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Thursday April 11, 2024

April 11, 2024 by Graeme MacKay

The decision by the Bank of Canada to maintain interest rates at 5% underscores the economic struggles faced by middle-income families, who play a vital role in driving economic activity but bear the brunt of stagnant wages, rising costs of living, and financial pressures exacerbated by high borrowing costs.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday April 11, 2024

The Struggles of The Middle-Income as the Economic Engine

Yesterday’s announcements highlight the challenges of high inflation and housing costs in Canada. The report on food banks shows the growing need for affordable options, while the Bank of Canada's focus on managing inflation could lead to rate hikes. It's clear that addressing affordability, inflation, and social support is crucial.

October 26, 2023

In light of the recent decision by the Bank of Canada to maintain interest rates at 5%, it’s crucial to examine the profound impact this has on the struggles faced by middle-income people and families, who often serve as the backbone of our economy. This decision reflects broader economic realities that disproportionately affect ordinary households, exacerbating existing challenges and highlighting the crucial role of middle income working people as an economic engine.

The middle class play a vital role in driving economic activity, fuelling consumption, and sustaining businesses through their spending habits and contributions to the workforce. However, they often bear the brunt of economic policies and decisions, particularly in an environment of stagnant wages and rising costs of living.

News: Bank of Canada to Hold as It Debates When to Start Easing Rates

September 8, 2023

One of the primary concerns for these households is the impact of sustained high interest rates set by central banks like the Bank of Canada. While these rates are intended to manage inflation and maintain economic stability, they can inadvertently burden households with higher borrowing costs, particularly for mortgages, loans, and credit card debt. This strain on disposable income can limit the ability of middle-income families to save, invest, or adequately cover essential expenses.

Moreover, middle-income families face persistent challenges in accessing affordable housing, managing healthcare costs, and ensuring quality education for their children. The decision to maintain higher interest rates adds an additional layer of financial pressure, making it harder for families to achieve financial security and upward mobility.

July 18, 2023

In the context of the Bank of Canada’s decision, it’s essential to recognize that the middle class are not only affected by interest rates but also by broader economic trends such as job market dynamics, globalization, and technological advancements. These factors can contribute to income inequality and precarious employment conditions, further undermining the financial well-being of households.

To address these challenges, policymakers must prioritize policies that support and empower middle-income families. This includes targeted measures to enhance income growth, improve access to affordable housing, and provide adequate social safety nets. Additionally, there is a need for greater transparency and accountability in monetary policy decisions to ensure they align with the interests of everyday Canadians.

Opinion: As the Bank of Canada resists cutting interest rates, is it falling behind the curve again?

March 27, 2023

Ultimately, the struggles faced by middle-income families underscore the urgency of adopting holistic economic policies that prioritize inclusive growth and address systemic barriers to prosperity. As we navigate the complexities of our economic landscape, let us remember that a thriving middle class is not only a measure of economic success but also a reflection of societal well-being and resilience.

The decision by the Bank of Canada to maintain interest rates at 5% highlights the ongoing challenges faced by the middle class as the true economic engine of our society. It is imperative that we advocate for policies that promote economic fairness and opportunity for all, ensuring that middle-income families can continue to fulfill their vital role in driving sustainable and equitable growth. (AI)

 

Posted in: Canada Tagged: 2024-08, ATM, Bank of Canda, banks, Canada, government, inflation, Interest rates, middle class, middle income, profit, Salt mine

Wednesday August 2, 2023

August 2, 2023 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday August 2, 2023

Cry baby in the shopping cart

July 18, 2023

Inflation has been a significant concern for the Canadian economy, impacting all aspects of daily life, with grocery prices being hit the hardest. In recent months, the cost of living has surged by almost six percent, while grocery prices have soared nearly double that pace, leaving consumers feeling the pinch. As prices rise, the profits of big grocery chains have reached record highs, further exacerbating the disparity between their financial success and the plight of their low-wage workers.

Front-line grocery store workers at Metro, represented by Unifor Local 414, have taken a bold stance by going on strike, demanding fair treatment and wages that align with the company’s impressive profits. Over 3,000 workers across 27 Metro locations in the Greater Toronto Area are united in their fight for better pay and improved working conditions. Workers, like Tammy Laporte, a dedicated produce and fruit clerk with 25 years of service, want their contributions to be acknowledged through fair compensation.

Analysis: High stakes in Metro strike  

June 20, 2023

The issue of low wages is prevalent among grocery store employees, forcing many to live in debt and struggle to make ends meet. Workers like Austin Coyle, a meat manager, are among the highest paid but still find it challenging to afford basic living expenses in the high-priced city of Toronto. The situation is so dire that some employees are forced to turn to food banks because they cannot afford to buy groceries from the very stores they work in.

The grievances of the workers are not without cause. During the pandemic, grocery chains, including Metro, earned praise for their “hero pay” bonuses for front-line workers. However, these bonuses were swiftly cut once the companies saw an opportunity to boost their profits. This move, which came amidst record earnings for the grocery barons, further highlights their prioritization of financial gains over the well-being of their employees.

