The Progressive Economics Forum

The Coming Public Sector Pension Debate

July 24, 2009 Andrew Jackson 4 comments

The Economist has recently launched a major attack on public sector pensions, joining the likes of the CFIB and the Howe in Canada who similarly draw invidious contrasts between suuposedly gold-plated public sector pensions and those on offer in the private sector. http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displaystory.cfm?subjectid=987105&story_id=13988606 It is true that in Canada, as elsewhere, defined benefit pension plans (which pay out a defined […]

The Macro Roots of the Crisis

July 24, 2009 Andrew Jackson Leave a comment

My friend and former union (AFL-CIO) economist colleague Tom Palley has produced a characteristically lucid piece on the macro economic roots of the US and global crisis for the New America Foundation. He interprets our predicament as a crisis of the neo liberal growth model and not as a failure of financial regulation or, for that matter,Â conventional macro economic […]

More Clement on US Steel

July 17, 2009 Erin Weir 2 comments

To my surprise, the Harper Conservatives seem to again be breaking new ground in enforcing the Investment Canada Act. This afternoon, the Industry Minister announced that he is taking US Steel to court for violating its commitments. Back in May, my union argued that the federal government must be prepared to take US Steel to court. Terence Corcoran mocked this […]

The Wall Street Journal wants a new tax on big financial institutions

July 17, 2009 Ellen Russell Leave a comment

The WSJ is concerned about the implicit subsidy provided to financial institutions that are â€œtoo big to failâ€(TBTF). Given the obvious willingness of the US government to support Wall Street titans during the height of the financial crisis, the market is pricing in the expectation that the government stands behind those institutions regarded as TBTF. This implicit guarantee allows the […]

Deflation Has Landed

July 17, 2009 Erin Weir 3 comments

Deflation is no longer a spectre, but a reality for Canada. This morning, Statistics Canada reported an inflation rate of minus 0.3%. Inflation turning negative was widely predicted, including in my previous comments on the Consumer Price Index. Although not surprising, todayâ€™s news has important implications for the debate about further fiscal stimulus. Statistics Canada noted that June 2009 was […]

The Economic Crisis and Labour Disputes

July 14, 2009 Erin Weir 2 comments

Jim has written a couple of posts about “the current mini wave of industrial unrest in Canada.” My union recently joined the fray by striking against Vale Inco. While several prominent strikes have recently captured Canadian headlines, I wondered whether the economic crisis has actually led to more labour disputes. On the one hand, concessionary demands from employers typically provoke […]

Another Economics Journalism is Possible

July 11, 2009 Jim Stanford 7 comments

I’ve always been annoyed by the trite, horse-race-style coverage of financial markets that dominates so much of what passes for economics journalism in Canada (especially in the electronic media). How many 2-minute “market updates” do we really need, anyway?Â I typically hear 4 or more on the radio any given workday, just getting to and from work (full reports at […]

Oh, about the size of that BC deficit for next year…

July 10, 2009 Iglika Ivanova One comment

It’s the leading article in the BC section of national newspapers today: BC’s Finance Minister has finally admitted that next year’s budget deficit would be much larger than the $495 million number than our Premier swore by during the recent election campaign. Private sector economists have been saying it for a while and it was about time for the government […]

BC Pulls Off a Small Surplus in 2008/09

July 10, 2009 Iglika Ivanova One comment

The BC Public Accounts for 2008/09 fiscal year were released yesterday, showing that the province posted a surplus of $78 million or $28 million higher than projected in the 2008 Budget. Oh, phew, now we don’t have to worry about cabinet ministers facing the fines associated with a budget deficit under the Liberals’ balanced budget legislation (which was amended earlier […]

Todayâ€™s Jobs Report: Less than Meets the Eye

July 10, 2009 Erin Weir 3 comments

After many months in which tens of thousands of jobs disappeared, the revelation that “only” 7,400 fewer Canadians were working in June may seem like good news. But this relatively small decline in total employment masks more ominous trends. Self-Employment In June, employers eliminated 44,600 paid positions in Canada, but 37,200 more Canadians declared themselves to be self-employed. This development […]

