurance, as it has been named for most of its life – is consistently one of the most controversial and challenging programs for federal governments of all stripes… Now the Conservative government is preparing to build on recent changes with a more sweeping reform of how EI helps train Canadians for new jobs… As Ottawa and the provinces prepare for more change, here’s a primer on how we got here.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, ideology, participation, poverty, rights, standard of living
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How Did Economists Get It So Wrong?
September 2, 2009
… economists will have to learn to live with messiness. That is, they will have to acknowledge the importance of irrational and often unpredictable behavior, face up to the often idiosyncratic imperfections of markets and accept that an elegant economic “theory of everything” is a long way off. In practical terms, this will translate into more cautious policy advice — and a reduced willingness to dismantle economic safeguards in the faith that markets will solve all problems.
Tags: budget, economy, globalization, ideology, privatization, standard of living
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