March 8, 2023

Despite recent negotiations, which saw a tentative deal between Metro and the union, Unifor, the proposed wage increases fall short of meeting the workers’ immediate needs. The workers’ demands for a $2-per-hour wage increase in the first year were not met, leading to the rejection of the deal. While the grocery chains claim that they are offering wages above inflation rates, it fails to address the workers’ struggles in affording basic expenses amidst soaring CEO compensations.

While big grocery chains assert that they are not profiting from inflation, experts argue that the current economic climate provides them with cover to raise retail prices. As prices increase, the profits of these companies surge, despite their claims of maintaining slim profit margins. Such practices further widen the gap between the grocery barons’ financial success and the difficulties faced by their employees.

December 8, 2016

The actions of big grocery barons during the inflation crisis have brought their priorities into question. Their record profits and reluctance to address the immediate needs of their low-wage workers highlight a significant disparity in wealth distribution. The brave stand taken by front-line grocery store workers at Metro illustrates the urgent need for fair wages and improved working conditions. As consumers, it is essential to support these workers in their fight for fairness and advocate for greater accountability from the grocery industry to ensure that profits are not amassed at the expense of hardworking employees. (AI) | Also printed in the Toronto Star.

Reposted to The Louisville Political Review: The Grocery Oligopoly: Are You In Good Hands?

 

Posted in: Canada Tagged: 2023-13, big grocery, Canada, Economy, grocery, inflation, monopoly, profit, shopping, supermarket

Tuesday June 21, 2022

June 21, 2022 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday June 21, 2022

Freeland defends budget after Scotiabank accuses feds of ‘doing nothing’ on inflation

A cut in planned government spending could help tame rampant inflation and reduce pressure on the Bank of Canada to hike interest rates, according to a report from Scotiabank.

June 17, 2022

The report from the bank’s chief economist Jean-Francois Perrault and modelling director René Lalonde claims that Canadian fiscal policymakers are “doing nothing of any significance to slow inflation at the moment.”

The authors argue that cutting government spending will take some of the burden to cool inflation off of the Bank of Canada and the private sector.

Scotiabank’s analysis came as Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland is met with the head of the U.S. Treasury Janet Yellen in Toronto on Monday to discuss cooperation between the nations and the global inflation concerns.

Posted in: Canada Tagged: 2022-20, banker, bitcoin, Economy, inflation, Justin Trudeau, moneybag, Pierre Poilievre, profit, Scotiabank, spending, Tiff Macklem

Friday November 19, 2021

November 19, 2021 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, (Not published in The Hamilton Spectator) – Friday November 19, 2021

Capitalism is killing the planet

There is a myth about human beings that withstands all evidence. It’s that we always put our survival first. This is true of other species. When confronted by an impending threat, such as winter, they invest great resources into avoiding or withstanding it: migrating or hibernating, for example. Humans are a different matter.

4 Waves Cartoon

When faced with an impending or chronic threat, such as climate or ecological breakdown, we seem to go out of our way to compromise our survival. We convince ourselves that it’s not so serious, or even that it isn’t happening. We double down on destruction, swapping our ordinary cars for SUVs, jetting to Oblivia on a long-haul flight, burning it all up in a final frenzy. In the back of our minds, there’s a voice whispering, “If it were really so serious, someone would stop us.” If we attend to these issues at all, we do so in ways that are petty, tokenistic, comically ill-matched to the scale of our predicament. It is impossible to discern, in our response to what we know, the primacy of our survival instinct.

Here is what we know. We know that our lives are entirely dependent on complex natural systems: the atmosphere, ocean currents, the soil, the planet’s webs of life. People who study complex systems have discovered that they behave in consistent ways. It doesn’t matter whether the system is a banking network, a nation state, a rainforest or an Antarctic ice shelf; its behaviour follows certain mathematical rules. In normal conditions, the system regulates itself, maintaining a state of equilibrium. It can absorb stress up to a certain point. But then it suddenly flips. It passes a tipping point, then falls into a new state of equilibrium, which is often impossible to reverse.

Human civilisation relies on current equilibrium states. But, all over the world, crucial systems appear to be approaching their tipping points. If one system crashes, it is likely to drag others down, triggering a cascade of chaos known as systemic environmental collapse. This is what happened during previous mass extinctions. (Continued: The Guardian) 

November 19, 2021

Atmospheric rivers of the kind that flooded British Columbia and renched California in recent weeks will become larger — and possibly more destructive — because of climate change, scientists said.

Columns in the atmosphere hundreds of miles long carry water vapour over oceans from the tropics to more temperate regions in amounts more than double the flow of the Amazon River, according to the American Meteorological Society.

These “rivers in the sky” are relatively common, with about 11 present on Earth at any time, according to NASA.

But warming air and seas around the globe causes conditions that scientists said will make them hold more moisture, causing extreme precipitation when they make landfall, often on the west coasts of North America, South America and Western Europe.

Because of climate change, atmospheric rivers are projected to become slightly less frequent, but more intense, according to a 2018 study led by researchers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

“There may be fewer, but they are going to be lasting longer, and more intense,” Vicky Espinoza, an author of the NASA study who is now a graduate student at the University of California Merced, said.