Blame Unions? Try Blaming Employers

July 2, 2009 Jim Stanford 15 comments

Further to my recent post about the current mini wave of industrial unrest in Canada, and who should wear the blame for it… Now we have the latest developments at Air Canada, where the Machinists local has rejected a tentative multi-union agreement which would have deferred Air Canada’s pension contributions in hopes of seeing the company through the recession.Â Here’s […]

When in Doubt, Blame Unions

June 29, 2009 Jim Stanford 34 comments

The economy is in trouble, and millions of people around the world are suffering (in various ways and to various extremes), because of the failure of a deregulated profit-driven private-sector financial industry. I think that statement is largely unquestionable. You would think, logically, that this fact should put the free-market private sector on the defensive.Â Ironically, however, the reverse seems […]

The EI Premium Freeze – A Strange Form of “Stimulus”

June 29, 2009 Andrew Jackson Leave a comment

Believe it or not, in 2011, the “new” EI Fund will begin life $10.5 Billion in the hole, setting the stage for a big job-destroying hike in premiums, even though there is a $57 Billion surplus in the “old” EI Account. In the 2009 Budget (p 106) , the federal government announced that it would freeze the EI premium rate […]

Rebuilding Our Economy: Public Investment and Green Jobs

June 25, 2009 Andrew Jackson 4 comments

(This covers some familiar ground, but I was asked to summarize a presentation I made to a Columbia Institute organized session for progressive locally elected officials last week and thought it might be of wider interest.) The world and Canada are in the deepest economic downturn since the 1930s as the financial crisis has spread with a vengeance into the […]

EI: National Improvements Needed

June 22, 2009 Erin Weir One comment

Todayâ€™s Employment Insurance (EI) figures confirm that fewer than half of unemployed Canadians received EI benefits in April. Although 18,600 more Canadians received benefits in April than in March, this was the smallest increase in six months. The relatively modest increase in EI beneficiaries corresponds to a relatively small increase in official unemployment during April, the month in which the […]

Open Statement from Canadian Scholars on U.S. Employee Free Choice Act

June 21, 2009 Jim Stanford One comment

Erin Weir had a highly useful post on this subject a few days ago.Â Now here’s a chance to take some action: The Centre for Research on Work and Society at York is circulating the Open Statement below regarding the U.S. debate over the Employee Free Choice Act, and certain arguments that have been made in that debate regarding Canadian […]

Flirting with Deflation

June 18, 2009 Erin Weir 3 comments

This morningâ€™s Consumer Price Index data reveals that the national inflation rate fell to 0.1% in May. Four provinces – Alberta, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island – posted negative inflation rates. The supposed risk of continuing fiscal and monetary stimulus too long is that they could propel accelerating inflation. The Finance Minister and Bank of Canada GovernorÂ have […]

NDP Elected in Nova Scotia â€“ What Now?

June 17, 2009 Marc Lee 15 comments

During the CEA meetings, I engaged in some provincial election talk with colleagues from Nova Scotia. I had just come off a brutal BC election campaign, in which the opposition stuck to a rather bland platform anchored in fiscal conservatism and axing the carbon tax. The NDP lost, and amid the subsequent soul-searching, leader Carole James just axed the axe […]

Unionization and Unemployment: My Canadian Ears Are Burning

June 13, 2009 Erin Weir 5 comments

Three months ago, Anne Layne-Farrar intervened in the US debate about the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) with a widely-reported paper and Senate testimony. She used Canadian data to argue that the proposed legislation would eliminate 600,000 American jobs. As many critics have noted, Layne-Farrar works for a corporate consultancy and business funded this piece of research. Readers can take […]

Mommy, Where Do Deficits Come From?

