Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Officer, Yves Giroux, recently estimated that the federal deficit incurred from funding pandemic virus relief measures -- now about $260 billion -- could soar as high as $900 billion by this time next year unless curbed long before then. “Such measures will have to be temporary,” he cautioned. “If they are maintained … Continue reading Bleak post-pandemic future looms as govt. keeps borrowing from private banks instead of from the Bank of Canada
Author: Ed Finn
Canadian governments have ignored abominable abuse of the elderly despite care-givers’ repeated alarms
Ten years ago, Pat Armstrong, a sociology professor at Toronto’s York University, released a study of long-term care of the elderly in Canada. She exposed the abysmal lack of staffing required to provide quality care. “Residents sit in soiled diapers because there are no workers available to answer their call. They often miss regular baths, … Continue reading Canadian governments have ignored abominable abuse of the elderly despite care-givers’ repeated alarms
Result of re-opening the economy will not create the “new normal” but just resume the capitalist “old normal”
As some Canadian provinces (and American states) relax their pandemic-driven social and economic constraints, many thousands of hitherto housebound citizens are flocking to stores, playgrounds, and beaches. Governments are urging these suddenly mobile people to maintain their self-distancing and keep wearing masks in crowded assemblies. But the enforcement of such restrictions is clearly impossible. Now … Continue reading Result of re-opening the economy will not create the “new normal” but just resume the capitalist “old normal”
There’s a much worse global pandemic than Covid-19: global capitalism
Is the coronavirus now encircling the globe Mother Nature’s desperate attempt to stop rampant capitalism from destroying sentient life on the planet? With most of the world’s political leaders still blatantly committed to abetting the reign of terror by the multinational corporations -- and with so many workers dependent on capitalism for their livelihood – … Continue reading There’s a much worse global pandemic than Covid-19: global capitalism
After Covid-19 passes, our future will depend on whether governments prevent or permit more environmental vandalism by large corporations
Recent photos taken by astronauts in the orbiting space station show an amazing improvement in Earth’s atmosphere. The sharp reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from factories, motor vehicles, ships, planes and fossil fuels reveals a planetary surface whose clarity had been obscured by industrial pollutants. This long-delayed abatement of global warming stems from the Covid-19 … Continue reading After Covid-19 passes, our future will depend on whether governments prevent or permit more environmental vandalism by large corporations
Is Covid-19 Mother Nature’s latest effort to rid herself of the virus of humankind?
Back in the 1970s, chemist James Lovelock, with his associate microbiologist Lynn Marguilis, developed what they called the Gaia hypothesis: the theory that our planet is a sentient organism dedicated to promoting and protecting all forms of life. Gaia is the ancestral name of the primal Earth goddess, whose regulation of all organic components of … Continue reading Is Covid-19 Mother Nature’s latest effort to rid herself of the virus of humankind?
Corporate attacks on public sector and public employees inflict just as much harm on the private sector
In the early 1960s, while I was working for the Canadian Labour Congress in Corner Brook, the paper mill unions won a 5% pay raise for the mill’s workers – much to the dismay of the town’s business owners. When I next shopped at our neighbourhood grocery store, the manager complained to me about “overpaid” … Continue reading Corporate attacks on public sector and public employees inflict just as much harm on the private sector
Protests by Indigenous peoples a culmination of centuries of political abuse and neglect
A recent poll found that a majority of Canadians favour police intervention to stop Indigenous protesters and activists from blocking railway services. Are these anti-protesters unaware of the long and brutal mistreatment of Indigenous peoples that led up to these protests? Or do they simply not care about it? In any case, perhaps a brief … Continue reading Protests by Indigenous peoples a culmination of centuries of political abuse and neglect
Canada’s pseudo-health care system relies on people getting sick, not staying well
Some geriatric specialists and health reformers have been claiming for years that a switch from curative to preventive health care would improve and prolong human life, and save many billions now spent on drugs, hospital stays, and home care. In the absence of a priority put on prevention in our perverse “illness treatment” system, we … Continue reading Canada’s pseudo-health care system relies on people getting sick, not staying well
Repeated failure of climate summits portends a bleak future under unchecked capitalism
Delegates to the recent Climate Change Summit in Madrid failed to muster a consensus on future action to curb global warning. Despite extending the meeting an extra day, desperate efforts to reach an accord were stymied by delegates from two of the largest countries: the United States and Australia. It’s no coincidence that both U.S. … Continue reading Repeated failure of climate summits portends a bleak future under unchecked capitalism
The Nonagenarian's Notebook 