Previously published in the Winnipeg Free Press November 13, 2023
ON Oct. 3, Manitobans elected a new government which, like its predecessors, has promised to balance the provincial budget. The previous government’s program of tax breaks and cuts to public services should be a wake-up call to the incoming administration.
Cutting costs on the backs of public sector workers has had disastrous consequences for the public sector and, indeed, for all Manitobans.
Government finance
Previously published in the Winnipeg Free Press on August 5, 2023
Statistical analysis of the Manitoba Government Budget 2023 changes to the Basic Personal Amount (BPA) and income tax brackets find the top 10% are slated to get 26% of the total tax savings, equivalent to an average tax cut of $1,322 for everyone in the top decile in 2024. The average savings of all tax filers will be $502 a person while the average savings for the bottom 20% of tax filers will be $37 a person.
Claim: “Budget 2023 removes 47,400 low-income Manitobans from the tax rolls and saves the average family $1,000”
Impact: More of the Basic Personal Amount tax change money will go to Manitoba’s richest 10% than the bottom 50% combined.
The poorest 10% (100,100 Manitobans) get no benefit from this change as they don’t make enough to be on the tax rolls currently.
The second-poorest 10% (990,900 Manitobans) saves only $74 by the increase in the Basic Personal Amount.
The Shock Doctrine occurs when neoliberal and undemocratic agendas are rapidly advanc
The Convoy that took over Ottawa for a month last year just met outside Winnipeg this past weekend. While the right to protest is an essential part of our democracy, it is important to look critically at this movement that has harboured white supremacist, libertarian and in some cases even fascist beliefs. These ideas have originated most recently in the USA, but have a long and odious history elsewhere in the world.
First published in the Winnipeg Free Press Nov 14, 2022
Across Canada, initial provincial budget projections early in the pandemic showed provinces would be struggling with large deficits for years to come.