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Finnish basic income trial creates happiness, but not jobs
Saturday, February 9th, 2019
In the Finnish experiment, the basic income is below what unemployment benefits pay… The basic income is tax free, but barely enough to live on for someone paying rent, so it keeps pressure on the recipients to join the work force… basic income recipients appeared less stressed, healthier and more confident in the future than a 5,000-member control group of unemployment benefits recipients… those on basic income and the unemployed people in the control group ended up working roughly the same number of days.
Tags: economy, globalization, participation
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
We know the problems in health care; get moving on the fix
Monday, February 4th, 2019
… either the Ford government doesn’t have a plan or it has a secret plan. Neither option provides the slightest cause for confidence in this government, or its ability to tackle a problem with as many moving parts as health care… The Ford government should just get moving on the necessary retooling of health care to expand and better integrate home care, community supports and long-term beds to provide for Ontarians long before they get to a hospital hallway.
Tags: budget, featured, Health, mental Health, standard of living
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
The danger of two-tier medicine if Doug Ford’s top doc doesn’t seek informed consent first
Monday, February 4th, 2019
All that decentralization engendered duplication, as each LHIN and CCAC assembled its own bureaucracies and boards, leaving the available managerial talent stretched thin. It’s time to recalibrate and recentralize, breaking down barriers instead of creating yet more silos… If the Devlin-Decter duo is pondering a two-tier system for Ford, presumably they plan to be “transparent and accountable to the public” about it before delivering a fait accompli.
Tags: budget, Health, participation
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Ford shouldn’t mess with success of full-day kindergarten program
Thursday, January 31st, 2019
All the available evidence suggests the benefits of full-day kindergarten for kids, parents, employers and even the economy far outweigh any cost savings the government will be able to find by cutting this program… every dollar invested in the program will generate $2.42 for the province in reduced social costs and improved health outcomes. In other words, full-day kindergarten more than pays for itself.
Tags: budget, child care, ideology
Posted in Education Debates | No Comments »
Freedom and democracy cannot exist without privacy
Monday, January 28th, 2019
In December, AI ethics researchers released the Montreal Declaration for the Responsible Development of Artificial Intelligence — a set of 10 principles for developers and organizations that implement AI, as well as the individuals subject to it… public authorities now need to act. Governments and legislators in particular have an important role to play in drawing on ethical principles to create an enforceable legal framework for AI that formally requires relevant actors to act fairly and responsibly.
Tags: featured, ideology, participation, rights
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Using boomers short-term could help gap in Nova Scotia labour shortage
Monday, January 28th, 2019
Retired or semi-retired boomers who want to continue to work — albeit in a more flexible, short-term way… can be dropped into situations to handle specific projects or to mentor or train transitioning staff. They also represent a fixed-cost hiring, with no lag time, and no legacy or professional development costs… So while automation, youth attraction/retention and immigration are essential considerations to sustain and grow the economy, so is figuring out how to best accommodate the fastest growing segment of the labour market: boomers choosing to return to the labour force.
Tags: economy, participation, pensions
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
Voters didn’t give the Ford government a mandate to cut education funding
Monday, January 28th, 2019
If every student with a learning or behavioural challenge, for example, had the supports they needed to succeed and not disrupt the overall learning environment, then adding another couple students to a classroom might not matter at all. Indeed, it might even be a good trade-off… this government doesn’t have a mandate to make cuts to education. Indeed, it has no real mandate to make substantial cuts to any government service or program because that is expressly what Premier Doug Ford promised he would not do.
Tags: budget, featured, ideology, standard of living
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
Ontario welfare changes far from being reforms
Sunday, January 27th, 2019
The government wants recipients of Ontario Works and ODSP to work. Curiously, it proposes substantially better financial incentives for people who are certified as disabled. On Ontario Works, the plan is to exempt the first $300 a month of earned income before any clawback, compared to the current $200. Beyond the basic exemption, the current clawback is 50 per cent. The proposal is to make it 75 per cent. That is an incentive to work?
Tags: budget, disabilities, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Students demand Ford government reverse course on OSAP changes
Sunday, January 27th, 2019
Nour Alideeb, the Ontario chair of the Canadian Federation of Students, said students from the lowest income families will bear the brunt of the cuts to grants. “Our message to the government is you messed with the wrong people,” she said. “We’re going to be here to make sure that you’re actually listening to the people, which are the students, and students want to see a reverse on the OSAP cuts but also public investments into our institutions.”
Tags: budget, ideology, participation, poverty
Posted in Education Debates | No Comments »
Tuition changes will hurt students, society, in the long run
Wednesday, January 23rd, 2019
Nobody I know in higher education resents the notion that students should pay less. The way to make this happen is to spread the cost of higher education investments over our broader tax base… at first blush the announcement seems positive: Tuition rates are going down! But a clear-eyed reading of the situation reveals these cuts do far more harm to students. The real goal is the government will spend far less on student grants — siphoning resources from an already underfunded system.
Tags: budget, ideology, participation, standard of living, youth
Posted in Education Debates | No Comments »
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