Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland gets a fist bump from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after delivering the 2020 fiscal update in the House of Commons on Nov. 30, 2020.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
The pace of federal government action to date does not align with the urgency of the twin climate and inequality crises. The latest fiscal update doesn’t go far enough on either crisis.
Voters who own housing are strongly invested in increasing the value of their wealth-generating assets. And they strongly favour the Coalition, which knows to protect their interests.
After Russian oligarchs stepped in to help with the coronavirus response, Putin upped their taxes. But it’s unlikely to phase them.
Protesters take a knee during a demonstration calling for justice for the death of George Floyd and all victims of police brutality in Montréal on June 7, 2020.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
Paul R. Carr, Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO)
Surviving COVID-19 means reconsidering what type of world we want to build and live in, together. We can no longer feign being a democracy that is not democratic.
Ilan Wiesel, The University of Melbourne; Liss Ralston, Swinburne University of Technology, and Wendy Stone, Swinburne University of Technology
You’d think falling housing prices might help people on low incomes, but history shows downturns often increase inequality. And many buyers who took out big loans during the housing boom are at risk.
The lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James and 13 colleagues was the last roadblock to the merger.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
The T-Mobile-Sprint merger is the latest example of weakened enforcement of antitrust laws, which reduces competition and exacerbates already-record levels of inequality.
New York’s offer of incentives to Amazon to open a headquarters in the state faced significant opposition.
AP Photo/Karen Matthews
The gap between rich and poor is at record levels in the U.S., yet it varies widely among the states. A political scientist explains why.
Though Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce might be outspoken on some progressive issues, he supports the system that pays him 300 times that of the average Australian.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
Most of the gains from the record economy went to those at the top, while everyone else saw much smaller gains – if any – in income and wealth.
One of the recommendations by a welfare advisory group was to raise benefit levels by up top 47%, but the government has rejected it, for now.
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Michael Fletcher, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Ardern’s coalition government promised to overhaul New Zealand’s welfare system, but its response to a comprehensive report by an expert advisory group has been disappointing at best.
More Americans agree with plans to raise taxes on the wealthy.
Rena Schild/Shutterstock.com
Thanks to a long history of exclusionary government programs, the typical black family now has only 10 cents for every dollar held by the typical white family.
More elderly people may soon be pinching pennies.
docent/Shutterstock.com
Americans are increasingly struggling to save enough for retirement. If Social Security isn’t saved, growing old in poverty will likely become more common.
Workers’ falling share of national income is helping to fuel the trade union campaign to ‘change the rules’.
Dan Himbrechts/AAP
While government payments and programs go some way to reducing inequality, the transformation of the labour market and its institutions has cut workers’ share of the pie to historic lows.
Unions, which traditionally protected wages at the bottom end, are starting to tap into community anger at the wealth flowing to the top end of town.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
This is the first article in a series, Reclaiming the Fair Go, to mark the awarding of the 2018 Sydney Peace Prize to Nobel laureate and economist Joseph Stiglitz.
The housing boom increased wealth gains for affluent households while rising housing costs undermined income gains for less affluent households.
Sam Mooy/AAP
Ilan Wiesel, The University of Melbourne; Liss Ralston, Swinburne University of Technology, and Wendy Stone, Swinburne University of Technology
The Productivity Commission neglected the impact of housing costs. After allowing for these costs, the top 10% of households’ average disposable income grew at 2.7 times the rate of the bottom 10%.
People of color tend to suffer financially more than whites after natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina.
Reuters/Carlos Barria
A new study shows that natural disasters enrich white victims while hurting people of color, worsening wealth inequality. And government aid contributes to the problem.
A bartender pours drafts at Harpoon’s beer hall in Boston. Harpoon became partially employee-owned in 2014.
AP Photo/Charles Krupa
New legislation may boost growth rate of employee-owned companies in the US, easing the impact of one of the largest transfers of wealth in American history.