Several articles in today’s Globe and Mail assume that the US Democratic Party’s desire to renegotiate NAFTA threatens Canada. On the contrary, Canadians should welcome this initiative. Senators Clinton and Obama have called for limits on the ability of foreign investors to directly challenge public policy under NAFTA’s notorious Chapter 11. Canada has been the victim of more such challenges, […]
Read moreExcellent analysis by Marc and Andrew leaves me with relatively little to add. The Steelworkers and NDP made many of the same points. Budget 2008’s minor new investments in public programs will amount to only one-sixth the value of recent corporate tax cuts during the next fiscal year. Budget 2008 (Table 1.1, page 10) proposes $1.4 billion of new spending […]
Read moreThere has been so much discussion of income splitting on this blog that we already have two posts entitled “Income Splitting Redux.” Adding to the mix, the Institute for Research on Public Policy has released a major paper by Jon Kesselman on the subject. He cites my Ottawa Citizen op-ed among many other sources. I have not fully read and […]
Read moreIt looks like Jim has hit the pig again. The “Research Report” in the Tax Expenditures and Evaluations released by Finance Canada today cites one of his excellent pieces on corporate tax cuts. Finance Canada overtly takes on the critique of corporate tax cuts put forward by this blog, the labour movement, and the NDP. Its news release promises “clear […]
Read moreToday, Statistics Canada revealed that our December 2007 merchandise trade surplus was the lowest one since November 1998. This fact is yet more evidence that the rise in energy exports has been smaller than the decline in exports from manufacturing and other sectors. The conventional story about high oil prices driving-up the loonie assumes that these prices have increased our […]
Read moreThomas Palley has posted a good discussion of the relationship between economic theory and policy, which includes a useful taxonomy of contemporary economists.
Read moreLynn Williams, former International President of the United Steelworkers, has posted an excellent speech on a major American blog. Although the title refers to rebuilding the labour movement, the text touches upon many of the broader policy issues discussed on our blog: how to design a stimulus package, rising inequality, public healthcare, the economics of minimum wages, international trade agreements, […]
Read moreThe International Energy Agency requires member countries to maintain emergency oil reserves in case oil imports are temporarily disrupted. Canada was exempted from this requirement because we are a net oil exporter. However, the current pipeline system and NAFTA’s energy chapter limit our ability to supply eastern Canadian consumers with western Canadian petroleum. Western Canada’s vast oil exports to the […]
Read moreA week ago, John Edwards ended his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination. Although it’s unfortunate that he is out of the running, he succeeded in shifting the race onto a more progressive track. His campaign pinned-down the two leading candidates in favour of implementing universal healthcare, raising the minimum wage, providing economic stimulus, getting out of Iraq, and re-evaluating […]
Read moreSaskatchewan’s new Premier, Brad Wall, addressed the Petroleum Club in Calgary on Monday to emphasize his willingness to continue giving away his province’s oil reserves for scandalously low royalties. Several media outlets reported that he also expressed interest in joining TILMA, which he had previously rejected. For example, The Globe and Mail reported, “He mentioned his desire to become part […]
Read moreTen days ago, The Globe and Mail’s online edition included an excellent op-ed by Murray Dobbin debunking the notion that supposed inter-provincial trade barriers necessitate TILMA. Unfortunately, The Globe followed it with an editorial endorsing TILMA in Friday’s print edition: How to bulldoze a wall The Globe And Mail Friday, January 18, 2008 Page: A14 The provinces do not have […]
Read moreAs discussed here three weeks ago, Dion appointed Joan Beatty as the Liberal by-election candidate in Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River just over a week ago. Since then, Ralph Goodale has tried to make much of the fact that other prospective candidates should have been aware of this possibility and opponents of the appointment have organized feverishly.
