Year: 2012

Make School Day Work Smarter, Not Longer

Education reformers, particularly in the United States, say increasing the time students spend in school is necessary to prepare them for success. Proposed reforms are implemented too often without the sufficient evidence that they will be effective, and they can cost significant amounts of money.

On Today’s Tragedy in Connecticut

Today’s tragedy in Connecticut was horrific. But let’s take a moment to reflect. Peaceful human civilization is improbable, miraculous, and wonderful. The fact that a society has emerged in which most people can safely walk down the streets is utterly astonishing.

Featured News

Let’s Get Fracking, and Slash Our Gas Bills: State backing for the shale revolution is what Britain’s economy has been crying out for

Yet still the environmental movement, deep in bed with the subsidised renewable energy industry, wants to impede shale gas, fearful that it might succeed. Until recently it looked as if the Government’s energy policy was to go beyond picking winners to pick losers – how else do you describe an policy that hands out the most money to the most expensive ways of generating power? – and even ban winners

Businesses Don’t Pay Taxes

Repeat after me everyone: "Businesses don't pay taxes, people do." I wrote last week about companies using tax avoidance (not evasion) to reduce their tax bill. One of those companies, Starbucks, has announced that due to public pressure (and to protect their image),...

Former Toronto Mayor Calls for De-Amalgamating the Megacity

Amalgamating the seven municipalities that now constitute the City of Toronto was quite likely the biggest mistake made by the Government of Ontario in modern history. It was hugely unpopular — 76.8 percent of residents opposed amalgamation — and failed to create the projected savings. As I’ve argued in the past, the City of Toronto, as currently constituted, is essentially ungovernable.

A milestone in public safety

Many North Americans still view cities as dangerous places. Indeed, there are some neighbourhoods in some cities (primarily American cities) that are extremely dangerous. There are also a few Canadian neighbourhoods that can be described as uncomfortable.