Jim Stanford
Jim Stanford is Economist and Director of the Centre for Future Work, based in Vancouver, Canada. Jim is one of Canada’s best-known economic commentators. He served for over 20 years as Economist and Director of Policy with Unifor, Canada’s largest private-sector trade union.
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Who’s Subsidizing Whom?
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has threatened immediate across-the-board 25% tariffs on imports from Canada, possibly as part of a plan to use “economic force” to annex Canada. Trump claims the Canada-U.S. trade deficit constitutes an “emergency” (thus justifying violation of America’s trade treaties), and amounts to the U.S. “subsidizing” Canada to the tune of $200 billion per year.
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Strikes Have Economics Benefits, Not Just Costs
In the tumultuous years since the COVID pandemic and the subsequent outbreak of inflation, Canada has experienced a large number of work stoppages. Canada experienced over 800 strikes and lockouts in 2023, resulting in 6.6 million days of work time lost. That’s much higher than in most recent years, but still lower than peak levels of industrial disputes experienced in the 1970s and 1980s.
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‘Vibecession’: Reconciling Positive Statistics with Negative Sentiment
Newly released data for the third quarter of 2024 (July-September) shows the economy has continued to grow, albeit slowly. Consumer spending was the brightest light in the third quarter data: growing at an annualized rate of 3.5% (in real, inflation-adjusted terms), and constituting the largest single source of new demand.
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High-Tech Price-Fixing
One worrisome feature of recent bursts of inflation has been the role of automated price-fixing technologies in pushing up prices across entire industries. Companies use special programs to search out the prices being charged by competitors, and detect changes in demand. These algorithms can then adjust prices quickly, at the level judged to be the highest the market will bear.
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$10-per-Day Child Care Plan Already Boosting Canada’s Economy
In 2021, Canada’s federal government announced a new $10-per-day national early learning and child care (ELCC) program, which began rolling out in 2022. It has increased the number of regulated child care spaces in Canada, and significantly reduced (by over 50%) average fees paid by parents.
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Yes, Public Sector Jobs Count, Too
B.C.’s unemployment has been among the lowest in Canada for several years, economic growth and business investment have been among the strongest, and the province now has the highest hourly wages for employees of any province. Yet some business commentators try to debunk that record, claiming it’s all due to public sector spending and hiring.
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Explainer Video on Corporate Power and Profit-Led Inflation
Centre for Future Work Director Jim Stanford is featured in a new 6-minute video, produced by the Broadbent Institute, discussing the role of corporate price hikes in post-pandemic inflation.
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Regulating Prices Not Such a Crazy Idea
Kamala Harris’s entry into the U.S. presidential campaign has had a dramatic impact on political discourse there – not just in the opinion polls, but in policy thinking, as well. For example, in her recently-unveiled economic platform she advocates new federal laws against price-gouging, to limit the power of private businesses to unreasonably jack up prices for groceries and other essentials...
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Unions and Racialized Workers: Media Coverage and Webinar
The Centre for Future Work recently released new research on the extent of wage inequality across racialized categories of workers in Canada, and the importance of union representation in supporting racialized workers to win better jobs and better pay. Please see the full 85-page report, The Importance of Unions in Reducing Racial Inequality: New Data and Best Practices, by Winnie Ng, Salmaan Khan, and Jim Stanford.
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Capital Gains Tax Preferences Benefit Speculative Corporations and Very-High Income Individuals
Capital gains income is starkly concentrated among the richest 1.5% of Canadians, and corporate sectors with non-existent job-creation. They are the main beneficiaries of special loopholes which reduce taxes on capital gains.