Volatile, short term and footloose private capital is supplanting stable, long-term public financing which is crucial for long-term economic and social development, and for climate investments.
By decommodifying health services, pensions, the right to unions, and other social services, they showed that with political will in these aspects of life the power of the market could be and should be broken if real democracy is to be achieved.
Despite ultra loose monetary policy, business investment is very low due to inadequate overall demand.
It is to be hoped that political forces across Europe are up to the challenge of making the EU a force for economic and social progress as seemed to be the case in the 1980s.
Will the Trudeau Government have the courage to listen to concerned Canadians and acknowledge that “free” trade and investment deals have run their course?
Viewing the TPP as a trade agreement masks its significance as a tool that will, like NAFTA, be used to challenge government regulation in the public interest. Investors from across the TPP will be able to appeal regulatory decisions before secret tribunals, giving them rights that do not exist for domestic companies under Canadian law.
The growing call for universal drug coverage stems from the realization that Canadians should be able to take medications as prescribed, regardless of their financial situation.
Supply management allows Canadian farmers to plan for the future and to stay the course. This, in turn, allows Canada a degree of food security and food sovereignty that is remarkable.
