Month: May 2012

Canada, PoliticsLeave a comment

Mulcair’s Disease

Podritske

There is one fundamental reason why NDP leader Thomas Mulcair keeps harping to us that Western Canada’s energy industry is some form of “disease” infecting the nation as a whole. That is simply because it obviously is NOT a disease. We know what a disease is and don’t have to be reminded or told repeatedly. Many Canadians working in the energy industry know that this is the last thing that could characterize the source of their high standard of living. The “Dutch Disease” to which he refers is a trivial macroeconomic theory originally advanced by a couple of academic economists … Continue reading Mulcair’s Disease

Canada, Politics, Rights2 Comments

Felon Protests

Podritske

The 2012 Quebec Student Protests (for which an adequate informational summary may be obtained on Wikipedia) are in essence an event reminiscient of 1960s social unrest. There is no rational connection between the dominant activities of these “protestors” and the facts of reality. Consider the following: Quebec students pay the lowest levels of tuition in North America. the key issue in the protests is a tuition fee increase to be phased in over a period of time. like all welfare states, education costs in Quebec and the rest of Canada are subsidized in excess of 50 percent by taxpayers. the … Continue reading Felon Protests

Canada, Political Economy, PoliticsLeave a comment

Out Damned Euro!

Podritske

I would go a bit further than Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty in commenting that “maybe Europe should give up on the eurozone”. Europe should definitely give up on the eurozone, that collectivist-inspired effort at central control of disparate nations and disparate lives. The attempt to have a common currency—the Euro—among 17 different economies was always doomed to failure. It is just another essentially useless fiat currency. It is legal tender because central authorities say it is. The conduct of trade between 17 competitors using the same currency cannot work because no adjustment can be made in a member country … Continue reading Out Damned Euro!

Canada, Ethics, PoliticsLeave a comment

Forced Work

Podritske

“Conservative legislation restricting access to EI benefits risks forcing people into jobs they don’t want…” writes Bill Curry of The Globe and Mail. * (*EI is “employment insurance,” ostensibly a more positive denotation that Canada uses for its unemployment benefits program.) By “forced” labour Mr. Curry probably does not mean to imply that slavery or indentured servitude is proposed but what else does forcing people into jobs mean? No person is forced to work. An employee agrees to work for an employer under certain conditions. If the job is not something he wants to do then he can quit once he … Continue reading Forced Work