Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey, Where wealth accumulates, and men decay. --Oliver Goldsmith. Twenty years ago, I wrote an op-ed in which I described free-market capitalism as “the most unjust and barbaric economic system ever devised, and one that now oppresses and abuses most of the world’s people.” I was scorned … Continue reading Capitalism worst possible economic system for a planet ravaged by global warming
Corporations
Book review: ‘Bypassing Dystopia’ could free Canada from the clutches of neoliberalism
The people in Canada who are intelligent, open-minded, and not ideologically conservative would probably number at least a million. But if only one in twenty of them – 50,000 -- were to read Joyce Nelson’s latest book – Bypassing Dystopia: Hope-filled challenges to corporate rule -- the outcome could be a grassroots uprising that would … Continue reading Book review: ‘Bypassing Dystopia’ could free Canada from the clutches of neoliberalism
Why is the United States always fighting a war somewhere? Could it be because war is profitable?
Harper’s magazine, in its June issue, reports on a panel of former soldiers that it convened at the U.S. Military Academy at Westpoint, New York. They were all veterans of wars waged by the U.S. over the past 30 years, mainly in Iraq and Afghanistan, or stationed in some of the nearly 800 military bases … Continue reading Why is the United States always fighting a war somewhere? Could it be because war is profitable?
Sparse retirement savings, skimpy public pensions, pro-company bankruptcy laws cause a pension crisis
Most Canadians today are not financially prepared for retirement. According to recent polls, over two-thirds of us (68%) don’t have a retirement plan, 30% have paltry or no savings, and 62% end up retiring earlier than they expected or wanted. The Broadbent Institute, in a recent study, found that half of Canadian couples between 55 … Continue reading Sparse retirement savings, skimpy public pensions, pro-company bankruptcy laws cause a pension crisis
Huge wasteful subsidies to corporations deplete funds for social programs
Governments exist to protect the rights of minorities. The rich need no protection. — Wendell Phillips. When it comes to listing countries on the basis of the social services they provide to their citizens compared to the subsidies they heap on their corporations, Canada doesn’t fare well. A recent study from the University of Calgary’s … Continue reading Huge wasteful subsidies to corporations deplete funds for social programs
The Nonagenarian's Notebook 