An overview of 19th century writer Frédéric Bastiat’s opinions of the proper role of government from his book The Law and the circumstances that brought about those opinions.
Year: 2006
Nothing to Fear from a Bigfoot
Peter Foster’s response to the recently released World Wildlife Fund for Nature’s 2006 Living Planet Report.
Richard Vedder, Ohio University, on the optimal size of government
The size of government in Western democracies has outgrown the point at which they offer the most optimal results for citizens. That has generally reduced standards of living and levels of efficiency in the public sector.
Richard Vedder, Ohio University, on post-secondary education
In many respects, universities are failing in their primary mission. Students pay more and more for a diminished product, a function of perverse incentives that allow universities to dodge normal measures of efficiency and effectiveness.
Featured News
A Year of LNG Royalties/Taxes from a Single Pipeline Could Pay for …
Sitting on top of one of the world’s largest and richest natural resource warehouses is turning into quite a disconcerting distraction. While much of Canada’s population – the heavily urban part for whom “rural” means Whistler, Muskoka, or Mont Tremblant – likes to...
Medical Martial Law – Never Again
The economic upheaval now roiling over the world’s financial markets, rapidly lowering living standards, and even threatening to freeze Europeans this winter, is all directly related to the radical decision most western leaders took in March of 2020., when a new...
Teacher Certification in Canada
Current methods of certifying teachers are not able to meet coming shortages. An alternative certification pioneered in New Jersey offers a way out.
Killing with Kindness
Well intended equalization keeps Manitoba in a “have not” province purgatory
Winnipeg’s Perimeter Highway: Disaster by Design
Executive Summary Winnipeg is the only major urban area in the developed world without freeways. Although they are unpopular with some urban planners, freeways not only reduce congestion and pollution, they make cities more efficient in economic terms. In its current...
The Wheat Board: To Vote or Not to Vote
A Wheat Board plebiscite at best will accomplish nothing and at worst derail the Conservatives’ promise of marketing choice even as it alienates their Western base.
Creating a High Performance Public School System in Manitoba
If we adopted a clear-headed, results-oriented philosophy of education „Ÿ and embarked in a consequent manner on the reform of standards, finances and administration „Ÿ we could create the strongest public school system in the country. Instead of the province which spends the largest percentage of GDP on schools, Manitoba would become renowned as the province that achieved the best results.
Time to Make Secondary Suites Legal
With vacancy at an all time low, wouldn’t making existing dwellings legally available be a logical solution?
Former Star Candidate Abandons NDP for Grits
Paul Summerville, economist and former NDP candidate, recently defected to the Liberals because of NDP’s economic policies.
The Politics of Sky-High House Prices
High costs, lack of land, the environment and inflation are making new homeowners a thing of the past. Are the current government regulations helping or exacerbating the problem?
Powerful Reforms:
Canadians accustomed to cheap, reliable electricity are facing higher energy costs and, in some parts, an increased likelihood of blackouts. Much of Canada’s electrical power industry shows arterial sclerosis with inadequate investment, fewer exports and increased import competition from high-cost sources in the United States. Canada’s power industry needs a good dose of liberalization, as successfully adopted in the European Union, but most of our provincial politicians are too reluctant to give up their monopoly fiefdoms.