Being ignorant drives me crazy, so it stung when the world pitched into an economic crisis and I didn’t have the foggiest idea why. Not a very empowering feeling.
Then I found these: two episodes of This American Life detailing, in plain language, exactly what the hell was going on (and the all important “why”). You can stream both episodes, for free, from the pages below.
Part I: The Giant Pool of Money
Part II: Another Frightening Show About the Economy
As the loonie plunges below $0.80 to the USD (not necessarily a bad thing), it seems like a good time to do a bit of reading (or listening).
Digg
Facebook
del.icio.us
seven comments
Thanks so much for this!!
Posted by Jenna
October 24, 2008, 1:26 AM
and hey! what is a GST remittance form for? Is it something helpful for living as a freelance writer and analyst? :)
Posted by Jenna
October 24, 2008, 1:31 AM
For those interested, tonight's talk by Professor David McNally (York University) should be quite illuminating:
Wall Street Meltdown: Learning about the Economics of Neoliberalism
A public talk by David McNally
David McNally is Professor of Political Science at York University. He is the author of Against the Market: Political Economy, Market Socialism and the Marxist Critique, and Another World is Possible: Globalization and Anti-Capitalism, and has done extensive writing on financial crisis.
Friday, October 24
7 – 9 pm
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE/UT)
Room 5280 (5th floor)
Presented by the Toronto Historical Materialism Group
Co-sponsors: Social Economy Centre, OISE/UT; Adult Education and Community Development Program, OISE/UT
Posted by Nicole
October 24, 2008, 8:27 AM
"and hey! what is a GST remittance form for? Is it something helpful for living as a freelance writer and analyst?"
Heh :) I have a GST account for my business. And I remit (most of) my GST back to the government in quarterly installments. Using the GST remittance form. Which form, and accompanying instructional booklet, are some of the government's more ass documents.
Posted by Catherine
October 24, 2008, 2:14 PM
Having a GST account means that you don't get stuck with a huge extra chunk of taxes to pay at tax time in the spring because you have been paying throughout the year, usually, as Catherine has mentioned, in quarterly installments. Of course if you make less than $30,000 a year, you don't have to pay GST on your earnings, so you don't need to worry about it.
Re: this blog post: thanks for sharing these links! This is a great background to the current crisis. Boy did I not feel sorry for dude who was comparing his life to Boiler Room. Did he forget the end of that movie?
Posted by Stark
October 24, 2008, 2:35 PM
American Public Media's "Marketplace" podcast is another great way to keep track of the crisis if you want to stay up to date. It's entertaining and understandable and they cover the whole world, not just the US. Lately they've been doing little skits and using funny voices to explain collateralized debt obligations and whatever.
Posted by Michelle
October 24, 2008, 2:54 PM
Right you are Stark. Another couple of notes on the GST front: If you don't mind the extra admin work, it can be worth collecting GST even if you make less than $30K/year. Because:
1) Cash bonus: You can easily keep a portion of the GST you collect to cover the GST you pay out on business expenses. E.g. Using the Quick Method, you only have to send back 2.6% of the 5% you collect (3.6% after the first $30K).
2) For "optics": Most businesses will know about the $30K minimum. Collecting GST can help your independent business present as successful, because it quietly implies you're billing a minimum of $30K a year.
Posted by Catherine
October 24, 2008, 3:05 PM
Leave a comment
This blog post is older than 90 days old. All comments submitted regarding this post will be automatically held for review by the editors before posting. Your comment will not appear on the site until it has been approved.
Our comment policy
Shameless prides itself on the diversity of opinions expressed by our writers, and we encourage and appreciate different points of view. Our intention at Shameless is to foster community and to maintain a safe and positive blogging environment; we do not consider it our duty to give a voice to anybody with an opinion.
Discussion on this site is moderated. We will delete comments that:
(We get to decide what's discriminatory, hateful, attacking, or inflammatory).
In some cases, we will cap off comments on a discussion when we feel they are spiralling out of control and fostering an unwelcoming space for bloggers and readers. Comments will be closed by the Web Editor, unless the post is by the Web Editor, in which case the Editor in Chief will close them.
If your comments repeatedly make the same point, they may be deleted. This also applies to comments made by multiple members of the same organization.
Your comments should be about the topic of the post, not its writer—although we certainly encourage praise for our writers, if you want to say something nice.