Like Paul Krugman, I suppose I'm a liberal, for I believe in using government to redistribute wealth, yes, taking from the rich to give to the poor, because in my view, a world in which wealth is distributed more equitably would be a better world for everyone. To offset negative effects of redistribution, I support Jim Stanford's high investment, sustainable economy model, which aims to grow a bigger pie for all of us while respecting environmental constraints.
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The following wishlist of reforms (mostly economic) were inspired by Stanford's Economics for Everyone, James Laxer's Beyond the Bubble, Noam Chomsky's Failed States, and various issues of the CCPA (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives) Monitor. With due respect to Milton Friedman and The Right Honorable Stephen Harper: "Good sirs, I don't agree with you."
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This document is a starting point, and it is probable--no, inevitable--that I am guided and limited by my presuppositions. I suppose all I can do is try to declare my vantage point, my horizon of understanding, my interpretive historical presupposition, which is that I just happen to be some kind of western liberal in the early years of the 21st century. That being the case, I put this vision forward with humility.
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There are many who do not share the values that lead to this list. That's ok and to be expected. Usually my intention is not to force my values onto others who may not share them. In their private lives, it is the right of people to live by value systems they deem adequate. However in the public behavioral commons, it is a different story. In the sphere of economics and politics for example, I believe the imperative to provide a society in which wealth is distributed more equitably outweighs the imperative to live and let live. We must govern ourselves according to the best and most enlightened vision of universal care and compassion. In that respect, it comes as a surprise to me that I find aspects of Plato's Republic very palatable.
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This document is a starting point, and it is probable--no, inevitable--that I am guided and limited by my presuppositions. I suppose all I can do is try to declare my vantage point, my horizon of understanding, my interpretive historical presupposition, which is that I just happen to be some kind of western liberal in the early years of the 21st century. That being the case, I put this vision forward with humility.
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There are many who do not share the values that lead to this list. That's ok and to be expected. Usually my intention is not to force my values onto others who may not share them. In their private lives, it is the right of people to live by value systems they deem adequate. However in the public behavioral commons, it is a different story. In the sphere of economics and politics for example, I believe the imperative to provide a society in which wealth is distributed more equitably outweighs the imperative to live and let live. We must govern ourselves according to the best and most enlightened vision of universal care and compassion. In that respect, it comes as a surprise to me that I find aspects of Plato's Republic very palatable.
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Conservative critics of liberal visions such as this would point out that there would be those who would abuse the system. They are right. There will always be those who abuse the system. That is why, in addition to developing such programs, we also need to encourage interior development--from egocentric, to ethnocentric, to world centric (Ken Wilber, Integral Psychology; Robert Kegan, In Over Our Heads; Claire Graves). Many liberals might be aghast at such a suggestion, because there is the suspicious reference to a hierarchy, but that little thorn is for another article
1. CORPORATE REFORM
a. Rewrite corporate charters with greater emphasis on public welfare and environmental stewardship; we must remember that "corporations are creatures of government. Without the assent of government, a corporation cannot exist. It cannot do business."
2. TAX POLICY
The following reforms aim to increase public revenue for social programs and stimulate investment spending (which has been low under neoliberalism).
a. Progressive Personal Income Taxes: eg, higher tax rates for those with incomes over $250,000 a year, and lower tax rates on the working poor
b. Reform business taxes to reward real investment spending, with more oversight and care in directing that investment to the most appropriate and beneficial uses
c. Reverse broad-based cuts to Canada's corporate income tax system
d. Restoring GST to 7% with expanded tax credit to protect low-income earners
e. Eliminate favorable tax treatment for financial investments
3. SOCIAL POLICY
Sharply increase social spending in the following areas:
a. education at all levels
b. health care
c. arts
d. poverty eradication
e. low income housing
f. national child care program to allow poor parents to get waged work.
4. LABOR POLICY
a. Expand unionization
b. Re-establish a federal minimum wage (set at $11 and indexed to inflation)
5. MONETARY POLICY
a. Guide the economy to very low unemployment, to maintain pressure on employers to upgrade work and incomes
6. FISCAL POLICY
a. Run moderate annual deficits (including paying for public capital projects)
7. FINANCIAL MARKETS
a. Regulate finance to prevent irresponsible practices
8. ENVIRONMENT
a. Sign and carry forward the Kyoto protocols
9. INNOVATION
Encourage more business R&D spending, especially in health care and alternate sources of energy
10. INTERNATIONAL POLICY
a. Let the UN take the lead in international crises
b. Accept the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court and the World Court
c. Rely on diplomatic and economic measures rather than military ones in confronting terror
d. Keep to traditional interpretation of the UN Charter
e. Sharply reduce military spending
f. Remove the Security Council Veto (all states must abide by UN Security Council resolutions)
