Showing posts with label information. Show all posts
Showing posts with label information. Show all posts

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Municipal Tax Reform

Mayor O'Keefe and others have been calling for a "new fiscal arrangement" with the provincial government.  It is easy to get cynical about politicians fighting over tax revenue: they want credit for spending, but don't want to get blamed for tax increases.  But the mayor's proposal has merit as a means of reducing income inequality.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better


This best-selling book by British researchers Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett makes the case that high levels of income inequality lead to a wide range of health and social problems in modern wealthy societies (click here to see an excellent presentation these ideas by Wilkinson). The book is full of charts like the following (all based on peer reviewed research)
 

Surprisingly, these health and social problems do not correlate with average income

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Information Round Up on Basic Income

A basic income is an income unconditionally granted to all citizens, without means testing or work requirements. Basic income programs have several advantages over alternative social security programs, such as providing greater security, requiring less administration, and presenting fewer perverse incentives. Advocates for basic income have included Martin Luther King, Bertrand Russell, Milton Friedman, George McGovern and John Kenneth Galbraith. In Canada, basic incomes have the support of the Green Party of Canada, Conservative Senator Hugh Segal, and was recommended by the Trudeau appointed MacDonald Commission.


Basic income guarantees often take the form of either a citizen's dividend or a negative income tax, which we now describe.

Friday, December 2, 2011

Denmark is for the Danes. Canada is for the Corporations



This is the last in a series of articles about the obesity epidemic, the food industry, fat taxes and healthy living subsidies by guest poster Sharon Bala. Read the first article here, the second article here and the third article here.

Weight loss is simple (eat less, exercise more) but also difficult because laying in bed with a tub of ice cream is a lot easier than doing 50 push-ups. One solution to our country's obesity epidemic is also simple but our government is in bed with the food industry and doesn't seem to have the will power to get out. Does that mean government-implmented change is impossible? NO!

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Fat Tax, Thin Subsidy Continued

This is the third in a series of articles about the obesity epidemic, the food industry and solutions for change by guest poster Sharon Bala. Read the first post here and the second post here.

In my last post, I outlined an idea for combatting our obesity epidemic: slap a sin tax on processed and junk food and use the revenue to subsidize raw fruits, vegetables and milk (and, if there's money left over, other healthy-living measures). There will be opposition - both from individuals and industry - so let's look at some of the arguments against the proposal.

Information round-up on #CETA

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is a proposed free trade agreement between Canada and the European Union. It has had very little media attention or public debate - most Canadians have never heard of it. However, its far-reaching agreements, once passed, will be nearly impossible to amend or back out of. This is why more public debate and discussion is essential, yet the CETA negotiations have been happening behind closed doors with corporations at the helm.


Saturday, November 26, 2011

Occupying Violence

One of the most common criticisms that I have come across about Occupy Wall Street and the Occupy movement in general is that the Occupiers are misguided and that they do not seem to have a message or a real request for change. The CBC's Kevin O'Leary, for example, referred to author Chris Hedges as being a “left-wing nut-bar" because of Hedges' support for and involvement with the movement.

Such comments are common. They are also powerful: not in their reasoning or logic, and not in being well-constructed. They are powerful in their ability to ignore the discussion and dismiss it.

To counter this, the simplest thing to do would be to not be taken in by it. Not being taken in by it, however, requires something else. In this case, that 'something else' is an expansion of how we understand violence.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Income Inequality Information Round Up



I've gathered together some articles and other resources dealing with income and wealth inequality.



Inequality within Countries.

How Inequality Harms Societies. (video)

IF YOU VIEW ONLY ONE THING, WATCH THIS VIDEO. This is a TED lecture by Richard Wilkinson, arguing that once a country gets sufficiently wealthy, the average well-being of society ( stuff like crime rates, literacy, life expectancy, mental illness, etc. ) no longer depends on how much money a society has, but on how that money is distributed.   I think this is an important message, because it shows that inequality is not only unjust to the poor, but is also really harmful to society at large. For more depth, consider reading The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better by Wilkinson and Pickett.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Bill C-11 Information Round-Up

From the FB Group:

I would like to bring something to everyone's attention, an upcoming bill that will have a direct affect on all of us. Bill C-11, called the "Copyright Modernization Act". You may have heard about an earlier incarnation of this bill, called "C-32"; this is the exact same bill, word-for-word. It is being pushed largely by lobbyists representing U.S. interests, and there is evidence to suggest this lobbying is largely funded by U.S. corporations.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Robin Hood Tax

From Robinhoodtax.ca :



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