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Budget 2024 is a small step toward a grown-up economy
The 2024 budget does not get us anywhere near the kind of public leadership that we need. But the increase to capital gains taxes is an important, if minor, reversal of tax cuts that increased the wealth and power of the richest families at the expense of everyone else. That increase needs to be defended against the vested interests that will refuse any challenge to their power.
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Competition Bureau study on grocery chains strengthens case for windfall tax in Canada
The Competition Bureau’s study is just the latest in a string of evidence that corporate profiteering has cost Canadians gravely. Ottawa has now been given a range of policy options to address the problem. As D.T. Cochrane explains, a windfall tax on the largest and most profitable corporations would be an ideal place to start.
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The 0.01% vs. the rest of us
Occupy Wall Street popularized the slogan “We are the 99%” to confront the excess of wealth and power of the one percent. Unfortunately, those at the top continue to grab an oversized share of incomes and wealth. Between 2010 and 2019, the top one percent added almost $140,000 to their average incomes, while the ultra-elite 0.01 percent enjoyed an increase of $2.9 million.
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NDP platform the most progressive and fiscally responsible of top three parties
There is much economic uncertainty as the country uneasily exits the pandemic. Now is not the time for governments to be timid. Now is the time for the federal government to lead. Bold spending can deliver overdue government programs that support those in need and stimulate the economy. As it stands, the NDP’s promises are the only ones that approach the necessary scale of action.
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Some of Canada’s biggest companies saw record profits during the pandemic
Early in the pandemic, it was clear that the economic fallout would be unequally distributed. However, few anticipated that the pandemic could mean boom times for some. But that is precisely what happened. While lost wages, lost jobs, and small business closures generated headlines, many of Canada’s largest corporations quietly managed to achieve record profits.
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Canada should follow Janet Yellen’s lead on corporate taxes
In Janet Yellen’s confirmation speech, she said the government must “act big” to deal with the pandemic’s economic fallout. Three months into her role as the first woman treasury secretary, Yellen is going beyond big spending with an ambitious plan to rollback decades of corporate tax cutting. Canada’s Liberal government must grab the same opportunity to go as big, if not bigger.
