Tea & Two Slices is a long-running news round-up by NEEDS frontman and veteran restaurant dishwasher Sean Orr, who lives and works in Gastown. He is very aware of his privilege, so there’s really no need to remind him of it.

Jagmeet Singh: if renters spend more than 30% of their income on rent, there should be a subsidy. Without rent control, this is just a subsidy to landlords. Same with his tax breaks for developers to build “affordable units”. What does that even mean?

It means this article from 2014 is still all too relevant: The “N” in NDP Now Stands for Neoliberal. As Antonio Gramsci said, “To wait to become the majority plus one is the program of timid souls who expect socialism from a royal decree countersigned by two ministers”.

Even the Globe and Mail wants the NDP to be more like Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez: Globe editorial: How Jagmeet Singh’s leadership has diminished the NDP. Derrick O’Keefe:

OK, it’s in large part concern trolling by a corporate media editorial board that would go ballistic if the NDP rolled out a 70% top marginal tax rate, but they’re not wrong to point out this contrast: “…at a time when U.S. Democrats are bursting forth with ambitious progressive ideas, his response has been unimaginative.”

Indeed, from his Very Embarrassing Interview with Evan Solomon to the following response to an actual coup in Venezuela, it’s clear he has no interest in working class struggles or anything outside of the framework of bourgeoise legality:

This wembling mealy-mouthed junk is why the @NDP is absolutely sunk. Trump, Bolsonaro, and Freeland fete this unelected dictatorship of the comprador bourgeoisie and all @TheJagmeetSingh has to say is ‘lets be positive’ ‘collaborative!’ Just pathetic. #CDNPoli #Venezuela

— Dock Currie???? (@DockCurrie) January 24, 2019

This is how you do it: Studio unit for $950: Proposed East Vancouver rental allots space for moderate income earners. “‘If an existing tenant no longer qualifies for their moderate income rental unit, the operator will issue a six-month notice to end tenancy, in accordance with the BC Residential Tenancy Act,’ the city states”. Amazing. This will prevent the kind of embarrassing failure that we saw at 60 West Cordova. And no, this is not discrimination.

Meet the Economist Advising BC on Whether to Go Ahead with a Basic Income.

That view is often built on the idea that poverty is the result of individual moral failing. But by topping up people’s earnings without judgment, basic income puts forward the alternate idea that poverty is instead based on flaws in our economic system. This makes it a hard sell to conservatives like Ford, who argued “the best way to help people out of poverty is something called a job.”

Big oil, is that you? You’re all hypocrites: Why it’s a colossal cop-out to keep blaming Canada’s sky high emissions on Alberta. They. Are. Not. Mutually. Exclusive. Also, a reminder that 10 companies make up 70% in emissions and that the US Air Armed Forces are the world’s biggest polluter. Stop putting the onus on the individual.

School trustee among men arrested by Vancouver police in child sex sting. I don’t usually post articles like this, but I was struck by Carlito’s use of the word ‘prostitute’. We call them sex workers, and if one is a minor then it’s a ‘sex trafficked child’.

New Vancouver Art Gallery building to be named Chan Centre for the Visual Arts after $40 million donation. Relax, it’s still called the VAG.

Bonus: No One Is Prepared for Hagfish Slime. When a science article throws shade: “Hagfish produce slime the way humans produce opinions—readily, swiftly, defensively, and prodigiously”.