Why do weak unions weaken an economy?
This is why I support both Mulraux and Trudeau for leadership in Canadian politics and why loyalties to the "regressive" conservatives needs to be firmly abandoned for good.
Was just reading about how unions have helped to significantly reduce income inequality in societies where they are strong, not just for union members, but for everybody (to the relatively minor detriment of the management and stock-owning elites) - also well-paid union members support doctors, chiropractors, dentists, etc. to help them make above average salaries and to drive important sectors of the economy - like car companies, renovation specialists, etc. The latest union initiative to obtain a decent minimum wage - $14 in Ontario is one example. Unions always push for wage increases and more benefits - no better way to reduce income inequality and improve quality of life for the average person. I think $14/hour is appropriate for adults over 21 - teenagers could be less.
Also another factor in recent higher Canadian income inequality was the attack on unemployment insurance benefits by the federal govt over the last couple of decades and also the sharp reduction in walfare benefits since the 1990's. The reductions in these two areas hit the most poor in society and caused a lot of angst.
I think the current Liberal govt is going to do their part for reducing income inequality by increasing the surtax on incomes over a few hundred thousand per year. The current surtax on incomes over $500,000 averages about $20,000 per high income earner and generates $470,000,000 per year!! Small hit per earner - high return to the average citizen of Ontario.!
Bob L.
In response to:
Subject: Finished that ebook yet? Hang on, sorry, it keeps updating | Technology | The Observer
Observer article and Moore's Law type phenomena explain why income distribution is worsening and what we need to do about, by showing the practical example of the economists showing by their own book the very real innovations that will lead to increasingly rapid change the political economy of our world and force it to accept its very new challenges about how we need to change economic structures. The solution requires a substantial rethink of our politics because the real world no longer matches traditional lines of thought. We really do face a new economics. Read the book and see what is new and different in the last five years. It is a bit like the thruster for rockets that I once described. Technology is building a significantly different economy than our political structures can presently support without a significant rethink.
