Nobody really knows how the economy will look as a return to normalcy progresses
Grocers racked up millions of dollars in profits as they increased revenues during the first year of the pandemic. But numbers this year tell us tougher economic times await them. And the economy is just one part of the story. Nobody really knows how the economy will look this fall and winter as a return…
Our debt is rising and our population growth is slowing. The result will be a massive fiscal burden on taxpayers in decades to come
Caught between a rock and a hard place. This best sums up the position that Alberta’s United Conservative Party government found itself in as it announced new, stricter lockdown measures for Christmas. The government is attempting to bend the rising curve of COVID-19 infections. Premier Jason Kenney and his most trusted ministers lined up to…
It’s a common religious philosophy. The secular world calls it the ethic of reciprocity. It’s the ultimate social no-brainer
The go-to car radio station for people of my demographic profile in Regina is Rawlco Radio, home of the John Gormley Show, The Hour of Rage and, on Sundays, replays of Montreal’s popular Roy Green Show. This is red meat programming for grumpy old guys. You know – men who look like me and who,…
Landmark 35-year research project yields surprising findings about happiness, relationships, generational differences and more
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the differences between generations and the sociological forces defining their worldviews and behaviour. Stereotypes abound: the silent generation is inflexibly conventional, the baby boomers are narcissistic, generation X members are lazy. And millennials just take too long to grow up. But few of these assumptions…
Surprisingly, post-Black Death populations tended to live longer and enjoy better health and standards of living
Bubonic plague came to England in the summer of 1348. Popularly known as the Black Death, the disease arrived via a French ship that docked in what is now Weymouth on the south coast. From there, it spread rapidly inland and westwards over the water to Ireland. It was also transmitted across the North Sea…
The notion that leading the G7 is evidence of strong economic performance or rapid growth in living standards is not simply off base, it’s dangerous
By Ben Eisen and Finn Poschmann The Fraser Institute Recent forecasts suggest Canada may compete with the United States for the top spot in the G7 in 2020 for economic growth. Those forecasts include one from the International Monetary Fund. Political partisans have since flooded social media with the impressive-sounding factoid that Canada may lead…
Unnaturally high growth rates were driven by post-war reconstruction, the baby boom and rising female labour force participation
The single biggest determinant of long-term economic well-being is the rate of economic growth, but our expectations for modern growth may be misplaced. The industrial era, since the early 19th century, has seen powerful economic growth and unprecedented increases in living standards. Growth rates reached their peak in the postwar economic boom from 1945 to…
Cynicism and class divisions are leading to cultural insecurity, reducing tolerance and compassion. Something must change
The international landscape is in unprecedented flux, challenging assumptions of social, political and economic progress for youth everywhere. Globalization, technological advances, demographic pressures from global migration, sectarian and ideological conflicts, and economic disparities have all affected the cohesiveness of societies. Shifting unemployment patterns and doubts about the sustainability of social security systems and the environment…
Many, when they do buy, view automobiles as a necessity rather than a lifestyle. And many others are content to live without wheels
With baby boomers fading into the sunset, millennials have taken over as the biggest generation, population-wise, in the world. Born roughly between 1980 and 2000, they’re sometimes called generation Y and now represent the largest demographic group of consumers in North America. Not to mention the most strategic group of voters. But millennials aren’t throwing…
Apparently, as you get older you get happier. Sclerotic, arthritic, calcified, deaf, blind, stupid and poor equals happy? Where do I sign up?
In a few years, people my age will get back pain, clogged arteries, brittle bones, hearing loss, cataracts, arthritis, heart disease, dementia and schizophrenia. What they won’t get, apparently, is unhappy about it. Citing a recent national survey, Canadian Press reports that older people in this country are generally more buoyant than younger ones. In…