Cuba is experiencing change that may eventually revolutionize Cuban society and the economy. The regime of Raul Castro is set to implement a micro-credit system to bolster self-employment. This change comes on the heels of other important policy decisions oriented...
Poverty
Study says resource boom helping Aboriginals, but leaves unanswered questions
A major study by TD Economics reveals how the resource boom is working greatly to the advantage of Aboriginal peoples. The important points being raised in the media is the explosion in Aboriginal business activity and income growth. In particular, much is being made...
Implications of the NDP dropping the ‘socialist’ label
Make no mistake about it, the NDP has contributed to the policy discourse in Canada. Both in its earlier form as the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and when it morphed into the NDP to broaden its appeal, the party has raised consciousness about problems...
Case for Aboriginal property rights proven from space
On a past segment of the John Stossell Show, some invited guests were asked to discuss the issue of Native American poverty (or First Nations for Canadians). Manny Jules, former chief of Kamloops Indian Band in B.C. and Terry Anderson, executive director of the...
Featured News
Cities Have to Expand for House Prices to Fall
The cost of actually building a house does not vary that much across Canada The Ford government’s plan to expand the land supply available for housing has evoked the usual dog whistles about “urban sprawl” by interests apparently unaware of the strong...
How We Teach Reading Really Does Matter
Reading is the most important skill taught in school. If students don’t learn how to read, not much else that happens there is going to matter. That’s because being able to read is important in virtually every job. Without the ability to read, life itself will be a...
The Moral Case Against Dumb Government Intervention
When developed countries like Canada, the United States, or jurisdictions like the European Union engage in the practice of corporate welfare, they make it more difficult for poorer nations to compete, to create wealth, and to provide for the poorest of their own poor.
Forced Entry – How Government Came to Dominate Welfare
Today’s welfare state is not the only way to solve the problems of inequality, unstable income, and the need for healthcare and education. Understanding how the welfare state came to be and what it replaced enables a much more imaginative poverty debate than we currently have.
How the Welfare State Supplanted Christmas Cheer
A look at how Victorian England solved social problems and provided social services opens the government-centric Canadian debate wider than usual.
For Aboriginals, Life Is Better In The City
The 2006 census data confirms what many people suspect, that life is often better for Aboriginals in the cities than on reserves.
For Aboriginals, Life Is Better In The City – Report
The 2006 census data confirms what many people suspect, that life is often better for Aboriginals in the cities than on reserves.
Poor Families Hurt By High Energy Prices
Innis, refers to himself as an environmentalist, however, in his speech, he dismissed the basic idea of global warming and the negative impact it’s having on the environment. His solution to the energy issue is to promote conservation, increase efficiency and continue to embrace new alternatives- like wind and solar power – all without cutting down energy production in North America. “All energy is good energy,” said Innis.
Home Ownership, Rent Vouchers, And Building Codes
In “Escaping the poverty trap: from public housing to home ownership,” Rebecca Walberg writes that “The last thing a Canadian city should be doing now is building or buying new public housing units.” Instead, Walberg, Social Policy Analyst for the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, advances policy ideas that would encourage home ownership and rent vouchers instead of government housing and rent control.
‘Promised Land’ Not Too Bright
While there is universal agreement for the need for reform, solutions seem elusive and expensive. In the absence of opportunities and solutions, Aboriginal people are leaving reserves for urban centres in pursuit of something better.
Too Big A Bite
“Our comparison makes it abundantly clear that we can best express the sincerity of our intentions to help the poor by expanding the value of their basic exemption from income taxes. … In fact, the numbers show that increased exemptions work spectacularly better than minimum wages or tax credits in meeting the goal of improved incomes.”