Archive for the ‘Economy/Employment’ Category

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The Problems with Economic Efficiency

Tuesday, November 24th, 2020

Roger Martin is a leading global thinker in business management, and his new book, “When More is Not Better: Overcoming America’s Obsession with Economic Efficiency,” offers an idea of why that is… Beyond the obvious problems with economic inequality for people trying to make ends meet, such gaps can also seed serious political problems. And as some recent polling indicates, this can undermine confidence in both democracy and capitalism.

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Canada needs a bold pro-growth strategy for both pandemic recovery and a successful future

Sunday, November 15th, 2020

… we need to remove the barriers that prevent some of our citizens from realizing their potential. This includes a stronger income-security framework and skills programs that are better aligned with labour market needs. Affordable and accessible child care that… can improve the participation of women in the labour force, and help close the gender pay gap. Greater workplace accessibility for disabled Canadians can also add workers. Improved integration of newcomers into the economy through better recognition of skills, education and qualifications can increase labour productivity…

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Canada’s K-shaped recovery is deepening the lines between rich and poor. Here’s how we can shift our economy toward a fair outcome for all

Sunday, November 15th, 2020

… current economic data shows that the pre-pandemic well-off are benefiting while the pre-pandemic marginalized are suffering considerably…  COVID-19 and its congruent economic crisis is an opportunity to implement key changes that will set Canada’s economic trajectory on the right path. Specifically, three things must be done: a universal basic income with automatic stabilizers; high-quality, affordable child care; and a well-designed wealth tax.

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On the cusp of a national daycare strategy

Saturday, November 14th, 2020

Advocates have been calling for an accessible system dating back to 1970… But this time, advocates believe it could actually happen, buoyed by the government promise of not just one-time funding but sustained funding for the future… With Canada’s population aging out of the workforce… accessible and high-quality child care will be key to keeping younger Canadians working… “We have a market-based system for what is effectively an essential service.”

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Taking advantage of workers must not be the future of work

Monday, November 9th, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has laid waste to our economy and exposed deep inequalities in our communities. It has shown how frayed our social safety net has become and how much is wrong with the labour market… The pandemic has shown how low-paid, precarious work isn’t just bad for the people who hold down those jobs, but for society as a whole… It can’t be left up a few companies who have landed on an exploitative business model to decide what the future of work looks like.

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How to Take on the Tech Barons

Sunday, November 8th, 2020

The pandemic has laid bare both the promise of technology — softening the blow of months at home — and its rougher edges, which include the consolidation of power and ever-greater personal data collection… to confront, among other things, the exposed gaps in the nation’s broadband network; the urgent need for broad online privacy protections; the rollout of 5G; growing consumer resentment of technologists; and the pitfalls of nascent technologies like self-driving cars, artificial intelligence and facial recognition.

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Canada’s economy has weathered a pandemic and an unpredictable president. It can handle some post-election chaos

Wednesday, November 4th, 2020

… the last four years of doing business with the United States has been rife with risk… one problem after another for Canada’s cross-border relations… NAFTA negotiations, tariffs, unpredictable “Buy American” policies, antagonism… [Yet] As a country of exporters, we are reliable and resilient. In the face of protectionism, global trade battles, unpredictable leaders and pandemics, we keep on trucking.

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Without a path to fiscal recovery, we’re lost

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2020

Ms. Freeland seems to believe that setting fiscal targets is somehow contradictory to committing to the pandemic-fighting task at hand. As if the second you identify where you want to take your fiscal balance down the road, you are implicitly starting to withdraw necessary stimulus… Maybe it’s the image of an “anchor”… Fine. Let’s call it something else. Let’s create a fiscal compass.

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Unions shouldn’t defend the indefensible

Thursday, October 29th, 2020

… we need more unionization. When you encounter trouble at work — which will happen at badly managed workplaces — someone has to have your back, and that’s the union. But perhaps unions have to shift their frames a little. Some have fallen into a ludicrous Trumpish trap that everything is either black or white. Not true. There are shades of grey. Unions shouldn’t defend the indefensible.

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Unemployment in the 21st Century

Monday, October 12th, 2020

An overriding concern here is that an expansion of EI to insure earnings in a more flexible way may result in moving further away from a program that insures workers against job loss, towards an income-smoothing program that provides a predictable share of some individuals’ income. Overall, while an EI system that covers multiple job holders, gig workers, and the self-employed may be desirable in the 21st century, it is not clear how to build that system.

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