We live in dangerous, disruptive times. At some point, if we are going to move forward, Canada is going to have to chart a new course. We will need a new “New Deal” for individuals, and we will need a foreign policy course that reduces our dependence on the United States, without leaving us vulnerable…
High levels of immigration are the only way we get to keep Canada, Canadian
Despite Canadians generally positive attitudes toward refugees and immigrants, conservatives continue to try to make it controversial. They try to limit the number of immigrants and refugees admitted to Canada, the types of immigrants we allow, try to frame the debate as if we have to choose between immigration and domestic concerns and sometimes even…
Is the Dow Jones decline a blip, or the start of a downward trend?
On Monday, February 5, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1175 points, or 4.6 percent, wiping out the market’s gains for the year. The stock market goes up and down, sometimes it’s just a momentary correction and at other times it sends a signal that the overall economy is about to move. So which one…
Basic economics in less than 20 minutes (3 videos)
My friend Tessa Sproule at Vubblepop sends out a daily email with a curated collection of videos she has found online. Yesterday’s was particularly good with three video explainers that focused on basic economics; specifically the videos (two from the Rest of Us and one from Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell) focus on money (what…
If you want to defeat Trump in 2020, don’t buy American
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via VisualHunt.com / CC BY-SA Re-election is the norm in US politics and there is really only one issue that changes that. Regardless of where you live in the world, you can have a significant impact on the 2020 US election. Historically, the best way to defeat a US incumbent is…
Brexit : That time England went on a bender and woke up in jail
Photo via VisualHunt Winston Churchill famously said that “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”. Yesterday the voters of England (formerly the United Kingdom) proved him wrong. British voters, particularly those in England and Wales, voted to destroy their economic present…
Basic Income Plus: A 21st century social safety net for everyone
Recently, the idea of a universal ‘basic income‘ has been popping up again. According to the Globe and Mail, Canada’s government is considering it as a way to fight poverty. In the United States, Silicon Valley types are embracing the idea and it seems to be growing in popularity, worldwide, among socialists and libertarians alike.…
Play With the Mother Jones 1% Calculator
The rich have been getting richer at an amazing rate over the last 5 decades. People who suffer from conservatism like to blame their lack of money on taxes which they blame in turn on people who are even poorer than them. A recent Mother Jones article sums it up: “The richest 1 percent of…
Which Middle Class is Justin Trudeau Targeting?
Justin Trudeau’s Liberals have made it clear that their plan for the 2015 election is to target the ‘middle class’. The phrase is probably the most commonly used in recent political history. Everyone wants to court the middle class because nearly everyone thinks that they are part of the middle class. It will be interesting…
Study Says File Sharing Is Still Good for Entertainment Industries
This really isn’t news, it’s just confirmation of what all the other studies have shown but, yet another study has shown that on balance the music and film industries have benefited from online file sharing. The London School of Economics found that music sales have stagnated but overall revenues remain strong with revenues reaching $60…