The Nova Scotia budget tabled this week is without vision. It was constructed to deal primarily with the deficit.

Undertaking "restructuring" and "right-sizing" of the public sector to balance the budget may well make things worse. In contrast, CCPA-NS projected that Nova Scotia's fiscal health will continually improve provided the government recognizes its responsibility to invest in the economy, and economic growth.

"Study after study describes poverty as a profound and damning thing for child development. The political response has been to watch poverty levels dip and rise. On the sidelines, statisticians have debated how measurement might best occur…too often with a view to reporting the lowest numbers possible. There have been champions. Despite that Canada has arrived at a shameful place. 

Right now our inaction tells the world this nation thinks one in four children are not worth it. 

Not worth feeding. 

Not worth shelter. 

After more than 30 years of jobless growth and growing household debt punctuated by a series of increasingly severe economic crises, September 17, 2011 marked an important turning point. On that day, "thousands of people marched on the Financial District, then formed an encampment in Zuccotti Park, launching a movement that shifted the conversation on economic inequality." Following the emergence of "Occupy Wall St," similar "Occupy" movements sprang up all around the world, including here in Nova Scotia. Occupy is driven by the clear sense that it is not only possible but absolutely necessary to build an economy for the people, not for corporations and the wealthy.

Change the conversation, support rabble.ca today.

Statistics Canada released new data this week on high income trends in Canada with nary a mention of the Atlantic Provinces. From a Canadian comparative perspective, the data told a story that was more striking for most of the rest of the country and in particular, Alberta, Ontario, B.C. and Quebec, where 92 per cent of the top 1 per cent of tax filers are found, with only 3.4 per cent in Atlantic Canada.

The inequality that exists in Atlantic Canada also tells a story that demands illustration.