People are endlessly worried that AI will take jobs away from people. I don’t agree that jobs (librarians or others) are inherently good things. If I could do without a job, I would. What’s inherently good is the *income* we get from jobs. The ability to get the things we need and want to thrive…
With a little help from the Conference Board of Canada, the Financial Post is offering a self-defeating straw man on the issue of government funding for battery plants. Here’s what they write: Picking battery plants to solve Canada’s productivity crisis ‘dangerous road,’ report says. Better approach would be to cut taxes and let markets find…
The Globe and Mail, ever the watchful agent protecting corporate interests, published a column arguing that Canada’s supply management system for eggs and dairy should be ended (paywall, archive). I love how people think removing supply management will make dairy and eggs cheaper. They think prices are being artificially inflated, but that’s true only when…
Re: the McLeans article on health care in Canada titled Private Health Care is Here The more we have private health care in Canada, the more we create two types of victims: those who have to go into debt to afford the now-private service, and those who live with prolonged pain and suffering because they…
The question on Reddit: Are you in favor of abolishing the Constitutional Monarchy system? Do you feel a Federal Republic would make more sense, if not which system would make more sense? One good thing about a constitutional monarchy: the right of the monarch to abolish parliament or to refuse to give approval to a…
Responding to this article in the Globe and the associated Reddit thread. “If an election were called tomorrow, the dynamics of the campaign could well push the NDP ahead of the Liberals.” The NDP is forcing the Liberals to move on pharmacare and dental care. As these programs expand (which they will, because Canadians want…
The Canadian government has just passed legislation requiring that all new vehicles sold in Canada by 2035 be emissions-free, which for all practical purposes means that they must be electric. While this is not ideal (there should be much more of an emphasis on public transportation) it is necessary. Leaving aside the climate change sceptics…
How do people feel about the carbon tax? 14 cents per litre of gasoline, about $5.60 extra per 40L tank. 17 cents per litre of diesel/furnace oil. The carbon tax is a ‘market solutions’ approach to climate change; by increasing the cost of carbon, it reduced the demand, and moves us away from carbon consumption….
We just moved to a 5% interest rate here in Canada. The reason, we are told, is to combat inflation. There certainly does appear to be inflation; prices are noticeably higher after the pandemic. But are interest rate hikes the cure? The argument is that inflation is caused by increased spending, especially on debt-funded high-ticket…
There are continued calls to legislate the BC dock workers back to work. And of course employers don’t need to negotiate; they just need to wait for the federal government to make the move. But why do we always opt for ‘legislate them back to work’? Why is it never ‘legislate the companies to pay…