Neil Reynolds

Redact All You Want, We’ve Gone Overboard on Equalization

What exactly does the government have to fear from a study of equalization payments? We don’t know. But according to a February report published by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (“Dollars & Sense: A Case for Modernizing Canada’s Transfer Agreements”), the government has much to fear – most importantly the revelation that Canada’s equalization program now distributes billions of dollars a year to provinces that least need the help.

Ontario, like California, Going for Broke

“Now, let’s see. According to the state treasurer, who should know, California (population 36.4 million) has sovereign debt of $60-billion (U.S.) – $1,650 per person. Investors rate California’s 10-year bonds as slightly less risky than Croatia’s.”

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The Bad Economics Behind Stimulus Spending

“Economist John Taylor (Stanford University) says government intervention caused the market meltdown of 2008 and that “short-run government spending” has only made matters worse. He dismisses the theory that stimulus spending can jump-start an economy as an “old-fashioned” Keynesian illusion.”