If this past year – marked by the Arab Spring and the fall arrival of the Occupy movement — has taught us anything, it is that we never know when historic moments come. And when they do, that which seemed political impossible is suddenly in play. Many of us found the explosion of the Occupy [...]
Entries Tagged as 'role of government'
Reflections on the year past and the year to come: Inequality explodes into the public discourse
December 22nd, 2011 · Seth Klein · 2 Comments · Climate change, Poverty, inequality & welfare
A Challenge to BC’s Leadership Candidates: Dare to Be Bold and to Tell Us the Truth
January 4th, 2011 · Seth Klein · 15 Comments · Climate change, Economy, Environment, resources & sustainability, Poverty, inequality & welfare, Taxes
Some thoughts on what I’d love to hear in the current leadership contests: As a number of fundamental crises become more apparent (ecological and economic, not to mention the democratic deficit), the public is looking for bold ideas and bold leadership. Sadly, too many political strategists (as they will confess in private company) operate on [...]
Tags: campaign·carbon tax·child poverty·inequality·leadership·poverty reduction·role of government
Big municipal tax shift a great deal for business
November 7th, 2010 · Blair Redlin · 1 Comment · Economy, Environment, resources & sustainability, Municipalities, Taxes
Municipal spending and municipal taxes are amongst the lowest in Canada. KPMG says businesses in Vancouver have the lowest business taxes amongst 41 cities they studied. So how come the pressure keeps coming to shift property taxes away from business and on to residential taxpayers?
Tags: role of government·tax cuts·Taxes
What will it take to bring smarter family policy to BC?
September 27th, 2010 · Iglika Ivanova · Comments Off · Children & youth, Transparency & accountability, Women
Did you know that the BC government has set a goal to reduce early childhood vulnerability to 15% by fiscal year 2015? You can hardly tell by their actions. BC did introduce full-day kindergarten in some communities this fall, but other than that the family policy front has been rather quiet lately. The latest childhood [...]
Tags: accountability·child poverty·childcare·children·families·family policy·poverty·role of government·Women
Income Taxes are a steal: Seth’s tax confessions
April 5th, 2010 · Seth Klein · 10 Comments · Privatization, P3s & public services, Provincial budget & finance, Taxes
I just did my taxes this weekend, and I’m wracked with guilt. Personally, I’ve never found completing my taxes particularly onerous. It takes me a few hours — no big deal. I’m paid well (and well above the average). I’ve never had to hire an accountant, as I’m not doing anything fancy. I’m only availing [...]
Tags: budget·public services·role of government·tax cuts·Taxes
In defense of the stimulus
March 25th, 2010 · Iglika Ivanova · 3 Comments · Economy, Taxes
Earlier this week, the Fraser Institute published a controversial report which argued that the government stimulus did not do much for economic growth in the last two quarters of 2009, suggesting that government spending on infrastructure was useless. While their analysis suffers from serious shortcomings, which I outlined in a previous blog post here, their [...]
Tags: fiscal policy·government spending·recession·recovery·role of government·stimulus
The role of stimulus spending in the recovery
March 24th, 2010 · Iglika Ivanova · 1 Comment · Economy, Provincial budget & finance, Transparency & accountability
Yesterday, the Fraser Institute published a new report, which argues that the government stimulus did not drive Canadian economic growth in the last two quarters of 2009, suggesting that government spending on infrastructure was useless for the economy. The report earned the scorn of Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, who called it ”poorly done and it’s [...]
Tags: Economy·Fraser Institute·recession·recovery·role of government·stimulus
The recent secretive, haphazard spending cuts should be repealed
September 23rd, 2009 · Iglika Ivanova · Comments Off · Children & youth, Economy, Education, Provincial budget & finance, Transparency & accountability, Women
Almost daily we wake up to news of yet another important program or initiative whose funding has been cut by the BC government. Literacy initiatives, high school sports, programs that protect women and children from violence, arts and culture: hardly an area of social service provision has been spared. These cuts have been devastating to [...]
Tags: accountability·budget·children·deficit·role of government·service cuts·Women
What should our government be spending money on?
September 16th, 2009 · Iglika Ivanova · Comments Off · Economy, Education, Environment, resources & sustainability, Provincial budget & finance, Taxes
One question that is missing from the public debate on deficits and debt is whether we’re getting the best bang for the stimulus buck. Even if we accept that it’s appropriate for governments to borrow and engage in deficit-financing during a recession, as I have argued here, we need to have a discussion about the [...]
Tags: budget·child poverty·childcare·children·debt·deficit·Olympics·public investment·recession·role of government
Spending cuts will spell further job losses and a longer recession
August 27th, 2009 · Iglika Ivanova · 1 Comment · Economy, Employment & labour, Poverty, inequality & welfare, Provincial budget & finance
Want a recipe to harm the economy and increase hardship for British Columbians in the middle of a recession? It’s easy – all you have to do is cut government spending. Unfortunately, this is exactly where our government seems to be headed judging by their ominous throne speech. A new report by yours truly, released [...]
