-
Podcast on the Federal Budget, Early Child Education, and the Recovery from COVID
Centre for Future Work Director Jim Stanford was a guest in this post-budget special edition of The Herle Burly podcast, hosted by David Herle. He and fellow panelists Dr. Kate Bezanson (from Brock University) and Peter Nicholson (former head of policy for the PMO) dissected the budget’s eye-popping deficit forecast, whether deficits matter, and the economic importance of universal high-quality early child education. Watch the full discussion here. https://youtu.be/fC92ZAs4P5g Budget Panel: Bezanson, Nicholson, Stanford + the Political Panel: Byrne and Reid | The Herle Burly
-
National Child Care Roll-Out Will Boost Economy More Than Budget Estimates
Today’s federal government pledge to implement a national affordable child care program will significantly accelerate Canada’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and recession, according to research from the Vancouver-based Centre for Future Work. And the Centre suggests that the resulting boost to output and employment will be significantly larger than estimated by today’s federal budget. “Universal high-quality early child education is a vital ingredient in a high-performance economy, and this plan will spark job-creation and income growth across the country,” said Dr. Jim Stanford, Economist and Director of the Centre for Future Work. “In fact, the improvements in employment and GDP growth arising from the plan are likely to be…
-
The Contradictions of ‘Caring Capitalism’
Many companies these days try to promote a ‘socially responsible’ image: giving money to charities, speaking broadly about ‘stakeholders’ and ‘sustainability’, and even joining debates about issues like racism. But when it comes to their own bottom lines, few diverge from the fundamental goals of minimizing costs, avoiding taxes, and maximizing profits – regardless of the harm that might result to their workers, communities, or the environment. In this commentary, originally published in the Toronto Star, Jim Stanford takes aim at contradictions of this ‘kinder, gentler’ image corporations are trying to create. His jumping-off point is Hasbro’s effort to improve the image of its iconic Monopoly board game. The commentary…