Archive for the ‘Economy/Employment’ Category
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Parents, trapped: Lack of child care could undermine economic recovery and hurt women, but the solution is expensive
Sunday, July 12th, 2020
In normal times, daycare is much like a throttle for the engine of the economy. Increase the supply of spaces, and more women are able to work. Productivity rises, household incomes grow and consumer spending ticks up.
But the coronavirus threatens to throw that dynamic into reverse. A mass exodus of women from the work force would be unprecedented in recent decades… an enormous chunk of economic activity is at risk
Tags: budget, child care, economy, Health, jurisdiction, participation, standard of living, women
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There will be no ‘V-shaped recovery.’ But here’s how we can ensure the post-pandemic economy works for everyone
Sunday, July 5th, 2020
… well-directed public spending, particularly investments in the green transition, can be timely, labour-intensive (helping to resolve the problem of soaring unemployment) and highly stimulative – delivering far more bang for the buck than, say, tax cuts. There is no economic reason why countries… can’t adopt large, sustained recovery programs that will affirm – or move them closer to – the societies they claim to be.
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, standard of living
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Why we need to start spending on infrastructure, and fast
Thursday, July 2nd, 2020
The money lost by underemployed workers, businesses and governments is unlikely to be fully recovered… the longer we wait, the more assets permanently lose value… the effects of the pandemic on the economy will invariably reduce the ability of Canadians to finance the services and infrastructure they previously expected – a perverse dynamic that will only worsen with the duration of underemployment.
Tags: budget, economy, Health, ideology, participation, standard of living
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Why Canada exploits temporary foreign workers
Saturday, June 20th, 2020
As long as free trade rules, farmers will be under pressure to pay their workers less than Canadians are willing to accept. That in turn will lead to more temporary foreign workers… the government is being urged to provide such workers with a path to citizenship that would give them the same rights (and presumably the same wages) as other Canadians… But who then will pick the asparagus?
Tags: economy, globalization, immigration, participation, rights, standard of living
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Here’s one simple — and relatively cheap — thing Ottawa needs to do to kick-start our economic recovery
Saturday, June 20th, 2020
Business closures have pounded women across the country, hitting service-oriented sectors that tend to be female-dominated harder than others. Parents who were able to arrange to work from home quickly realized that caring for young children at the same time is unsustainable… “There’s no way our economy can reopen, reboot and recover if 40 per cent of its labour market cannot engage the way it did before”
Tags: budget, child care, economy, featured, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, women
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Argue against the CERB all you want — this is why you’re wrong
Thursday, June 18th, 2020
If the government’s experts are able to repair EI’s weaknesses and blend that system with pandemic income supports to nurse a full recovery, they’ll be providing a crucial backstop for the middle class for years to come. But for now, the focus on emergency help for the pandemic’s most vulnerable victims is a necessary priority.
Tags: budget, economy, Health, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
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Clawing back pandemic pay for grocery workers is a grotesque, predictable outcome
Wednesday, June 17th, 2020
In normal times, callous, profit-centric corporate behaviour is not particularly remarkable. But one effect of the COVID-19 pandemic has been to amplify our society’s ugliest tendencies in a way that’s difficult to ignore. Clawing back an extra couple of dollars from grocery staff during a pandemic, while spuriously implying the risk is no longer there, transcends conventional ugliness to become distinctly grotesque.
Tags: economy, ideology, mental Health, standard of living
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I am still an essential worker — don’t take away our pay hike
Tuesday, June 16th, 2020
… we’re able to work through daily changes in safety standards all while staying calm during the first weeks of the pandemic. As workers, we went from invisible to essential and to being called “heroes” in a matter of days. The $2-an-hour raise gave most of my coworkers the boost they needed to make a living wage in Canada; in short, that means it took a pandemic for the majority of the food supply chain to be able to afford to live.
Tags: economy, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, standard of living
Posted in Debates, Delivery System | No Comments »
There’s no shortage of labour. Employers just need to improve their offer
Saturday, June 13th, 2020
Employers’ complaints of “labour shortages” are not credible; and a more universal approach to income protection (as partly reflected in the CERB) should be maintained. Ultimately, we must find a better “incentive to work” than compelling people to accept low wages, uncertain hours, and risk of infection on pain of destitution.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, immigration, participation, standard of living
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Unpaid sick days are what ails Doug Ford’s recovery plan
Tuesday, June 9th, 2020
It makes no sense to expect the working poor to become poorer if they come down with COVID-19. Nor is it fair to demand they sacrifice their individual wages, in poor health, so as to benefit society’s collective health… By penalizing sick workers, we will only make more people sick. The premier is right to preach that workers should stay home when unwell. But he should put his money where his morality is, rather than demand that those who can least afford it bear the burden
Tags: economy, Health, ideology, rights
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