Category Canada – Politics
A $50 billion deficit is really a $25 billion deficit
If the government runs a deficit, it means you have to increase taxes or cut government spending sometime in the future, right? Well no, that's not exactly right.
On the sheer pointlessness of reducing hours for EI eligibility as a counter-cyclical policy
One of the points I've been making about the psychodrama over reducing the EI eligibility requirements (eg: here and here) takes the form of a question: "Just what problem is this supposed to solve? How many people are there who were hired three months ago – in the teeth of the worst labour market in […]
My fear: Michael Ignatieff is to EI as Stephen Harper is to the GST
Well. It would appear that I have become the go-to person for those who are interested in examining the merits of the policy proposals that are the backdrop for Ottawa's psychodrame de jour. Put briefly, my point – expressed here and especially here is that Michael Ignatieff's proposals for EI reform ignore the scholarly literature […]
The federal opposition parties are dimwits, or they really don’t want an election
I cannot understand why the federal opposition parties have decided to make reducing the number of hours worked before becoming eligible for Employment Insurance the reason for provoking a squabble with the Harper government. As I asked over here, just what problem is this supposed to solve? How many people are there who were hired […]
An overlooked anti-poverty strategy: giving money to poor people
Kevin Milligan of the University of British Columbia and Mark Stabile of the University of Toronto asked themselves "Can income transfers to poor families help children?" Here's a summary of the answer they got: Since the 1990s, many countries have reformed their systems of transfers to low income families with an eye toward improving work […]
A rambling post on Joseph Heath’s “Filthy Lucre”
This was supposed to be a review of Joseph Heath's new book "Filthy Lucre: Economics for People who hate Capitalism". But I'm not used to doing book reviews, so it's going to turn into a ramble on the teaching of economics, and economics in the political spectrum. I got the call to act as "host" […]
Is Ignatieff playing with the right Employment Insurance instrument?
Apparently we're going to have yet another political psychodrama, this time over Employment Insurance (EI). Michael Ignatieff is threatening to force an election if the government doesn't go along with the Liberal proposal to make everyone eligible for EI after 360 hours of work. (I should explain to our non-Canadian readers that we've set the […]
In which sentient Canadians can only goggle in slack-jawed horror at the people who govern us
This is simply frightening: Ian Brodie, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s former chief of staff, delivered an astonishingly frank explanation today for why the Conservative government cut the Goods and Services Tax, and why he’s glad they did, even though just about every economist and tax expert said it was a terrible bit of public policy.“Despite […]
The Parliamentary Budget Office is asking for public support. It should get it
This is bad news (h/t to Shock Minus Control): Budget watchdog pleads for help: The watchdog created by the Harper government to scrutinize the state of Canada's finances has just issued a public plea for help, asking the Prime Minister and opposition parties to rescue his office as it confronts a funding crunch and pressures […]
The progressive politics of pricing publicly-provided products
Whenever I make the points summarised in this post, someone invariably counters with the following median-voter argument: A policy in which only low-income households benefit will not command majority support. Making the program universal will ensure a more stable electoral base. This argument is not without merit, and it's pretty convincing in certain contexts. But […]
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