June 11, 2009 Erin Weir Leave a comment

Political debate and media reporting on todayâ€™s economic “Report to Canadians” have emphasized one of the first tables in the document, in which the government claims to have “committed” 80% of budgeted stimulus spending (page 14 of 230). Equally interesting, but perhaps less noticed, are the two “Fiscal Outlook” tables near the end of the document (pages 219 and 221). […]

Canada at the Climate Crossroads

June 11, 2009 Marc Lee One comment

The second half of 2009 is shaping up to be one of the most important periods for international policy development. Ever. The fragile state of the economy, which continues to throw up worsening data with each passing period despite more optimistic talk in the media, will continue to be top of mind. But the collective response to that other deep, […]

Davidson: Efficient Market Theory Vs. Keynesâ€™s Liquidity Theory

June 11, 2009 Marc Lee 2 comments

Paul Davidson gave a great talk to the Progressive Economics Forum at the recent Canadian Economics Association meetings. Below is a teaser; the full talk is here. ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS OF THE OPERATION OF A CAPITALIST ECONOMY: EFFICIENT MARKET THEORY VS. KEYNESâ€™S LIQUIDITY THEORY by Paul Davidson, Editor, Journal of Post Keynesian Economics Politicians and talking heads on television are continuously […]

National Development Banks

June 9, 2009 Erin Weir 3 comments

The credit crisis, which sharply increasedÂ private borrowing costsÂ but reducedÂ government borrowing costs, highlights the potential advantage of having a public agency to finance economic development. The front page of todayâ€™s Regina Leader-Post features a report on my unionâ€™s letter (full text below) to the Government of Canada about Evraz using its Canadian facilities as collateral to borrow from Russiaâ€™s national development […]

Deficit Caused by Tax Cuts

June 6, 2009 Erin Weir 6 comments

In my career of writing letters to my hometown newspaper, my favourite headline supplied by the Regina Leader-Post was â€œDeficit Caused by Tax Cuts,â€ for a letter arguing that Saskatchewanâ€™s mild deficit a few years ago resulted from provincial tax cuts rather than from alleged overspending. Todayâ€™s inane press release from Finance Canada, lauding the fact that “Tax Freedom Day” […]

Ontario Unemployment Hits All-Time High

June 5, 2009 Erin Weir 6 comments

According to todayâ€™s Labour Force Survey, the national unemployment increase (83,800) was twice the employment decrease (41,800) in May. The explanation is that the labour force expanded by 42,000 as Canadaâ€™s population continued to grow. While some people are entering the labour market and getting jobs, many more are being laid off. As a result, total unemployment blew past the […]

Making BC carbon neutral (the lazy way)

June 4, 2009 Marc Lee 2 comments

The biggest loophole in cap-and-trade systems, and greenhouse gas emission reductions more generally, is offsets. These are payments by those who produce GHG emissions for projects that reduce emissions somewhere else, so as to neutralize the originating emissions. Offsets have been criticized for not being easily validated â€“ for example, by virtue of investments made in other countries, where outcomes […]

Indebted Canadians

June 3, 2009 Andrew Jackson One comment

The conventional wisdom seems to be that theÂ financial situation of CanadianÂ households is generally sound and certainly much better than that of our profligate and heavily indebted American neighbours.Â The Bank of Canada argued in its end of 2008 Financial System Review thatÂ “(O)verall, despite a modest deterioration, the financial position of the Canadian household sector remains relatively positive.” […]

The Manufacturing Crisis in Quebec

June 3, 2009 Andrew Jackson 2 comments

One question that has long been of concern to me – and for which relevant data are very limited – is the permanency of recent manufacturing job losses. We know that tesn of thousands of jobs have been lost,Â but not how many job losses are due to the permanent closure of facilities. A paper by Patrice Jalette and Natacha […]

The Financial Crisis

June 3, 2009 Andrew Jackson Leave a comment

Here’s an extremely well-written and cogent commentary on the state of the banking system and the grim consequencesÂ for the rest of us, especially in the UK, by novelist John Lanchester, from the London Review of Books. He’s at work on a book on the same topic http://www.lrb.co.uk/v31/n10/lanc01_.html

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