Archive for the ‘Governance Policy Context’ Category
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Friday, May 3rd, 2013
Ontario’s government is still waging austerity, it continues to drag its feet on poverty reduction, it tinkers at the margins of the Lankin-Sheikh social assistance review, and as for economic growth, it continues to rely on the good people of Ontario to drive GDP with whatever money’s left burning in their wallets… The projection is that after having led the recovery in 2008 to 2012, governments will actually detract from economic growth in 2013 to 2016… Ontario remains in austerity mode, despite the mounting evidence that it’s doing more harm than good.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, standard of living, tax
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Friday, December 21st, 2012
Dec 21, 2012
… the money for equalization comes “disproportionately” from Ontario corporate, personal and consumption taxes, says the report. And since Ontario has 40% of the population, it ends up contributing far more to the kitty than it gets back. Although its equalization income this year tops $3.2 billion this year, it gets the lowest payout per capita of the seven recipient provinces… only Ottawa can make the changes. It won’t, of course, unless it feels enough pressure to do so…
Tags: budget, economy, standard of living, tax
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Tuesday, October 23rd, 2012
October 22, 2012
Michael Walker, stated: “If you want to change society you have to change the ideological fabric of society.” … it would take time… Until the left begins to unleash some truly big ideas it will be on the sidelines watching the right continue to push the envelope with ever more dangerous ones… the group which most urgently needs to look for some big ideas of its own is the Canadian union movement.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, participation, pharmaceutical, rights, standard of living
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Monday, October 8th, 2012
Sep. 14, 2012
Regulation of shadow banking should focus on the risks posed to the financial system as a whole, or systemic risks. In each major area of shadow banking in Canada, there is one key regulatory step that needs to be taken in Canada to reduce the extent of instability in the next financial cycle… the federal government can pass legislation where there is a national “need to prevent and respond to systemic risk” in the securities area.
Tags: economy, globalization, privatization, rights, standard of living
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Wednesday, September 12th, 2012
September 09, 2012
Rather than the values of the so-called free market, democratic core values are, at root, collective, policy-related, social values, not simply personal prejudices. Ultimately, an election must be about these wider social values. Otherwise our elections will devolve into a bagatelle of biases, a potpourri of personal value differences rather than a referendum on what kind of economic, political, and ecological society we hope to become.
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, standard of living
Posted in Governance Policy Context | 1 Comment »
Monday, September 3rd, 2012
Mar 10, 2012
… principles having to do with the freedom of the individual, the usefulness but not infallibility of markets, and the legitimate but limited role of the state… that is, government should only do what only government can do… It isn’t just that you failed to do the things you should have. It is that you did things you should not have. And, what is worse, you did them, not reluctantly or shamefacedly, but enthusiastically. You didn’t just sell out. You bought in.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology
Posted in Governance Policy Context | 1 Comment »
Sunday, September 2nd, 2012
August 14, 2012
Citizens of most industrial countries have demanded more public services as they have become richer. And they have been by and large willing to pay more taxes to finance them. Since 1965, tax revenue raised by governments in the developed world have risen to 34 percent of their gross domestic product from 25 percent, on average… Since 1980, income per person has grown roughly the same across developed nations, about 300 percent… It has grown a little faster in the United States than in the European Union and Canada, but slower than in higher tax countries like Japan, Norway and Sweden.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, rights, standard of living, tax
Posted in Governance Policy Context | 1 Comment »
Saturday, September 1st, 2012
August 29, 2012
… according to Ontario’s finance ministry and 2012 budget, the province spends less than any other province on public programs and services. Provincial budget advisor Don Drummond said this is a sign of fiscal prudence and good management. But… Ontarians are paying for this through reduced services and the highest user fees in the country. Last spring’s cuts to social assistance, school closures, cancelled hospital projects, delayed child benefits, eroded social housing budgets and public sector restructuring that will result in “thousands” of lost jobs, will only make matters worse…
Tags: budget, economy, Health, housing, ideology, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Governance Policy Context | 8 Comments »
Monday, August 27th, 2012
22 August 2012
“The tar sands is all about providing secure supply for the people south of the border. And they should be allowed to do it but only if they do it right. Protecting the future of Canadian nature and human life, looking out for local residents, providing jobs and wealth to Canada. It can all be done, that’s what we are doing here. But you’ve got to stop thinking like a loser!”
Tags: economy, ideology, privatization, rights, standard of living, tax
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Saturday, August 11th, 2012
1 August 2012
But wealth-sharing, enshrined in the 1982 Constitution Act, can cause a variety of problems… Transfers can play a “counterproductive role if they act to mask inexorable structural change, delay necessary adaptation and create the illusion that the unsustainable can somehow be sustained indefinitely… “Ultimately they can destroy unity by creating resentment, disrespect and distrust.”
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, standard of living
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