Archive for the ‘Governance Policy Context’ Category
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Another way to look at Toronto’s budget debate
Since amalgamation in 1998 the city has never announced a single cut in property taxes. However, over that period property taxes in Toronto have been cut by a cumulative 12.4 per cent… We never cut taxes, but they have gone down — down a lot. This is simply explained. Inflation is going up faster than taxes. During the election you heard promises to keep property tax increases at or below inflation… An “increase” below inflation is not an increase. It is a decrease. It is a cut.
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The Tories’ neater, less effective federalism
They would… bring an end to the bickering that had characterized federal-provincial relations for decades… But eight years later… the federal government has disowned any responsibility for shaping our health system… Social policy, too, has been reshaped… But if we believe that some things — say, child care, home care, pharmacare, medicare, income security — are so fundamental to citizenship that they should be guaranteed for all Canadians, wherever they live, Ottawa has a crucial role to play.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, standard of living
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The year taxes made a comeback in Canada
… the costs of decades of tax cuts and austerity are piling up and there’s a growing chorus arguing that reversing course on taxes is key to our future well-being… We have not looked at our tax system in a comprehensive way since the influential Carter Commission 50 years ago. It seems increasingly clear that we will not meet our current challenges or even understand our choices if we don’t rethink why and how we pay taxes… Sooner or later the consequences of austerity will make a turnaround inevitable. The longer we wait, the higher the costs.
Tags: budget, economy, globalization, ideology, jurisdiction, standard of living, tax
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Canada needs a brighter federal science policy
The Conservatives have shut down more than 200 scientific programs and facilities, many of them environment-related, since taking office… despite all that cutting, overall federal science funding has modestly increased over the last eight years (though… not quickly enough to keep up with inflation… The main problem… is… how it’s allotted: namely, based on a misunderstanding of how science, including innovation, works and of government’s role in the enterprise… the government has essentially transformed much of Canada’s research budget into a business subsidy.
Tags: budget, economy, globalization, ideology, privatization, standard of living
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New Blueprint for Canada’s Tax System Proposed
… if the benefits of economic growth and recent tax reforms, like reductions to corporate taxes, continues to be concentrated among those with the highest incomes, support will erode for such growth-enhancing tax reforms, which also enhance Canada’s international tax competitiveness. The solution is to reform income taxes. Milligan calls for a dual-income tax that continues to tax wages progressively but taxes investments at a flat rate in order to achieve fairness and competitiveness.
Tags: economy, featured, globalization, ideology, standard of living, tax
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Ottawa’s ‘Canadian way’ a barrier to provincial trade
For years, the attitude of the provinces has been that whatever they regard as under their jurisdiction is completely off limits for Ottawa, but whatever is under Ottawa’s power must be negotiated with the provinces. Ottawa should be muscular in its defence of federal power, not to be confrontational, but because we created a federal government and Parliament so that they could act strongly and decisively in the national interest.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, rights, standard of living
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Time to tame the targeted tax tinkering
… Quite often, the tax credits or benefits (a kind of subsidy) are so small that they do not influence behaviour, except at the margin. Or, they are available to families who don’t need the incentive… Some day… a government with guts and common sense will wipe out these targeted tax cuts and use the money for broad-based tax measures that do not discriminate and pick favourites. It will encourage rational decisions, greatly simplify the tax code and put sound economics ahead of political calculations.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, tax
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We can’t legislate lost souls
Much of the public discourse has been about the need to tighten security, to crack down on radical elements in society. But violence is not strictly a public security issue. It’s also a serious and largely neglected public health issue. We’re probably healthier and safer than we have been at any time in history, but the spectre of violence and fear hangs over us… The malaise and desperation that results in young men killing themselves and others is not going to be legislated or policed away.
Tags: crime prevention, economy, ideology, mental Health, youth
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Canada Needs To Adopt a ‘Health In All Policies’ Approach
… the Canadian Medical Association’s ‘What Makes Us Sick’ recommendation [is] to require the federal government to include a health impact assessment as part of the cabinet decision-making process, they endorse the idea that the federal government must address the health impacts of decisions in all sectors… health is more than hospitals and doctors, diet and exercise. A Health in All Policies approach offers public leaders an opportunity to turn that understanding into thoughtful action.
Tags: Health, ideology, mental Health, standard of living
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Look closely, U.S. conservatives: Harper’s not a new Thatcher
He talks a good game and his personal convictions undoubtedly skew right. But he governs in that great Canadian tradition of pragmatic meddling. The state is no less involved in our lives. In some ways, it’s become more interventionist… The heavy lifting, when it comes to shrinking federal expenditures as a share of the Canadian economy, was set in motion under Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin. All Mr. Harper has done is push the cruise control button.
Tags: budget, crime prevention, economy, ideology, privatization, tax
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