The United Conservative Party Government led by Jason Kenney wants deep cuts, and, by God, it’s going to have them. That includes tax cuts, which will drive the province’s books deeper into the red, and cuts to services to help pay for the tax breaks. If the facts, such as
Continue readingTag: tax cuts
Views from the Beltline: Alberta should learn from the Trump tax cuts
The new Alberta government has promised to reduce the corporate tax rate from twelve to eight per cent over four years. This may seem arbitrary considering the conservatives have complained loudly about the province’s debt. Nonetheless, the UCP insists the cut is necessary to promote investment and create jobs. This
Continue readingAlberta Politics: How to save a province by destroying it: Jason Kenney releases the Full Monty, political version
About that 117-page “full platform” released by United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney on the billionaire Southern Family’s back stoop south of Calgary yesterday, the first thing it’ll do is raise the deficit. That’s right! Raise it. Increase it. Make it bigger. Because that’s what happens when you eliminate at
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Jason Kenney invites the tax-cut fairy back to Alberta! She’s bringing snake oil!
Oh for crying out loud! The tax cut fairy has returned to Alberta! She’s brought snake oil! United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney, lately rebranded The Policy Guy ™, has promised a massive cut in business taxes to create jobs. In Calgary yesterday, Mr. Kenney vowed to slash the lowest
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: We’ve Heard It All Before
With Conservative leadership hopeful Maxime Bernier recently resurrecting the widely discredited and tired trope of a rising tide lifting all boats, Star reader Salmon Lee of Mississauga offers all of us a timely dose of reality: Tax cuts only help the rich Re Maxime Bernier’s vision for Canada, May 8
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Put The Money Where It Will Do the Most Good
That’s the advice of Dylan Marando, who, like many others, has come to the conclusion that tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations just means greater wealth accrual and dividend payouts, not job growth. The fact that corporations are currently sitt…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Now this Is Getting Ridiculous
Apparently, Stephen Harper feels that Canadians are real whores for tax cuts: Stephen Harper is kicking off a quiet day on the federal election campaign trial by promising tax relief for service club members. Harper says members of organizations such the Kiwanis, Lions and Royal Canadian Legion can claim a
Continue readingPolitical Eh-conomy: Budget 2015: A tale of austerity past, present and future
I’ve been banging the drum of “slow-motion austerity” for a while and little in the 2015 federal budget suggests any change from the pattern of death by a thousand cuts. This budget is another is a series of unspectacular austerity budgets. Taken together, however, the cuts rapidly add up and
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Hither And Thither
For a government whose every policy seems to be concocted with an eye to re-election, it is not surprising that Finance Minister Joe Oliver has not yet firmed up a date for this year’s budget. After all, he and the rest of the cabal need to know how effective their
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Debunking Fraser Institute’s latest contortion on taxes
The Fraser Institute’s annual Consumer Tax Index report generated some media buzz with its outlandish claims about just how much taxes have risen since 1961. Before you get worked up about this, consider that 1961 was over half a century ago, before the time of universal health care that we
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Two Takes On Taxation
The contrast couldn’t be more striking. As announced by federal Fiance Minister Joe Oliver the other day, Ottawa is well on its way to posting a $9 billion surplus, but Canadians shouldn’t expect any massive new spending programs. Instead, he plans to reduce taxes once the deficit is eliminated in
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: A Reading Recommendation.
I have a deep respect for Alex Himelfarb, the director of the Glendon School of International and Public Affairs and tireless proponent of responsible, progressive taxation. The latter, as one can well-imagine, likely makes him persona non grata in many circles, but those are likely the same circles that close
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: A Letter We Should Widely Share
Although he likely doesn’t articulate anything that progressive bloggers don’t already know, Star letter-writer Paul Kahnert of Markham neatly and succinctly addresses the real design behind tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy. It deserves to be shared widely with those who may not be fully aware of some essential
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Future Federal surplus? Use it for health care say Canadians
There is little doubt that the Harper government intends to start the tax cuts rolling again as soon as it reaches a balanced budget, but are Canadians really looking at the state of the nation and demanding more of their own … Continue reading →
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Canadian Labour Congress says corporations hoarding cash, paying fat compensation to CEOs
CLC report: Corporate Tax Freedom Day is January 30 – Big businesses hoard cash from tax giveaways, not investing in jobs by Canadian Labour Congress | Jan. 29, 2013 OTTAWA – A research study by the Canadian Labour Congress shows that CEOs in Canada could be dancing in their suites to celebrate
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Briefs: Tax cuts don’t spur economic growth — study
The Ontario government has long believed that cutting corporate taxes will spur economic growth. A new six-decade study from the U.S. Congressional Research Services says that tax rates “have had little association with saving, investment or productivity growth.” The study … Continue reading →
Continue readingImpolitical: Tax cuts and economic growth
A new study in the U.S. is the latest to say that tax cuts do not positively relate to economic growth. David Leonhardt of the New York Times excerpts its conclusions in the Economix blog: The top income tax rates have changed considerably since the end of World War II.
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Why Fair Taxation Is Crucial
Now here is something everyone who wants to be well-informed should watch. Part of TVO’s Big Ideas series, it is a talk entitled How Did Taxes Become a Bad Word? by Alex Himelfarb, Director of the Glendon School of Public and International Affairs at York University, former Clerk of the
Continue readingBullshit in absolutes: or how ‘liberal’* economists argue with themselves
We can perhaps amend an old Ethiopian saying to read “absolutes are for infants and kings”. It is catechism worth remembering when arguing with liberal economists. For theirs is not a just sport. In fact, one should never mix sport with justice. As Berlin said long ago (1958): Everything
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: The Trouble with Billionaires – Linda McQuaig
I wish I had gotten around to reading this book sooner. It is a great read and takes a great deal of piss out of the arguments (made by our beloved conservative/libertarian friends) for lower taxes and more love for the wealthy. I highly recommend reading it. Check out other
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