There are two lead letters in today’s Star that bear reproducing. Expect no admission of a flawed ideology on the part of the neoliberals among us, however:Re: House of Harper quickly crumbling, Feb. 22 Suddenly a lot of people from banks and corporati…
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Politics and its Discontents: "It Was Very Malicious Of Them To Leave This Town In The Shape It’s In" – A Tale Of Walmart’s Depredations
The above observation is voiced by a former grocery store owner whose business closed shortly after Walmart moved into her town. But this is not just another story about how the retail behemoth drives out competition through its predatory pricing pract…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Next System Project: A Practical Example
Yesterday’s post revolved around The Next System Project, an initiative committed to exploring replacements for the traditional institutions that are failing our world so badly. One major focus of the project is on expanding business models that grant company ownership to workers. That goal put me in mind of a
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: And On A Personal Note…
I thought long and hard before making the decision to post the following, for two reasons: one, in the broader scheme of things it is a quite negligible plaint, and two, it perhaps exposes me as the petty and vindictive person that I on occasion can be. On the other
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: A Broken Model Of Capitalism: The Latest Poster Child
Despite being on track to meet its 2014 financial objectives, Scotiabank, with a total $5.57 billion of net profit in the first three quarters of 2014, has announced it is cutting about 1500 jobs, two-thirds of them in Canada. Said CEO and president Brian Porter, “Today’s announcement is a result
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: A Union Victory
About a year ago I wrote two posts on Richtree Market, the union-busting Toronto eatery that got the clever idea of terminating all of its unionized employees, shutting down its restaurant, located in the Eaton Centre, only to reopen later a few doors down (about 50 metres) from its original
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Tim Hortons Takes Aim And Fires
The advertising would have us believe that Tim Hortons is a Canadian institution and icon that we should all revere as patriotic citizens. Who can forget the role the coffee and donut emporium has played over the years in bringing caffeine comfort to early-morning hockey dads, sending underprivileged kids to
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The House That Ronald Built
… seems to be undergoing some serious perturbations these days. Earlier in the month came the story of three McDonald’s outlets in British Columbia abusing the Harper regime’s TFWP (Temporary Foreign Workers Program) by hiring temporary workers instead of available local people and reducing the hours of Canadian employees. Now
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: A Tale of Intimidation At TransCanada Corporation
Despite the best efforts of the Harper government to make its own addiction to the fossil fuel agenda the Canadian people’s as well, increasing numbers are voicing their concern and opposition to the expansion of the Alberta tarsands through new pipelines. And evidence is mounting that those concern are wholly
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: An Extreme Of Capitalism?
Anyone who reads my blog regularly and has drawn the conclusion that I am anti-capitalism would be completely wrong. I have nothing against business, entrepreneurship, nor corporations, per se. And I do believe that those who take risks should be appropriately rewarded. What I am against, however, is extreme imbalance.
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Harper Lies: The Dismal Truth About Corporate Tax Evasion
My friend Gary recently alerted me to this, which should sicken all Canadian citizens. It is a story of corporate greed, massive amounts of lost tax revenues, and a government that aids and abets both. After viewing it, be sure to read the missive from Star letter-writer Robert Bahlieda that
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: But I Save so Much Money Shopping There!
For the true cost of those bargains that we all slavishly delight in (cue Pavlov’s dog), you might want to read this article about Walmart workers and watch the video below. As well, a recent post by Dr.Dawg is instructive. Recommend this Post
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Predator At Our Doorstep
I’ve just finished reading Confessions of a Sociopath, written by the pseudonymous M.E. Thomas, a law professor who confesses herself to be a sociopath who has integrated fairly well into mainstream society. The book offers a chilling if somewhat annoyingly self-aggrandizing portrait of the mind of a person lacking the
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: More On The Struggle Of Minimum Wage Workers
We hear it all the time from those who slavishly and unconscionably parrot the corporate line: raising the minimum wage is a job-killer. While that rhetoric may serve the insatiable business appetite for greater and greater profits at the expense of vulnerable workers, it simply isn’t true. While I have
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: How Much Do We Really Pay For Those Bargains?
There is a segment in the documentary, The Corporation, where Michael Walker of The Fraser Institute extols how corporations help developing nations by using their labour to make their products. If you watch the video below from 3:15 to about the 6:00 mark, you will hear his explanation: While the
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: And Now, A Word About Kellie Leitch From The Salamander
The question of personal integrity is one that is very near and dear to my heart. Since literature at its best is a reflection of some of the deepest truths about human nature, during my teaching career, it was a topic I explored with relish every time the curriculum permitted
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Outsource Canada
I’m not sure who is actually responsible for breaking down these outsourcing statistics according to province and company, but we certainly owe him or her a real debt of gratitude. Recommend this Post
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Bad Corporate Behaviour Abounds
As fellow blogger LeDaro pointed out to me the other day in a comment on my post about the Royal Bank’s outsourcing of jobs, such practices are common among all of our banks. Further research by the CBC has come up with ample evidence to verify LeDaro’s observation. You can
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Royal Bank Responds With An Attempt At Damage Control
Somehow, I don’t think George Orwell would be too impressed by the RBC response to its public relations nightmare over the outsourcing of Canadian jobs: Said Zabeen Hirji, RBC’s chief human resources officer: “We recognize the impact of this situation on our employees and we continue to remain focused on
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Now It All Makes Sense
RBC CEO Gord Nixon I just knew there had to be a logical explanation. This explains that. Recommend this Post
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