tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post1694078933964092495..comments2024-03-18T20:18:14.088-04:00Comments on Northern Reflections: The Costs of InequalityOwen Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-8457142468288674402011-10-02T15:34:20.682-04:002011-10-02T15:34:20.682-04:00Your analysis, Mound, explains why the NDP is now ...Your analysis, Mound, explains why the NDP is now the official opposition.<br /><br />The Liberals problem, I think, is that they have yet to grasp the reasons for their decline.<br /><br />Under Chretien -- and particularly Martin -- the Liberals made a significant turn to the right; and the public understood exactly what was going on.Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-33730579979089145072011-10-02T14:43:21.183-04:002011-10-02T14:43:21.183-04:00Owen, I have become convinced that irrefutable evi...Owen, I have become convinced that irrefutable evidence of the Liberal party's disengagement from the Canadian public lies in its apparent indifference to income inequality. They should be championing the interests of the average Canadian. What better vehicle could there be for reconnecting with Canadian voters? Instead we get limp nonsense about funding for the arts or daycare. That's a party that's not even trying and deserves its descent from Sussex Drive to Stornoway to Motel 6.The Mound of Soundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-55803011621724157092011-10-02T14:09:04.107-04:002011-10-02T14:09:04.107-04:00It's interesting that you mention the Arab Spr...It's interesting that you mention the Arab Spring, Mound. The conventional wisdom is that it is a revolt against an outdated system -- a system which has not seen the wisdom of Western ways.<br /><br />The truth is that it has more to do with scarcity than tyranny. And only a few seem to notice that Western economies have been adopting the Arab economic model -- where wealth accrues to the <br />top.<br /><br />In that sense, the Arab Spring is an old story. The problem is that our historical memory is pretty weak.Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-89519729200803675902011-10-02T13:44:58.494-04:002011-10-02T13:44:58.494-04:00Inequality becomes the bedsore of a crippled socie...Inequality becomes the bedsore of a crippled society. Our children, Owen, will grapple with this if only because they'll have no other choice. Inequality, the burgeoning gap between rich and poor, is utterly corrosive of social cohesion.<br /><br />This problem is worsening in conjunction with another and they must synthesize. We're running out of stuff, particularly renewable resources. The inequality problem is more tolerable in a period of stable, sustainable growth. It becomes hellish, however, when the growth paradigm falters because once growth stops all that's left is an allocation-based economy, another term for rationing. <br /><br />Allocation economics or rationing entails sacrifice and it is in terms of sacrifice that inequality becomes far less tolerable than in the world of the past. The Arab Spring gives us a glimpse of the Century of Revolution that is just beginning to unfold. Inequality in wealth, opportunity, even access to affordable food was instrumental in the Middle East discontent. We're foolish to consider ourselves immune to those same influences.The Mound of Soundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.com