Also true in most other OECD countries too, incl. Canada and Australia (both have record-high profit shares). It is decisions by firms to increase prices that are the proximate cause of inflation, and they've been lifting them substantially more than their own costs require. /2
I'm amazed at how both the economic right & moral legitimacy of firms literally *causing* inflation are absolutely taken for granted in policy discussions of inflation control. Do we blame 'greed'? Of course not: firms are *supposed* to maximize their profits! #WhatsTheDiff /3
In this view the only way to stop firms from increasing prices more than costs is to take away purchasing power from people paying those prices: punishing the victims. Trying to *protect* the victims (with higher wages, benefits, subsidies) is then seen as 'causing' inflation. /4
This is consistent with the ideology of neoliberal anti-inflation policy from the very beginning. We need to see blood on the floor (other people's blood). Otherwise the policy won't work. [Quotes cited in economicsforeveryone.ca 2nd ed p.244.] We've seen this show before.
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Fine story by @MESandbu for @FT on sustained weakness of business capex across G7 and its consequences (paywall): ft.com/content/3a8731…. I've argued for yrs the greatest contradiction of neoliberalism is weakness of biz investmt, DESPITE the painful favours done for capital. /2
Profit shares are up strongly in most OECD countries thx to neoliberal policies (to suppress labour costs, cut corp tax, deregulate & privatize). Yet capital does less work, not more, measured by its contribution to GDP. This chart from 2nd edition of economicsforeveryone.ca. /3
Net investmt got even weaker after COVID (sometimes <0). Company tax cuts only throw good money after bad: they've had no effect on private capital spending. I analyzed the 🇨🇦 failure here: centreforfuturework.ca/2020/08/26/the…. And the 🇺🇸 failure here (pp74-90): paecon.net/PAEReview/issu…. /4
Ontario's plan to guarantee a 'minimum wage' of $15/hr for gig workers (but ONLY for time engaged on an assignment) will have ABSOLUTELY ZERO impact on the incomes of gig workers. Anyone who thinks it means something does not understand how the gig business model works #canlab…2
Gig workers spend a great deal of time (often OVER HALF) waiting for assigned fares/tasks, or traveling to central hubs. It's bad enough this unpaid time is excluded from this 'minimum wage'. Eg. if you spend half your work day waiting, then the 'min. wage' falls to $7.50 …3
Even worse is the impact of the endogeneity of labour supply in the platform model. Uber & co depend on enough workers signing on to keep a surplus pool of drivers available to meet demand. The cost of unpaid waiting time is part of the calculation drivers make in signing on…4
How do EMPLOYERS benefit from paid sick days? Let me count the ways (8): 1. Workers staying home when ill protects health of colleagues. 2. 'Presenteeism' (people coming to work when they can't actually do the job) costs billions. 3. It's a basic decent employment benefit that...
... will help employers retain workers and address their so-called labour 'shortage'. 4. Protecting public health by limiting spread of COVID (& other diseases) results in a stronger economy & higher sales. 5. It allows workers to treat illness faster & get better sooner. ...
6. It boosts the brand of employers, showing they're a company that respects its workers & the public. 7. Superior productivity of healthy workers reduces unit labour costs. 8. Employers who compel staff to work when ill are demonstrating highly dubious business acumen. ...
Decent, stable work and income are obviously critical for most people. Politicians know it, so they're all trying to look like friends of the workers. But which policies would help & which would hurt? Follow this thread for my takes from tonight's #Elxn44 debate. @CntrFutureWork
Phasing out fossil fuels over 20 yrs = a shift of 8000 jobs per year. Retirement absorbs over ½ of those. We could offer full adjustment packages for the others ($250K each) at a cost of $1b/year. Denying the transition doesn't help; starting early does. centreforfuturework.ca/2021/01/18/emp…
Mr. O'Toole's low carbon savings accounts have not been costed, no-one knows how this would work. #Elxn44#cdnpoli
THREAD: I will be live-tweeting on labour & employment issues from the #Elxn44 English debate this evening. My impressions and fact checks will draw on recent @CntrFutureWork research into several of the topics that should come up tonight, including:
...2 #cdnpoli#cdnecon
a) The economic & employment benefits of universal ECE: centreforfuturework.ca/2020/11/25/chi…. We found a national plan would create over 200K jobs in ECE itself, 80K in supply industries, and support up to 725K more FTE female labour force participants. A big boost to post-COVID recovery
...3
b) The need for pro-active & supported transition planning for workers in fossil fuel industries: centreforfuturework.ca/2021/01/18/emp…. Pretending the transition isn't happening doesn't help the 50K who've already lost work, without support. Will the next govt implement a genuine plan?
...4
I'm gobsmacked by the interview just now on @cbcasithappens with the manager of Nashville North, a private nightclub on the Stampede grounds in Calgary. His explanation of their privatized health protection plan (allowed now Kenney has lifted all restrictions) was horrifying: ..2
* Club will operate at full capacity, no masks required
* Entrants must either show a facsimile of a COVID vaccination (just 1 shot required, not 2) or take a rapid COVID test
* Both of those are obviously very unreliable (efficacy of 1 shot against COVID variants is risky) ..3
* The manager boasted about being 1st venue in Cda to require COVID vaccination proof as condition of entry. This system will not do that, however. Any teenager knows it's easy to provide fake physical ID, let alone fake an image of a document on a phone ..4