… although they do so unwittingly and indirectly
Harry Shannon
On March 1, The Guardian published an opinion piece by Gordon Brown, the former UK Prime Minister. It was sad reading. The title was: “First food banks, now bedding banks: in my time in politics, this is the worst poverty I’ve seen.” Brown reported that families that coul…
Tag: inequality
How big a wealth gap is too much?
Harry Shannon
I wrote this letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and several members of his cabinet:
There is a lot of talk about a wealth tax and about billionaires, but it’s hard for most people to understand just how much money the ultra-wealthy have. Even as a statistician, I have trouble getting to grips with the numbers. So I wan…
Time for a Wealth Tax
Harry Shannon
This was written as a letter to the Toronto Star. It wasn’t published, but you can read it here.
Re Covid-19 costs. Time’s up: help cities, Editorial, July 16
The COVID-19 pandemic has played havoc with people’s finances, and governments have had to go into huge deficits to mitigate the impact on people who have lost t…
Paying for public transit – my latest letter in the Toronto Star
Harry Shannon
Background: This was published today, 12 February, with the heading 'The ultra-rich should pay their fair share.' It follows stories about fare evasion on the Toronto Transit system (TTC), and a piece by the columnist Matt Elliott. (The italics in the final sentence got lost in the editorial process - they weren't in the printe…