Category Archives: BC Politics
A Carole James Requiem
It was another eventful day in B.C. politics. Carole James mercifully stepped down as the leader of the BC NDP party, and soon the spin was thick and saucy, with a hint of bovine dung. James, of course, cast the 13 dissident MLA’s as “bullies” and unity-wreckers, and herself as the innocent, hard-working victim who […]
Goin’ out in style!
If the boss is forcing you out, then you might as well go out in a blaze of glory! Here is Bill Bennett’s quite remarkable exit interview after being removed from the cabinet of the BC Liberal government: Bill Bennett faces the media (mp3) Posted by Colin Welch at 8:35 PM Edited […]
The Neo-Liberal Agenda: The Effects in BC, Part 2
In my last entry, I wrote about the pernicious attempts by the BC Liberals (and other neo-liberals) to promote tax cuts on the basis of improvements in productivity. I explained that these productivity increases simply haven’t happened. This, in turn, suggests that Campbell’s tax cut agenda is bogus and self-serving. The question, then, is what […]
The Neo-Liberal Agenda in BC: Reduce, Just Don’t Shift
Aside from shifting taxation from the business sector to the middle class (like in the HST), the neo-liberal agenda seeks to reduce the overall size of government, particularly in relation to GDP. A classic example of this reduction in government can be found right here in BC. Below is a chart from the BC government’s […]
The Georgia Straight on Post-Secondary Spending in the Valley
The Georgia Straight, and its online version, the straight.com, are useful sources for news, investigative journalism and media criticism. Amid its pop culture pap and racy personal ads, the Straight can deliver articles of surprising quality on topics rarely seen in BC’s corporate media. Here’s a recent article on the imbalance of spending on post-secondary […]
Recognition of a Keynesian Moment
I rarely take a lead editorial from the Vancouver Sun seriously. This Canwest/Postmedia corporate entity is at the center of right-wing propaganda in BC, and is representative of the very conservative outlook from Canada’s media generally. Nevertheless, today’s editorial provides a sobering analysis of the American economy and its implications for Canada. It’s also a […]
More on the Liberal budget update
Below is an interesting page (p. 144) from the BC Liberal government’s 2009 budget update. If the “devil is in the details”, then this is a great place to start. As I discussed in my September 29th entry, the Liberals are anticipating receiving less revenue from corporate income tax than post-secondary tuition. The former has […]
More on the neo-liberal agenda
One of the truisms of neo-classical economics is that tax cuts for those already wealthy and powerful will “trickle down” to the middle and lower class. In other words, making rich people richer will eventually make everyone richer. One of the most popular versions of this theory is the corporate income tax cut, which supposedly […]
The BC Liberals Get Even
Sometimes it’s difficult to avoid cynicism about the bloodsport known as politics: http://thetyee.ca/News/2010/09/10/AxeFallsOnOfficer/ Posted by Colin Welch at 10:45 AM Edited on: Saturday, September 11, 2010 10:48 AM
The HST Debacle
In todays’ Vancouver Sun, Vaughn Palmer offers a devastating critique of the BC Liberal’s handling of the HST. Palmer highlights the key revelations of new government documents from a FOI request regarding the HST. Palmer explains that senior government officials were discussing the HST well before the last election of May 12, 2009. He concludes […]