Archive for the ‘Governance Policy Context’ Category
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Canada among most peaceful nations in the world: report
Wednesday, May 25th, 2011
May 25, 2011
The Institute for Economics and Peace… says in its 2011 Global Peace Index that Canada is the eighth most peaceful country in the world in which to live… holding Canada from climbing higher on the index was an increase in the likelihood of violent protests, a reflection of the demonstrations in Toronto during last year’s G20 meetings…The index uses 23 quantitative and qualitative measures, such as military spending as a percentage of GDP, level of violent crime, likelihood of violent demonstrations, deaths from conflict and relations with neighbouring countries…
Tags: crime prevention, ideology, standard of living
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Like it or not, taxes on rich must be increased
Tuesday, May 17th, 2011
May 16, 2011
It should seem incredible that, with all the big tax cuts the wealthy and corporations have been given, and the expensive multiple wars we have to pay for, the country must drastically trim our Social Security and medical supports and further limit the modest pay and pensions of public workers… We don’t have to let public education, health and retirement funding recede back to pre-Great Depression levels. Many conservatives, though, wish to seize the chance to undo the advances made since the New Deal and other reforms increased the living standards of the great majority.
Tags: budget, ideology, tax
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Canadians pay less tax on income than most in developed countries: OECD
Sunday, May 15th, 2011
May 11, 2011
The burden of taxes and social-security charges paid by employers and employees “is lower than the OECD average for every family type (considered in the study) and the difference with the OECD average has widened over the past 11 years.”… Governments trying to cut deficits while spurring growth should shift away from payroll taxes and higher personal income taxes and instead boost revenues from property taxes and value-added levies such as Canada’s GST or HST, the OECD advised.
Tags: budget, economy, globalization, standard of living, tax
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Premiers could be reaching for their wallets
Monday, April 25th, 2011
Apr 25 2011
the Conservative party is emphasizing promised personal tax breaks: income splitting for some households, doubled Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs), and tax credits for more athletic and artistic pursuits… Less noticed is the fact that provincial governments would bear a significant portion of the cost of these postdated tax changes. Provincial income tax generally applies to income as defined by federal tax rules. Shifting income to a spouse in a lower tax bracket or into a TFSA reduces both federal and provincial revenues.
Tags: budget, standard of living, tax
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A Canada-U.S. tax gap means a Canada-U.S. tax transfer
Wednesday, April 20th, 2011
Apr. 20, 2011
…our rates fall substantially below U.S. rates. According to the 2010 budget, the Canadian corporate tax rate at 16.2 per cent in 2012 would be half that of the U.S. at 34.2 per cent, with a still-to-come 1.5-point drop. Under Article XXIV of the Canada-U.S. tax treaty, any U.S. citizen, resident or company earning income in Canada is subject to U.S. tax, with a credit for Canadian tax paid or accrued. This is critical…. [It] could result in a potential $500-million annual tax transfer from Canada to the U.S. for every point reduction in the Canadian tax rate.
Tags: economy, ideology, standard of living, tax
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The New Solitudes
Friday, April 15th, 2011
March 2011
“The only way Canadians are going to get some control over the current political dysfunction is by demanding that the centre-left forces unite: the Liberals, the NDP, and the Greens,” suggests Michael Behiels. This is a bold proposition, but the likelihood of such a merger remains remote as long as political leaders continue to hope for majorities. A more promising option would be a formal coalition of the centre-left… Coalitions are democratic, legal, and commonplace. Among the fifty-one parliamentary democracies in the world, nearly 90 percent do not ordinarily govern with a majority…
Tags: globalization, ideology, rights, standard of living
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Canada watches its democracy erode
Thursday, March 31st, 2011
March 30, 2011
… the minority Stephen Harper government fell on a confidence motion… for disrespecting Canadian democracy and treating parliament with contempt… As Canadians head for the polls… it remains to be seen whether Liberal Party charges of the Harper government being obsessed with secrecy, control, spin and attack ads will resonate with voters. Until then, Oh Canada, we cry our hearts for thee.
Tags: featured, ideology, participation, rights
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Conservatives are pedalling furiously but going nowhere
Saturday, March 26th, 2011
Mar. 25, 2011
Today, and for most of the past five years, Stephen Harper’s Conservatives have hovered around 36 per cent of the popular vote. So, in more than three decades, the organized national conservative political formations – the PCs, Reform, Canadian Alliance and Mr. Harper’s Conservatives – have not made major political gains… a fascinating tale because what we might loosely call the country’s conservative forces have never been better organized, financed or motivated. And yet, for all their strength, they appear not to have changed Canada, or at least Canadian politics.
Tags: ideology, participation
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There is no Harper Nation
Saturday, March 26th, 2011
Mar 25, 2011
… Harper Conservatives have singularly failed to change the Canadian ideological landscape. Instead, Canadian politics changed the Conservatives… This week’s budget, in which $2-billion in loose cash was promptly distributed to a score of special interests and political agendas, left in place a $40-billion deficit for 2010 and solidified a $100-billion increase in the national debt over five years… There must be something more to Canada than an ever-increasing role for governments, bureaucrats and politician to fill a constant demand for more and more government spending and intervention.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, tax
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The federal budget and 50 years of Canadian debt
Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011
Mar 22, 2011
… adjusted for inflation, today’s federal debt pales in comparison with the records of the mid-1990s. For instance, the debt in 1996 stood at nearly $769-billion when adjusted for inflation, 25% higher than the present-day debt… How much debt a country should carry is a divisive topic for economists… sometimes being fiscally responsible doesn’t get the recognition it deserves.
Tags: budget, economy, globalization, ideology, standard of living
Posted in Governance Policy Context | 9 Comments »
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