The Progressive Economics Forum: New Study on Positive Economic Impacts of...
A five-year $50-billion public infrastructure spending initiative would generate a return on investment to Canadians over the long term as high as $3.83 per dollar spent, trigger significant private...
View ArticleThe Progressive Economics Forum: Some missing elements from the Canadian TPP...
With an agreement reached on the Trans Pacific Partnership, the 12-member trade and investment treaty, opinions began swirling about what the deal means for the future of Canada. Plenty of facts have...
View ArticleThings Are Good: 8 Development Banks Combine Efforts for Sustainable Development
Eight development banks from around the world have decided the best way to encourage more sustainable transit development is to combine their efforts. They are looking at accelerating their investments...
View ArticleThings Are Good: It’s Time To Divest
The use of coal to generate electricity is coming to an end, and one of the many reasons coal’s time is up is thanks to divestment. Divestment of fossil fuels has been argued on university campuses for...
View ArticleMichal Rozworski: “Investment” versus investment
Surprise! A new investigation by the Toronto Star and the CBC found that recent treaties with tax havens like the Bahamas and Panama aimed at more “transparency” have just made it easier for...
View ArticleThe Progressive Economics Forum: Banking on Privatization?
Finance Minister Bill Morneau tables his Fall Economic Statement on 1 November. We’ll likely find out then whether he has some has real treats, or if they’re planning more privatization tricks for...
View ArticleMichal Rozworski: The great rentier give-away
With today’s fiscal update, the Trudeau government has really shown itself to be at the forefront of global left neoliberalism. Taking nearly all his cues from his business-dominated Advisory Council...
View ArticleThings Are Good: Use a Bot to Make Ethical Investments
money A new company, OpenInvest, wants you to use its bots to make your monetary life more ethical. A very popular way to invest in the market is to use index funds, which are a smorgasbord of stocks...
View ArticleThe Progressive Economics Forum: An Analysis of Financial Flows in the...
An essential but perhaps overlooked way of looking at the economy is a sector financial balance approach. Pioneered by the late UK economist Wynne Godley,
View ArticleThe Progressive Economics Forum: Supportive housing for persons with serious...
I’ve recently written a ‘top 10’ review of a new book on supportive housing—i.e., subsidized housing with social work support—for persons with serious mental health challenges. The book’s an anthology...
View ArticleThe Progressive Economics Forum: Trudeau’s proposed speculation tax
I’ve written a blog post about the Trudeau Liberals’ recently-proposed speculation tax on residential real estate owned by non-resident, non-Canadians. The full blog post can be accessed here.
View ArticleAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Laurie Macfarlane writes that contrary to the dogma of budget scolds, the truly reckless course of action is to fail to invest public money in state capacity:...
View ArticleViews from the Beltline: Kudos to Carney (and Good Luck!)
Mark Carney is a banker par excellence, a Canadian boy who made the big time. He served as Governor of the Bank of Canada from 2008 to 2013 and is credited with helping the country weather the...
View ArticleViews from the Beltline: Is Kenney Costing Alberta Investment and Jobs?
Calgary Economic Development CEO Mary Moran reported recently that a tech company that had considered setting up its head office in Calgary had changed it mind. The reason? Talk of separation. “We as...
View ArticleViews from the Beltline: Is Kenney Coming After Our Pensions?
Premier Jason Kenney, ardent free market conservative, has started sounding a little like Peter Lougheed, a former premier with more progressive conservative leanings. Indeed Lougheed was once labelled...
View ArticleViews from the Beltline: Oil Capitals Hunker Down
To Calgarians, the city is starting to feel like a punching bag. Its primary industry suffers one body blow after another. Oil prices crashed at the end of 2014 as surprising growth in U.S. shale...
View ArticleThe Progressive Economics Forum: Ten things to know about CMHC’s Insured...
In March 2020, the Trudeau government launched a new version of the Insured Mortgage Purchase Program (IMPP). According to CMHC’s website: “Under this program, the government will purchase up to $50...
View ArticleWritings of J. Todd Ring: Gold, Savings & Security In The Real World
Here is what the crowd, the authorities, and the mainstream media, including the business press, will tell you: It’s called BS. Think for yourself. For example, when real inflation rates of 8% or more...
View ArticleThings Are Good: Canadian Universities to Educate Business About Climate Change
A select group of universities across Canada have signed up to be part of a a new initiative to get long-term investors to care about climate change. The universities have endowment and pension funds...
View ArticleAlberta Politics: Russian vodka disappears from Alberta shelves – but what...
On Sunday, Premier Jason Kenney announced the provincial government has directed the Alberta Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis Commission to stop accepting Russian-made liquor products and to quit selling...
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