The Economy on rabble.ca

Most British Columbians would agree that everyone should pay their fair share of taxes.

Changes to the EI rules announced by the federal Conservative government today are not rooted in any lengthy policy rationale.

The contrast between how responsible, well-governed countries have managed the fiscal consequences of resource development, and how we have managed this in Canada, does our country little credit.

By urging fiscal restraint and encouraging austerity, Harper and his G8 summit colleagues in 2010 totally misread the direction of the world economy, and have made a bad economic situation much worse.

As soon as it won its coveted majority, the Harper government put the pedal to the metal on the trade front, with a stampede of new free-trade deals.

The government has just released the 2012-13 Reports on Plans and Priorities (RPP), which provide more clarity on total federal job losses by 2015.

There has recently been a renewed interest in the question of whether the ecological crisis means we need to see a decline in economic growth. But my view is that this debate is largely distracting.

There are broad hints that new rules for EI will force some to take lower paying work. New rules for thousands of migrant workers mean lower pay for many of them. Where is this all leading?

The significant changes to the Employment Insurance (EI) program which are to be quickly implemented through Budget 2012 with very little consultation have not received enough critical attention.

Canadians owe the people of Greece our solidarity in the face of this overwhelming crisis. We also owe ourselves a detailed understanding of all of this.

Those who believe the financial meltdown was a one-off fluke and that lessons have been learned to prevent a re-occurrence, need to think again. Derivatives operations bedevil the world economy today.

The high-and-mighty vitriol which greeted Tom Mulcair's comments last week about the downside of oil-powered currency appreciation is lamentable.

If the 1 per cent are still winning the brutal class war, the 99 per cent are not yet surrendering. Portents of hope are everywhere.

In 2008 Stephen Harper said that Canada has the only banks in the western world that were not looking at bailouts. But a new report says that several banks did need extra money.

A concern about the social and environmental destruction caused by Canadian mining companies brought me to the fourth annual Mining Injustice Conference.

Masses of people thronged Place de la Bastille -- symbolically representative of the French revolution -- to cheer the electoral victory May 6 of French Socialist Party candidate François Hollande.

No wonder those Quebec student protesters have been spooking the English Canadian establishment. If they get their way, the same ideas could catch on here, leaving the plans for austerity in tatters.

This Smash the State Report starts off with the re-opening of the abortion debate in Canada, then jumps into the Quebec student strike, the Yinka-Dene Freedom Train and much more!

Want to know why Canada's currency is sky-high despite our sluggish recovery, our large and persistent current account deficit, and our lousy export performance?

On this episode, a short history of May Day, organizing labour and resisting austerity -- including a reading from Libcom - A Short History of Mayday and a what's next from Occupy Belfast.

Update of actions against austerity as the Quebec student strike rages on, with street battles, mass arrests and bad faith negotiating. Also a piece on a Kitchener solidarity action and Plan Nord.

Last week, I stayed out at the CAW Family Education Centre at Port Elgin to teach a 5-day course on "Economics for Trade Unionists" through the CAW's Paid Educational Leave program.

David Harvey, anthropology professor, geographer, and authority on Karl Marx's work Capital, has just published Rebel Cities: From the Right to the City to the Urban Revolution.

This month, the Hennessy Index examines Canada's tax system and the role of income, sales, corporate, property and other taxes in our economy.

This year, once again, I'll celebrate my birthday as Canadians file their tax returns. As maligned as the whole process is, I actually don't get all angst-y about paying my taxes.