This post contends that current, relevant research does not support an argument that strategic voting is an effective way to counter an undesirable election outcome. Two papers — one published in March 2018, which relates to Toronto municipal elections, and one published in 2017 about labour-led strategic voting initiatives
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Joe Fantauzzi: Desmond Cole, the Toronto Star and Another Existential Crisis for Professional Journalism
DISCLOSURE: I worked as a mainstream news reporter between 2003 and 2012. I see this as a two-fold issue; firstly, actions and secondly, words. I’ll consider both briefly and then elaborate on my concerns. Actions There is no point in rehashing here the now well-known details of what lead to Desmond
Continue readingJoe Fantauzzi: THE PROBLEMS OF CARDING: Excising the Discriminatory Police Street Check Process
Over at Academia.edu, I have posted an updated public policy analysis of the police practice of carding, also known as “street checks” that I did as part of my Master’s course load. The full paper can be found HERE. But here is the Executive Summary: This policy analysis paper examines three options
Continue readingJoe Fantauzzi: Columbus is no hero of mine
Italian-North Americans — especially those of us with roots in the Mezzogiorno (and I include the Ciociaria and Abbruzzo here) — don’t need a Genoese genocidal rapist as our hero. It’s time to eliminate Columbus Day. It’s time for #IndigenousPeoplesDay Some good reading and watching: ‘All Indians Are Dead?’ At Least
Continue readingJoe Fantauzzi: The Political Economy of The Sharing Economy
Introduction Today, getting a lift to the store is as easy as loading an application on a digital device and summoning a roving car to one’s door. It is fast, cheap and, many argue, less onerous than ownership. The so-called sharing economy is on the…
Continue readingJoe Fantauzzi: From Participatory Budgeting to Co-operative Tenant Control: An Alternative Policy Recommendation For Toronto Community Housing
Toronto Community Housing (TCH) is a huge organization with a crucial mandate. Located in Canada’s most-populous city and the capital of the Province of Ontario, TCH provides housing for 164,000 low and moderate-income people in 58,500 homes. The age…
Continue readingJoe Fantauzzi: Raise Corporate Taxes To Fund Ontario’s Infrastructure Deficit: An Alternative Policy Proposal
The province of Ontario currently faces a significant public infrastructure deficit which is harming its economic productivity and its quality of life. The government’s own numbers estimate that deficit at “tens of billions of dollars.”[1] Some m…
Continue readingJoe Fantauzzi: GOOD READING: @camilacore on the political economy of Uber in Toronto
Today, taxi drivers are demonstrating in Toronto over the city dragging its heels on regulating Uber. Cabbies have also let the politicians at Queen’s Park know how they feel. Ontario also has not moved to regulate Uber. The following post has …
Continue readingJoe Fantauzzi: Notes on the Political Economy of the Hydro One Privatization or: Why Isn’t The Ontario Business Sector Paying Its Fair Share For Infrastructure?
Ontario’s provincial government faces a massive public infrastructure deficit. The province’s own numbers estimate the deficit at “tens of billions of dollars.” Among the high profile components of this deficit is transportation infrastructure. In response, the government says it has invested billions of dollars into transportation infrastructure since 2003. Ontario’s Liberal provincial government is
Continue readingJoe Fantauzzi: A Brief Note On #Elxn42 And Moving Toward A New Left
This much is clear: with the NDP’s federal collapse last night, the neoliberal Third Way experiment can clearly be declared a failure. But now what? Now, to build ─ not rebuild on a broken foundation. But also this: pillory me as a post-structuralist if you must, but I’m not here for
Continue readingJoe Fantauzzi: Ontario’s Common Sense Revolution at 20: A Look Back
Today marks 20 years since the Progressive Conservative Party foisted its so-called “Common Sense Revolution” on Ontario. Former PC Ontario leader Tim Hudak took to Twitter this morning to extol the virtues of this full-throated neoliberal experiment, declaring it “the most effective, courageous gov[ernment]” in his lifetime. Some remember those days
Continue readingJoe Fantauzzi: Ontario’s Common Sense Revolution at 20: A Look Back
Today marks 20 years since the Progressive Conservative Party foisted its so-called “Common Sense Revolution” on Ontario. Former PC Ontario leader Tim Hudak took to Twitter this morning to extol the virtues of this full-throated neoliberal experiment, declaring it “the most effective, courageous gov[ernment]” in his lifetime. Some remember those days
Continue readingJoe Fantauzzi: Reflections on McChesney: Problematics of Media Self-Regulation
FULL DISCLOSURE: I worked as a mainstream news reporter between 2003 and 2012. News media goes where many cannot or will not. It infiltrates the halls of power, the courtrooms, protest sites, war zones and scenes of tragedy. It is, unquestionably, the source of much of the information used to
Continue readingJoe Fantauzzi: Reflections on McChesney: Problematics of Media Self-Regulation
FULL DISCLOSURE: I worked as a mainstream news reporter between 2003 and 2012. News media goes where many cannot or will not. It infiltrates the halls of power, the courtrooms, protest sites, war zones and scenes of tragedy. It is, unquestionably, the source of much of the information used to
Continue readingJoe Fantauzzi: Reflections on David Harvey: Neoliberalism and The State
For three decades, neoliberalism has dominated the political and economic landscape. Following David Harvey, I contend that neoliberalism depends on the manufacturing of consent to a neoliberal agenda and the use of coercion to enforce that agenda. I further argue that neoliberalism is a corrupted form of democracy which easily
Continue readingJoe Fantauzzi: Reflections on David Harvey: Neoliberalism and The State
For three decades, neoliberalism has dominated the political and economic landscape. Following David Harvey, I contend that neoliberalism depends on the manufacturing of consent to a neoliberal agenda and the use of coercion to enforce that agenda. I further argue that neoliberalism is a corrupted form of democracy which easily
Continue readingJoe Fantauzzi: Post-Democratic Trend Lines in Etobicoke
Since news broke of the decision by Toronto mayor candidate Rob Ford to step away from the mayor’s race and be replaced by his brother Doug the term “feudal” has been thrown around a lot. The argument quite often associated with the use of this term generally appears to be that the
Continue readingJoe Fantauzzi: Rob Ford’s Political Body
Toronto’s Rob Ford lives a political life. Both his bare existence and his public personae have taken on a politicization since he entered municipal governance. Plainly said, his weight and other biological issues have become just as political as his public life as “mayor” of the City of Toronto. The Ancient
Continue readingJoe Fantauzzi: The Militarization of Police: But Why?
Since the beginning of the year, several stories in high-profile mainstream media publications have examined what some find to be the increasing militarization of police forces in North America. In March, The Economist wrote a feature on the phenomenon noting that the use of tactical units, which are often armed with
Continue readingJoe Fantauzzi: Needed: A Real Deal For Cities
Over at NinetyTwoPointEight, I have written a post about the need for substantive discussion during the ongoing Toronto municipal election about freeing up the city from the paternalism of its relationship with and dependance on the province of Ontario. Here is the link: Election 2014: A Lost Opportunity To Push For
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