Despite its size and the hundreds of measures it details, Harper's 2012 budget demonstrates just how small-minded their vision is. Canada faces major challenges, with 1.4 million unemployed, stagnant productivity growth, a crisis in retirement security and growing inequality.

Instead of addressing these challenges, what this budget provides is more of their failed economic policies, deep job-killing budget cuts, cuts to public pensions and a highlight: getting rid of the penny.

Contributors to this blog -- and CCPA experts -- have been warning about the negative economic and social consequences of rising inequality for decades.

Now the even the 0.0001 per cent are getting concerned. Experts polled for the Global Risks Report for this month's meetings of the World Economic Forum in Davos -- one of the most elite gatherings of the powerful in the world -- selected severe income inequality as the most likely global risk to manifest in the next 10 years.

Finance Canada published its annual Tax Expenditure Report for 2011 and it shows that the cost of some of the most inequitable tax preferences and loopholes continues to rise.

For instance the stock option deduction, which allows CEOs and executives to pay tax at half the rate of ordinary working income, is estimated to cost the federal government $725 million last year.

The December issue of the quarterly Economic Climate for Bargaining publication I produce is now online. This issue has a number of pieces on issues of inequality, including:

-  Rising inequality is hurting our economy
-  Labour rights, unions and the 99 per cent
-  Canadian economy bleeding jobs; public sector cuts to intensify
-  Recession and cuts hit Aboriginal and racialized workers hardest

Following recent dismal reports on rising unemployment, stagnant GDP growth, and a deteriorating economic outlook, we can only hope Finance Minister Jim Flaherty will provide some Christmas cheer with changes "to better promote job creation and economic growth" (as he's asked for advice on through his pre-budget consultations).

Unfortunately, Santa Flaherty seems to have got his Christmas list all mixed up.

A comprehensive study released today by CUPE shows there's no evidence public sector workers are paid consistently more than those in similar jobs in the private sector.

Instead, overall average pay in the public sector is remarkably similar when compared against similar jobs in the private sector: only 0.5 per cent higher.

Following concern expressed by the IMF, the Conference Board and of course thousands of protesters around the world, the OECD has just released an extensive 400-page report on the problem of growing inequality: Divided We Stand: Why Inequality Keeps on Rising.

In a week when business lobby groups are appearing before the House of Commons Committee on Finance and calling for more tax breaks, the federal R&D Panel appointed a year ago released a very good report saying Canada's very generous system of R&D tax incentives hasn't been effective and what we need instead are more direct grants to spur innovation.

Thanks mostly to the superb campaigning by international development, poverty and environmental activists, there's been remarkable progress in getting Europe to introduce financial transactions taxes, a.k.a. the Robin Hood Tax. Last month, the European Commission presented a proposal for a broad-based financial transactions tax in all 27 members states of the European Union.

We all know that the wages and compensation individuals receive in private competitive markets reflects their productivity, unless pesky unions and government regulations get in the way -- because Economics 101 (and Michael Hlinka) have told us so.

Corporate CEOs are worth every penny their "independent compensation committees" award in compensation and stock options them because they are "creating value" and hedge fund operators are worth the billions they made helping the world learn about the impact of financial crises. Meanwhile, minimum wage workers, union members and public sector workers must all be overpaid because regulations, unions with their monopsony power, accommodating politicians and labour laws have all interfered with the magic of the market.