Posts Tagged ‘economy’
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Why Canada’s emergency response benefit rollout might be a mistake
Thursday, April 9th, 2020
As the Trudeau government scrambles to include one forgotten group after another in the wage-support program, the argument for shifting to a universal basic income grows more compelling… But [the Prime Minister sidestepped repeated questions… as to why the government hadn’t opted for a guaranteed basic income instead of a program that is constantly in need of fixes… the debate over a guaranteed basic income could become a major issue in the next election.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, participation
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Ottawa should produce vital products — like it did in the Second World War
Wednesday, April 8th, 2020
… many companies have signalled a willingness to produce materials for the pandemic. But, without a powerful government agency overseeing production and distribution, we’ve been left scrambling to buy scarce equipment in a chaotic private marketplace, bidding against U.S. states and governments all over the world. If the Trudeau government seems unable to break out of its subservience to the marketplace, some in the labour movement are showing more vision.
Tags: economy, globalization, Health, ideology
Posted in History | 1 Comment »
Justin Trudeau unveils wages subsidy changes, increased support for student jobs
Wednesday, April 8th, 2020
“They are new to the workforce so they don’t have a lot of money set aside for this kind of situation. At the same time, they need work experience to secure their new jobs and money to cover living expenses.” The government has also promised changes to allow part-time workers who have seen their hours cut to access emergency aid that pays $500 a week for 16 weeks… We will have additional measures to put in place to help the most vulnerable Canadians”
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, poverty, youth
Posted in Inclusion Delivery System | No Comments »
Canada will need a new industrial policy for a new world
Tuesday, April 7th, 2020
The pandemic is like an x-ray that reveals flaws in our social and economic body that we can no longer ignore… The drive to outsource everything possible in the name of the cheapest possible product has left far too many stranded in precarious, poorly paid work… The gaping holes in the social safety net laid bare by the pandemic make clear that we’ll end up paying one way or the other, either in higher prices needed to provide decent wages, or in expensive social benefits.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, participation, standard of living
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
COVID-19 Emergency Benefits: Who’s included, who’s left out and the role of provinces
Tuesday, April 7th, 2020
We normally design income support policies to ensure that we encourage work rather than provide benefits that discourage labour market activity, but we need to be doing exactly the opposite right now. Policy makers accustomed to making sure the design of a program only reaches their intended group need to adjust their thinking caps and cast a broader net. Multiple patches on an already patchwork system will be slow, messy, and exclude too many people that need help…
Tags: budget, economy, featured, Health, ideology, participation
Posted in Governance Delivery System | 1 Comment »
Many fear COVID-19 will cause social breakdown. But something quite different is happening
Saturday, April 4th, 2020
We are witnessing an extraordinary surge of solidarity. Suddenly the notion that the economy exists to serve people and not the other way around seems blazingly obvious. Suddenly the notion that we can accomplish more collectively than we could ever accomplish alone is beyond debate… The pandemic is not bringing about a world of crumbled institutions and adversarial individualism; that’s the world we seemed to be heading toward before the virus started its terrible work… Just look how governments and experts and we together are mobilizing.
Tags: economy, featured, Health, ideology, participation
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Guaranteed basic income in a time of need
Friday, April 3rd, 2020
Milton Friedman, that leading apostle of small government and swaggering free markets, had something to say about new ideas. He succeeded in making his ideas seem like common sense. “Only a crisis — actual or perceived — produces real change. When that crisis occurs, the actions that are taken depend on the ideas that are lying around,” he said. The COVID-19 crisis offers the opportunity for Canada to stop merely discussing basic income. It’s time to get going with this common sense.
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
Trudeau just green lit a ‘basic income’ for Canadians
Friday, April 3rd, 2020
… a basic income will cost $43 billion annually to implement across Canada. If we factor in provincial income assistance – and get rid of this inadequate cluster of systems – we’re down to $23 billion dollars a year… Incidentally, that’s what we pay every year to make the Canada Child Benefit happen – and not quite half the cost of both the OAS and GIS… let this pandemic be a catalyst for permanent action to stabilize the lives of millions of Canadians and create a healthier, more equitable Canada.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Hitting Home: Hours And Wages Lost To Covid-19 By Location, Age, Income And Education
Thursday, April 2nd, 2020
Across the country, about 44 percent of households have experienced lost hours or layoffs due to COVID-19, with only one-fifth of the affected workers in those households fully compensated by their employer, and two-thirds receiving no coverage or compensation… While the CERB will provide financial support for those who fully lost their income due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the wage subsidy will help reduce further lost hours and layoffs.
Tags: economy, jurisdiction, participation
Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »
Ottawa steps forward as COVID-19 crisis puts provinces in desperate straits
Thursday, April 2nd, 2020
… temporary programs have a way of turning into permanent entitlements. Through the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit, which pays suddenly unemployed workers $2,000 a month, “we might have backed ourselves into some sort of universal basic income,” … We may have accidentally federalized welfare… The problem with creating a basic income more or less by accident is that no one knows how to pay for it, or how it would adapt to regional realities.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, jurisdiction, poverty
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
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