Atmospheric rivers will become about 10% less frequent by the end of this century, but about 25% longer and wider, the study found. That will lead to nearly double the frequency of the most intense atmospheric river storms. (Continued: CTV) 

 

Posted in: Canada, International, Lifestyle Tagged: 2021-39, atmospheric river, British Columbia, Canada, capitalism, climate change, environment, money, profit, profiteering, Science, Tourism, wealth, yacht

Friday February 19, 2021

February 26, 2021 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday February 19, 2021

Texas, Land of Wind and Lies

Politicians are neither gods nor saints. Because they aren’t gods, they often make bad policy decisions. Because they aren’t saints, they often try to evade responsibility for their failures, asserting either that they did as well as anyone could have or that someone else deserves the blame.

October 3, 2014

For a while, then, the politics surrounding the power outages that have spread across Texas looked fairly normal. True, the state’s leaders pursued reckless policies that set the stage for catastrophe, then tried to evade responsibility. But while their behavior was reprehensible, it was reprehensible in ways we’ve seen many times over the years.

However, that changed around a day after the severity of the disaster became apparent. Republican politicians and right-wing media, not content with run-of-the-mill blame-shifting, have coalesced around a malicious falsehood instead — the claim that wind and solar power caused the collapse of the Texas power grid, and that radical environmentalists are somehow responsible for the fact that millions of people are freezing in the dark, even though conservative Republicans have run the state for a generation.

This isn’t normal political malfeasance. It’s the energy-policy equivalent of claiming that the Jan. 6 insurrection was a false-flag Antifa operation — raw denial of reality, not just to escape accountability, but to demonize one’s opponents. And it’s another indicator of the moral and intellectual collapse of American conservatism.

The underlying story of what happened in Texas appears to be fairly clear. Like many states, Texas has a partly deregulated electricity market, but deregulation has gone further there than elsewhere. In particular, unlike other states, Texas chose not to provide power companies with incentives to install reserve capacity to deal with possible emergencies. This made power cheaper in normal times, but left the system vulnerable when things went wrong.

Texas authorities also ignored warnings about the risks associated with extreme cold. After a 2011 cold snap left millions of Texans in the dark, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission urged the state to winterize its power plants with insulation, heat pipes and other measures. But Texas, which has deliberately cut its power grid off from the rest of the country precisely to exempt itself from federal regulation, only partially implemented the recommendations.

And the deep freeze came.

January 31, 2019

A power grid poorly prepared to deal with extreme cold suffered multiple points of failure. The biggest problems appear to have come in the delivery of natural gas, which normally supplies most of the state’s winter electricity, as wellheads and pipelines froze. Nor was this merely a matter of the lights going out; people are freezing too, because many Texas homes have electric heat. Many of the homes without electrical heat rely on, yes, natural gas. We’re looking at enormous suffering and, probably, a significant death toll.

So Texas is experiencing a natural disaster made significantly worse by major policy errors — and the officials who made those errors should be held accountable.

Instead of accepting responsibility, however, officials from Gov. Greg Abbott on down, backed by virtually the entire right-wing media complex, have chosen to lay the blame on green energy, especially wind power.

November 29, 2018

Now, it’s true that the state generates a lot of electricity from wind, although it’s a small fraction of the total. But that’s not because Texas — Texas! — is run by environmental crazies. It’s because these days wind turbines are a cost-effective energy sourcewherever there’s a lot of wind, and one thing Texas has is a lot of wind.

It’s also true that extreme cold forced some of the state’s insufficiently winterized wind turbines to shut down, but as I said, this was happening to Texas energy sources across the board, with the worst problems involving natural gas.

Why, then, the all-out effort to falsely place the blame on wind power?

The incentives are obvious. Attacking wind power is a way for both elected officials and free-market ideologues to dodge responsibility for botched deregulation; it’s a way to please fossil fuel interests, which give the vast bulk of their political contributions to Republicans; and since progressives tend to favor renewable energy, it’s a way to own the libs. And it all dovetails with climate change denial.

But why do they think they can get away with such an obvious lie? The answer, surely, is that those peddling the lie know that they’re operating in a post-truth political landscape. When two-thirds of Republicans believe that Antifa was involved in the assault on the Capitol, selling the base a bogus narrative about the Texas electricity disaster is practically child’s play.

And if you’re expecting any change in the policies that helped cause this disaster, don’t count on it — at least as long as Texas remains Republican. Given everything else we’ve seen, the best bet is that demonization of wind power, not a realistic understanding of what actually happened, will rule policy going forward. (New York Times) 

 

Posted in: USA Tagged: 2021-07, climate change, Don’t Mess With, electricity, energy, fossil fuel, gas, Mother Nature, nonrenewable, oil, profit, Texas, USA, wealth
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This website contains satirical commentaries of current events going back several decades. Some readers may not share this sense of humour nor the opinions expressed by the artist. To understand editorial cartoons it is important to understand their effectiveness as a counterweight to power. It is presumed readers approach satire with a broad minded foundation and healthy knowledge of objective facts of the subjects depicted.

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