Posts in Economics
Tom and Mark go Dutch

NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair doesn't think Mark Carney was talking to him when the Bank of Canada governor publicly denied that a booming oil industry hurts Canada by driving up the dollar, depressing manufacturing exports and hollowing out our economy. Mulcair should listen anyway because, unlike most political chatter, Carney's critique of the "Dutch disease" theory is thoughtful and well-informed. Click here to read the rest.

Pushing the 'panic' button

At the Democratic National Convention, U.S. President Obama claimed America's in "one of the worst economic crises in history" then called for "the kind of bold, persistent experimentation that Franklin Roosevelt pursued during the only crisis worse than this one." But his self-serving invocation of FDR is as unconvincing as his self-serving portrayal of the current crisis. Click here to read the rest.

Less stale air in policy talk please

For a person who hates politics, I sure can’t get enough of it. Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, call your office. But my excuse for staring obsessively at things like the Republican National Convention is that government is important especially when it’s done badly. And right now its general air of dreary malevolence is a big part of the problem. Click here to read the rest.

Make It Go Away

Equalization makes us poorer, encourages bad policy and fosters bitterness. Unfortunately we can't just take it out behind the barn and kill it with an axe. It's wedged into the Constitution and besides, its original purpose of protecting Canadians against the possibility of a provincial government collapsing financially is not unworthy. But we could certainly make it less costly, harmful and unfair. Click here to read the rest.