Monthly Archives: April 2012

Let them eat cake

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UPDATE: It appears, in the example offered below, that it wasn’t just private relationships between the wealthiest that make them work harder. Sometimes they just ‘feel that I did a great job’ and are thus entitled to their entitlements

 

 

In two recent appearances on the CTV news National Affairs program, James ‘Jim’ Doak has argued against the recent Ontario NDP-Liberal budget deal to add a 2% surtax to those with incomes over $500,000. Appearing on a panel with CCPA Senior Economist Armine Yalnizian, Mr Doak, an asset manager, suggested that the NDP proposal (now adopted by the Ontario Liberal government) amounted to ‘ethnic cleansing’ in that it deliberately ‘defined a group not by language or culture but by how much they make. And she (Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath) wants to get rid of them.’

Put aside for a moment the macroeconomic merits of a wealth surtax, or the likelihood of the wealthiest moving to more tax-friendly jurisdictions, or even the dangers inherent to increased income inequality. And ignore the ridiculous moral equivalence between macroeconomic policy that might lead to capital flight between provincial jurisdictions and the programmatic murder of specific ethnic groups.

What is perhaps most charming about Mr Doak’s outburst is the very real contempt he exhibits for the process of policy deliberation and the complicity of the media in accepting his contempt as if it were all part and parcel of a healthy public debate. (‘A great, great debate’ says one of the two hosts as the discussion ends, ‘we should have you two on together again!’) Continue reading →

When a union isn’t a union

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UPDATE: There are important discussions going on here and here concerning the union name change

UPDATE 2: As of May 2nd the TCU will indeed be known as Cycle Toronto. Members voted at their AGM  71% to 29% in favour of the name change.

 

 

 

The Toronto Cyclists Union — a five-year-old organization that lobbies for a healthier cycling environment in Canada’s largest city — proclaims in its most recent newsletter that, while it has doubled its membership in a year, from 1,018 to 2,100, the city in the same period has reduced the number of bike lanes. Thus, says the newsletter, “Toronto has not shown the will to respect us as taxpayers, as road users, and as valuable citizens.”

 

Analyzing what roadbocks may be in the path of the Toronto Cyclists Union becoming more muscular, strident and effective, its board of directors has identified the organization’s name as a significant obstacle. We quote the directors in full:

 

“Over the past years, we have run into unexpected pockets of resistance when applying for grants as well as in recruiting business members and individual donors. There is a large group of cyclists in Toronto that don’t feel connected to our organization, and they have often expressed that our current name is largely responsible for that disconnect. Considering all of the positive impacts that we want to have as an organization, the Board of Directors does not want our name to prevent a single cyclist from joining our organization. Our strategy and trajectory demands that we be accessible and essential for everyone who rides in Toronto, and we feel that now – as we are poised for record growth – is the time to address this issue.”

 

They propose to change the name to Cycle Toronto. Perhaps they can do even better and sell off corporate naming rights. Scotiabank Cycle Toronto.

 

This is so interesting.

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