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Seeing modern economics as a ‘grand pursuit’
Sunday, September 18th, 2011
Sep 16 2011
… in her just-released Grand Pursuit: The Story of Economic Genius, Nasar surveys 200 years of economic thought… “I realized that modern economics was a grand pursuit to overcome scarcity, to take charge of destiny…” “The core of economic genius is an exercise of imagination, seeing that what seemed to be fixed and frozen could be altered. That humanity could escape the age-old sentence to nasty, short and brutish lives, that nations could make their own destinies.”
Tags: economy, standard of living
Posted in History | No Comments »
Taxpayers vs. citizens
Friday, September 16th, 2011
Sep 15 2011
Over the past few decades, Canadian citizens have been reduced to “taxpayers,” as all sectors of society have increasingly adopted “taxpayers” as the preferred term for the designation of its citizens… as summed up by American journalist Robert Herold: “Taxpayers seek always to reduce public life to a balance sheet.” From this perspective, proposed programs and projects of the community are not evaluated on the basis of whether they provide value to the community, but solely and simply on the basis of individual cost… Citizens will see taxes as a positive contribution to broader society, whether city, province or country.
Tags: ideology, participation, standard of living, tax
Posted in Governance Debates | 2 Comments »
Our self-image needs a reality check
Friday, September 16th, 2011
Sep 15 2011
Since the mid-1990s, income inequality has been rising faster in Canada than the U.S… Since 2005, our tax system has become more regressive, our social services have shrunk, our manufacturing base has deteriorated and we’ve gone through a painful recession that hit the poor hardest… There are two policy levers Canada could use to counter the trend of the last decade: We could make our tax system more progressive… We could strengthen our social programs. But both options are non-starters in Ottawa… The provinces are dismantling their disparity-fighting mechanisms. And there is no public pressure for a change of direction.
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
The sector that dares not speak its name
Friday, September 16th, 2011
Sep 16 2011
We are a society that has largely lost sight of the fact that there is anything to debate in politics except how to save money… It’s been drummed into the public ear for decades by think-tanks, pundits and politicians… So Mayor Rob says… “If the private sector can deliver them more efficiently, then why not have them?” … he assumes services are the same no matter who delivers them. They aren’t. Take libraries… Take health care… We’re now mired in this profiteering, privatizing mentality. It cuts off every alternative viewpoint.
Posted in Inclusion Policy Context | No Comments »
What happened to the priorities of Ontarians?
Wednesday, September 14th, 2011
Sep 13 2011
The invisible election, which would make Ontarians feel better if they knew about it, is a discussion among concerned citizens about how to fix what’s broken and strengthen what works… here are some of the ideas bubbling up in the health profession, the universities, the think-tanks, the private sector and the non-profit agencies. They are the result of evidence gathering, analysis, experience and face-to-face consultations. All are fiscally responsible. • Open 50 clinics led by nurse practitioners by 2015… • Move people with severe disabilities out of provincially subsidized homeless shelters…
Tags: disabilities, featured, Health, homelessness, standard of living
Posted in Governance Debates | 2 Comments »
Don’t blame aging boomers [health costs]
Tuesday, September 13th, 2011
Sep 12 2011
… recent research shows that increases in utilization — how many and how often Canadians use health services — are twice as important as aging in increasing costs year by year… my colleagues and I looked at spending on physician services over a decade and found two major trends. One is that people are seeing a larger number of doctors overall. In particular, they are being referred to specialists more often. Even more significant is the increased use of diagnostic testing: people are being sent for far more lab tests, CAT scans and other imaging services.
Tags: budget, Health
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Welcome to Tim Hudak’s Tea Party
Tuesday, September 13th, 2011
Sep 12 2011
… the changes made to our immigration policy several years back require an unprecedented level of education to qualify for immigration to Canada and citizenship. Hudak claims discrimination while invoking alarming discriminatory images… But equity doesn’t mean sameness. Having all qualified hands on deck for a productive economy requires special initiatives for special and different populations in our midst… Playing American-style wedge politics is not helpful, it is hurtful. Our leaders need to be driven by moral purpose and decency designed to bring out the best in us.
Tags: economy, immigration, participation, standard of living, tax
Posted in Inclusion Debates | No Comments »
Should we raise taxes on the rich?
Saturday, September 10th, 2011
Sep 09 2011
Not since the Gilded Age plutocracy of a century ago has there been such a near-consensus… on the need to raise taxes on the rich… But the real story here is the scarcity of objections to Buffett’s call for a level playing field, in which all income groups are able to participate fully in society… Saving the world economy from that explosion of reckless greed has so far cost the U.S. alone about $2 trillion in taxpayer funded Wall Street bailouts… We can have that discussion peaceably in school auditoriums… Or we can have it in the streets. But there will be a reckoning, because the status quo is untenable.
Tags: economy, ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
When will politicians act to save jobs?
Saturday, September 10th, 2011
Sep 09 2011
… the same conventional wisdom that extols the private sector argues that government jobs are a drain — that nurses and teachers are somehow unproductive and that anyone on the public payroll is grossly overpaid. In the face of today’s harsh reality, a logical government would continue spending public money to support jobs. But this is not a logical era… Provincially, the three main parties insist they can balance the budget painlessly by 2018 — which they almost certainly cannot.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
Three questions for the leaders
Friday, September 9th, 2011
Sep 08 2011
Amid all the rhetoric, voters should be looking to the leaders for answers to three key questions facing the province: How can we create the economy of the future? … How can we reshape health care? … How can we fix the province’s balance sheet? … Who has the best plan to cut spending where possible and protect services where necessary? Who can be trusted to get the balance right?
Tags: budget, economy, globalization, Health, poverty
Posted in Governance Debates | 1 Comment »
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