March 14, 2012: Sensible, no regrets approach to climate change promoted by British Columbia Senator Nancy Greene-Raine in her speech before the Canadian Senate (March 13).
Worth A Look
Why Protecting Dairy, Poultry Farmers is no Sacred Cow for Harper
Is the Harper government willing to dismantle the supply management system that protects poultry and dairy farmers from competition? You should bet that it is.
Is Catastrophic Global Warming, Like the Millenium Bug, a Mistake?
At a public meeting in the Commons, the climate scientist Professor Richard Lindzen of MIT made a number of declarations that unsettle the claim that global warming is backed by “settled science”. They’re not new, but some of them were new to me.
Washington’s Knack for Picking Losers: Former Obama adviser Larry Summers warned the administration against federal loan guarantees to Solyndra, writing in a 2009 email that ‘the government is a crappy venture capitalist.’
Like the mythical monster Hydra—who grew two heads every time Hercules cut one off—President Obama, in both his State of the Union address and his new budget, has defiantly doubled down on his brand of industrial policy, the usually ill-advised attempt by governments to promote particular industries, companies and technologies at the expense of broad, evenhanded competition.
Featured News
Timeless Wisdom – The Politics of Successful Structural Reform
It’s a well-known pattern in public policy – profligate politicians damaging their economies with out-of-control spending, massive borrowing and higher taxes – inevitably leading to fiscal crisis, sharp declines in growth and ultimately rapidly falling currency value...
Canada’s National Hysteria in the 21st Century
Mass hysteria is the spontaneous manifestation of a particular behaviour by many people. There are numerous historical examples: Middle Age nuns at a convent in France spontaneously began to meow like cats; at another convent, nuns began biting one another. In...
Bernier Seeks End To $40-billion In Social, Health Transfers To Provinces
“Calling for an end to $40-billion in social and health transfers to the provinces, Maxime Bernier is criticizing his own government’s policies in areas of provincial jurisdiction and laying another plank in his platform for a future Conservative leadership bid.”
Are We Sliding Into A Tyranny Of Good Intentions?
“‘I am of two minds about democracy,’ he writes, ‘and so is everyone else. We all agree that it is the sovereign remedy for corruption, war and poverty in the Third World. We would certainly tolerate no other system in our own country. Yet most people are disenchanted with the way it works. One reason is that our rulers now manage so much of our lives that they cannot help but do it badly. They have overreached. Blunder follows blunder.'”
High Fashion versus the Private Car: Alternative lifestyles will always be trendy, but the car is mainstream for good reasons
It’s so trendy to deride the private car today that it often features in urban planning only as a necessary evil to be tolerated at best. Public policy should be more enthusiastic about what private motorised transport has done for people, and in particular how driverless cars, electric cars, and road pricing can alleviate the concerns that some people have about them.
If Universities Were In Business, They’d Be Out Of Business
“Frosh-week frivolities have ended and some 40,000 new university students across the country have experienced their first weeks of classes. Unfortunately for many, those classes have brought frustration and disillusionment.”
B.C. Set To Prescribe Health Contracts Pegged On Performance
“B.C. is launching its offensive against swelling health-care budgets, promising faster treatment for patients with a new pay-for-performance plan in its hospitals.”
Unfreezing Arctic Assets: A bloc of countries above the 45th parallel is poised to dominate the next century. Welcome to the New North.
“Much of the planet’s northern quarter of latitude, including the Arctic, is poised to undergo tremendous transformation over the next century. As a booming population increases the demand for the Earth’s natural resources, and as lands closer to the equator face the prospect of rising water demand, droughts and other likely changes, the prominence of northern countries will rise along with their projected milder winters.”
Clunkers,’ A Classic Government Folly
“In the market for a used car? Good luck finding a bargain: The price of “pre-owned’’ vehicles has climbed considerably over the past year. According to Edmunds.com, a website for car buyers, a three-year-old automobile today will set you back, on average, close to $20,000.”
Scare Campaigns to the Contrary, Canada Won’t Run Out of Water: Rational argument not emotional appeals should shape policy discourse on water
Scare campaigns to the contrary, Canada is not going to run out of water.
Like Having a Job? You’ll Love Proposition 23
“Prop. 23 will temporarily suspend some very expensive, job-killing regulations under the state’s global warming law, AB32 – regulations that even folks advocating immediate implementation of those rules admit will cost jobs.”