Archive for the ‘Economy/Employment’ Category
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Inflation is back to 1991 levels, but that doesn’t mean the federal budget should be a ’90s remix
Friday, April 22nd, 2022
The focus on boosting innovation and investment is a waste of time and money. Since the 1990s, evidence shows governments don’t know how to goose productivity or growth. But we know governments maximize potential when they invest in the foundations for everyone (affordable and accessible high-quality health, education, housing and communication, as a bare minimum).
Tags: budget, economy, housing, ideology, standard of living
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Amid spiralling costs for Canadians and atrocities abroad, deficit is not a dirty word
Wednesday, April 6th, 2022
… business pages are full of opinions that say there’s already too much spending, deficits are dangerously high, and so any new spending must focus on supporting — surprise! — business, the self-proclaimed source of wealth creation… It’s very likely we are under-taxing some of the most profitable businesses, so yes, apart from borrowing, there’s a fix for the “how ya gonna pay for it?” crowd… Those urging governments to trim spending look only at the costs of programs, and not the fiscal dividends of acting.
Tags: budget, child care, economy, featured, Health, housing, ideology, pharmaceutical, standard of living, tax
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Minimum wage meets maximum politics in pre-election Ontario
Thursday, March 31st, 2022
… Ford’s Tories… four years ago… cancelled a planned minimum wage increase — imposing a 26-month freeze on the old hourly rate of $14 an hour, shortchanging hundreds of thousands of working poor. Belatedly, Ford has ratcheted the rate back up to the previously scheduled $15, albeit about three years behind schedule. Now, after watching the premier play catch-up ahead of the June 2 Ontario election, the opposition parties are leapfrogging ahead of him
Tags: economy, ideology, jurisdiction, poverty, standard of living
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Migrant workers make our agricultural industry viable. Why do we treat them as disposable?
Monday, March 21st, 2022
Employers — who are supposed to pay for the consequences of workplace injuries and disease — instead benefit financially from the WSIB’s discriminatory policies. Employers are getting richer on the backs of injured workers. This year, the government has decided to give a $1.5 billion rebate to employers, rather than support injured workers.
Tags: disabilities, economy, ideology, jurisdiction, poverty, rights, standard of living
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Ontario’s new gig-work bill might as well be written on DoorDash letterhead
Monday, March 7th, 2022
The Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act may look as if it’s intended to bring app-based employers in line — but it’s not the change we need… Changing the law to define these workers as employees would obviate the need for any of these proposed changes. It would enshrine the rights of these workers along with those of everyone else.
Tags: economy, ideology, jurisdiction, rights, standard of living
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Don’t be fooled by Ontario’s ‘minimum wage’ for gig workers
Friday, March 4th, 2022
Ontario’s manipulative ‘minimum wage’ is an attempt to forestall genuine legislative and regulatory changes… workers at gig platforms already have the right to unionize through normal channels, and achieve genuine collective bargaining rights—they don’t need any special ‘law’, just clarification that they are indeed workers (whether employees or dependent contractors) not independent businesses.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, jurisdiction, standard of living
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Ottawa can strike a blow against precarity with stronger protections for gig workers
Monday, February 28th, 2022
What is really needed to stop the spread of misclassification is to start with the presumption that a worker is an employee, unless a case can be made that they are a bona fide independent contractor. A clear and relatively simple test can be established to determine whether someone is a legitimate contractor — i.e., do they set their own prices, perform work that is not the company’s “core” business, and have their own business doing the same work that they market independently? — or a misclassified employee.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, jurisdiction, standard of living
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Why Not 75 Years Old?
Tuesday, February 22nd, 2022
… since the creation of the RRSP in 1957, the age limit of 71 has never been raised… Given the sharp increase in life expectancy, the age limit of 71 years for converting an RRSP into a RRIF needs to be lifted… this type of change would optimize the mechanics of pension plans, and also encourage Canadians to remain in the workforce, which improves health and also helps with Canada’s looming labour shortage.
Tags: budget, economy, participation, pensions, tax
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Ontario’s ‘affordable housing’ task force report does not address the real problems
Friday, February 11th, 2022
The tasks force’s recommendations are squarely aimed at this middle-class interpretation of the housing crisis… these measures will do very little for those on low and moderate incomes… Instead, a range of policies are needed to curb speculation, increase the supply of non-market, genuinely affordable housing and ensure tenants have adequate protections through strong rent-control policies.
Tags: economy, featured, homelessness, housing, ideology, jurisdiction, poverty, standard of living
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Israel capped CEO pay for banking execs at $1 million. Its unique experiment could work here, too
Friday, January 14th, 2022
Over the years, the ratio between those who hold the top jobs and regular employees has gone up tremendously. Justifications for this were always based on arguments that CEO pay is set in a competitive market. The reality, however, is different. CEO pay has no equilibrium and continues to ratchet up endlessly… For too long we’ve been brainwashed by free-market myths about CEO pay. The natural experiment in Israel has refuted them.
Tags: economy, ideology, privatization, standard of living, tax
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