Jim Stanford Profile picture
Apr 2, 2020 4 tweets 2 min read Read on X
Mourning the passing of one of my most important and inspiring mentors, Prof. Mel Watkins. Lifelong dedication to social justice economics, democracy, and sustainability. Thank you Mel for all you did, and we will carry your vision and your powerful method onward, until we win..2
Here's the project we organized through @ccpa in 2014 to pay tribute to the 50th Anniversary of Mel's seminar article on “A Staple Theory of Economic Growth": policyalternatives.ca/publications/r…. His analysis took on renewed relevance & importance with our damaging petro-boom of the 2000s..3
Mel's work was further recognized when he was chosen as the 1st winner of #PEF / @Relentless_econ's Galbraith Prize in 2009: policyalternatives.ca/publications/r…. (He shared that 1st prize with Kari Levitt.) A fitting honour, as Mel continues to inspire a legion of progressive economists...4
Go well Mel, thank you for the gift of your passion and lifelong activism. We will miss you terribly, and will carry on your work with more determination & hope than ever.✊✊✊✊

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Jim Stanford

Jim Stanford Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @JimboStanford

Apr 22
Certain partisans have been citing Canada's performance on per capita GDP as evidence of a supposed 'lost decade' and economic mismanagement. In @IRPP Policy Options, I deconstruct this arbitrary and misleading statistic, in two parts. #cdnecon #cdnpoli /2
Part I: The numerator of 🇨🇦's per capita GDP has done reasonably well: 2nd best GDP growth in the G7 over the last decade. The denominator (population) has grown unusually fast (esp. since 2021), and that is what has suppressed the value of the ratio. /3policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/apri…
I also show flaws in the methodology of calculating per capita GDP. The world leaders in per capita GDP are all tax havens: that's phony. In Canada, Newfoundland & Labrador has above-avg per capita GDP (hence no equalization) despite lower personal incomes. A flawed measure! /4
Read 6 tweets
Apr 20
Mr. Poilievre is resuscitating COVID-era arguments that inflation is a 'tax' (caused by Justin Trudeau's deficits and Tiff Macklem's ATM), and that he can 'cancel the tax' with federal spending cuts. Here are the top 4 reasons his economics are all wrong: #cdnecon #cdnpoli /2
1. International Comparisons: Post-COVID inflation was a global phenomenon, affecting almost all countries, with no correlation to deficits or government spending. Canada's inflation since 2019 has been relatively mild, well below the US and the OECD average. /3 Image
2. Timing: The federal deficit (huge during COVID lockdowns) was approaching balance (in national accounts terms, which is what matters for macroeconomics) by the time inflation accelerated in latter 2021 and 2022. Purported 'excess demand' from CERB benefits was long gone. /4 Image
Read 8 tweets
Apr 9
Crude oil prices are down $14/b (20%) in the last week. Apart from acute embarrassment for Danielle Smith (who called Trump's tariffs last week a "big win for Alberta & Canada"), there's an important lesson to be learned here about how crude oil futures markets work. #cdnecon /2 Image
This thread draws on analysis of oil futures markets from @futurework_cda's recent report, "Counting the Costs": . It computes the costs of the 2022 oil price spike: directly & indirectly it cost the average Canadian household $12,000 over 3 years. /3 falseprofits.ca/reportsImage
Prices for various specific crudes are set in relation to key benchmarks (mostly WTI & Brent) which are set on futures markets. Futures markets are financial markets. They don't trade in oil; they trade in contracts which are promises to deliver oil at some time in the future. /4
Read 16 tweets
Mar 27
Trump says any car “not made in America” gets a 25% tariff. That means EVERY car gets a tariff, cuz there’s no such thing as a “car made in America.” Only cars made in NORTH America. Every one of which has a lot of 🇨🇦🇺🇸 and 🇲🇽 content in it. #cdnecon /2
More Americans will be hurt by this than Canadians and Mexicans, cuz far more Americans are employed making North American cars… and their plants will all be screwed up by this, too. /3
Trump’s musings about pro-rating the tariff to reflect US parts content in imported vehicles, all by next Wednesday, are laughable. It would take years and enormous data & bureaucracy to set up a system like that. These clowns can’t even run a private group chat. /4
Read 4 tweets
Jan 13
“Who’s Subsidizing Whom?” I have written a new report for the Centre for Future Work @futurework_cda rebutting Trump’s arguments that the U.S. “subsidizes” Canada through its bilateral trade deficit: . #cdnecon #cdnpoli #canlab /2centreforfuturework.ca/wp-content/upl…
First, that deficit is 1/5 as large as Trump claims ($40bUS not $200b), US trade is more balanced with us than other partners (they sell us 92c for every $ they buy) & a deficit isn’t a “subsidy” anyway. Their big surplus in services offsets much of the deficit in merchandise. /3 Image
In fact I identify 3 ways Canada-US trade diverges from normal practice. In effect, these are ways WE subsidize THEM:
1. Cheap secure oil, with access for US corp's to profit
2. Huge services imports--underreported, largely untaxed
3. Cheap credit to help finance their deficit /4 Image
Read 6 tweets
Dec 19, 2024
Odd framing in @TorontoStar's cvg of the strike by (uncertified) Amazon workers in the US: . Of course their 'Cdn counterparts will not be joining': as @TheLawofWork has explained, non-certified workers in 🇨🇦 have no rights to protected concerted action. /2thestar.com/business/amazo…
Before anyone jumps to the conclusion that US workers therefore have more power, remember that once Canadian workers get a certification (as they have in Quebec, and are seeking in BC & elsewhere), they have far more power--including to get an arbitrated 1st contract. /3
And 🇨🇦's Rand formula then guarantees that the union (duly certified by a majority of workers, and via a contract then ratified by another majority of workers) can collect dues to stably fund the infrastructure of bargaining and representation. /4
Read 6 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(