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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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Self-Interest of Wealthy Investors Explains Over-the-Top Reaction to Capital Gains Reform
The federal government’s 2024-25 budget included an important reform to the taxation of capital gains. Capital gains occur when an asset is sold for more than it cost to acquire. Capital gains are heavily concentrated among high-income Canadians – more so than any other form of income. And making matters worse, they receive lucrative tax preferences: until this year, recipients only had to declare half their gains on their income tax (for a so-called ‘inclusion rate’ of 50%). The other half was entirely tax-free. In contrast, other forms of income (like wages and salaries) must all be reported on a tax return: that is, their ‘inclusion rate’ is 100%!
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Commentary on 2024 Federal Budget
Canada’s Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland tabled the 2024-25 federal budget on April 16. The one major revenue measures in the budget (a change in the partial inclusion rate for capital gains income above a threshold of $250,000 per year) has sparked great outrage from powerful financial interests – but will have no direct impact on 99.9% of personal tax filers...
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To Improve Productivity, Stop Paying People Nothing to Do Nothing
Centre for Future Work Director Jim Stanford argues that requiring platform businesses to pay their workers at least minimum wage for all hours worked, would not just be fair: it would also be a powerful spur to better productivity.
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Documentary Shines Light on Excessive Food Prices in Canada
Rapidly rising food prices have been a major component of the cost-of-living crisis affecting Canadian households in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic. Food price inflation was significantly faster than overall inflation in 2022 and 2023.
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CANADALAND Podcast Explores the ‘War on Workers’
The renowned independent broadcasters at CANADALAND have launched a new series of podcasts (part of their Commons series) exploring issues in work, employment, and fairness. The pilot of the series, titled ‘The War on Workers,’ features an extended conversation with Centre for Future Work Director Jim Stanford
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Real Wages are Recovering… and That’s Good News!
The beginning of 2024 brought some good labour market news for a change: average real wages in Canada increased in 2023, reversing some of the damage from post-COVID inflation.
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Workers Strike Back
Some observers called 2023 the Year of the Strike, and at times that moniker was fitting. Across a wide range of industries, workers hit the picket lines to support demands for pay increases that kept up with surging inflation. Over the first nine months of 2023 (the latest data at time of writing), Canada lost a total of 2.2 million work days to work stoppages...
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Risks and Uncertainties Facing Canada’s Economy in 2024
Canada’s economy enters the New Year facing a wide range of challenges and uncertainties: high interest rates, stalling economic growth, and rising unemployment. To review the outlook, CBC Radio’s Sunday Magazine, hosted by Piya Chattopadhyay, recently broadcast a full 20-minute interview with Centre for Future Work Director Jim Stanford.