Read moreMoore makes several accurate and entertaining points in today’s open letter. Although he stops short of officially endorsing Edwards, his final paragraph comes pretty close. Who Do We Vote For This Time Around? A Letter from Michael Moore Friends, A new year has begun. And before we’ve had a chance to break our New Year’s resolutions, we find ourselves with […]
Read moreDuncan Cameron writes that it could be: What is needed to make 2008 Jack’s year to set the policy direction for Canada? How about: something old, something new, something borrowed, and something true. The something old is the concern for the less fortunate that has motivated New Democrats since the adoption of the Regina Manifesto in 1933 by its predecessor the […]
Read moreAt least 79% of the increase in Canadian non-residential investment this decade has come from the oil industry and governments. Jim and others on this blog often note that, although corporate profits have ballooned, business investment has barely increased as a share of GDP. However, this fact means that business investment has grown along with GDP and it’s worth examining […]
Read moreJanuary 2 will be the 20th anniversary of the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement’s signing. (Of course, the deal did not come into force until January 1, 1989, after the 1988 federal election.) The leading lobby for this deal was the Business Council on National Issues, which has since been renamed the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE). The promise of […]
Read moreEdwards is the most left-wing, pro-labour candidate among the Democratic front-runners. He has been speaking truth to power in a way that is rare in Canadian politics, let alone American politics. Can he win the nomination? Since Clinton is still well ahead in nationwide polls, much will depend on whether Edwards can gain momentum by winning Iowa on Thursday. Although […]
Read moreThe current issue of Maclean’s features a typically provocative cover on “Real Estate 2008.” The “Buy? Sell? Panic?” headline caught my attention because I am currently selling a place in Ottawa and moving to Toronto. The story inside Maclean’s is far more soothing, suggesting that there is no risk of a real estate crash in major Canadian cities because: sub-prime […]
Read moreEarlier today, the Prime Minister announced that four by-elections will be held on March 17. Earlier this week, a most fascinating controversy emerged in one of the affected ridings: Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River (northern Saskatchewan). David Orchard, the Saskatchewan-based activist whose grassroots organization helped Dion win the Liberal leadership, has declared his candidacy for the Liberal nomination. However, Ralph Goodale is pushing […]
Read moreThe following Paul Krugman column confirms my general thoughts about American politics: At one extreme, Barack Obama insists that the problem with America is that our politics are so “bitter and partisan,” and insists that he can get things done by ushering in a “different kind of politics.” At the opposite extreme, John Edwards blames the power of the wealthy […]
Read moreToday’s Consumer Price Index numbers indicate that, while gasoline prices and mortgage-interest costs edged-up overall inflation in November, core inflation declined again. When it fell last month, some commentators responded that “one month does not make a trend.” However, as Statistics Canada itself noted, a fairly clear trend has emerged: However, the Bank of Canada’s core index, used to monitor […]
Read moreLast week, Scott Sinclair released an excellent briefing paper on efforts to attach $5-million penalties to the existing Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT). The debate about interprovincial barriers has become a four-ring circus: TILMA, the Ontario-Quebec negotiations, proposals to amend the AIT, and federal threats to invoke the trade and commerce power. In all of these areas, progressives need to […]
Read moreI have accepted a position in the United Steelworkers’ public policy department and will begin working at its Toronto office in February 2008. The Steelworkers are the largest industrial union in North America and one of the two largest industrial unions in Canada. (Jim works for the other one.) The Steelworkers strongly support the NDP and are trying to build a global […]
Read moreThe following Canadian Press story is an hilariously accurate report of what happened on Wednesday when the Finance Minister appeared before a Senate committee to pontificate about supposed interprovincial barriers: Flaherty’s remarks came shortly before a senior Finance Department official told a Senate committee that interprovincial trade rules cost the country about one quarter of one per cent of its gross […]
Read moreMy take on today’s Labour Force Survey follows: Unemployment Although November’s 42,600 increase in employment is striking, the 25,100 increase in unemployment deserves as much attention. While the number of workers employed grew by 0.3%, the number unemployed grew by 2.4%. Proportionally, unemployment growth in the last month nearly equals employment growth over the past year (2.7%). The higher unemployment […]
Read moreA significant challenge in the TILMA debate has been that journalists often uncritically accept the premise that alleged inter-provincial barriers are a serious problem. Murray Campbell bucked this trend in Saturday’s Globe and Mail, where he drew the link between TILMA and last week’s Ontario-Quebec initiative. Electronically, his column appears under the headline “Premiers try to fix something that isn’t […]
Read moreThis morning, someone viewed Relentlessly Progressive Economics for the 200,000th time. Since reaching 100,000 views in June, our previous website has crept up to nearly 122,000 even though we added nothing to its 600 classic posts. Since being created in June, the current website has added 259 posts (including this one) and been viewed almost 79,000 times. Because the old […]
Read moreToday, Premiers McGuinty and Charest kicked off “free trade” negotiations between their provinces. The key question is whether this process will be a sweeping “race to the bottom” like the BC-Alberta Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA) or a focused effort to develop common standards in the few areas where problems may exist. As usual, the rhetoric about “inter-provincial […]
Read moreAlthough my knowledge of Australia’s politics is limited, they always interest me. Not only is the country similar to Canada in many ways, but it also had among the most successful labour movements and Labor Parties in the English-speaking world. (The party changed its name from “Labour” to “Labor” in 1912, when it seemed that Australia would adopt American spelling.) […]
Read moreToday’s edition of The Economist magazine includes a good article on temporary foreign workers in Canada. It extensively quotes Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour. The present regime allows employers to import workers from abroad without seriously demonstrating the unavailability of Canadian workers for the job. Once the foreign workers are in Canada, it is easy for […]
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