A labour shortage will reduce income inequality. But inflation will trend higher
Written by economists Charles Goodhart and Manoj Pradhan, The Great Demographic Reversal is a provocative read. And with 81 diagrams and 23 tables, it’s chockful of data in support of its thesis. That thesis is simple: “Of one thing we are sure, the future will be nothing like the past.” Or at least nothing like…
Governments must begin to stand up to public sector union demands
Do you believe the pandemic’s impact is in the rearview mirror? Well, it isn’t, at least not for a great many small businesses forced to shutter their premises due to “safety concerns” even as their regular customers packed into COVID-spreading lines to enter big box stores governments deemed “essential services.” Behind those small businesses are…
Nearly eight in 10 Canadians want the G-G entitlement policy scrapped
Julie Payette must feel like she won the lottery. Despite resigning in shame from her posting as governor general amidst allegations of creating a toxic workplace, she is still entitled to the Cadillac of all retirement packages, courtesy of all of us taxpayers. First off, there’s the pension. At $150,000 per year, it’s generous enough…
Teenagers have one of the highest rates of depression in Canada
Canadian teenagers who attend schools in areas with high-income inequality are more likely to suffer from depression than those in areas with low-income inequality, according to the first study of its kind in Canada. It is already well understood that being poor can negatively affect mental health, said co-author Roman Pabayo, an epidemiologist and associate professor…
Many powerful people have become rich by exploiting workers
Many people seem to have forgotten a basic principle of life. Broadcaster and writer Earl Nightingale called it “the law of mutual exchange.” He explained further: “We’ve got to be of service before we can expect money.” Many powerful people over the last several centuries have acted as though this principle didn’t apply to them.…
Ever-higher minimum wages are pricing more people out of the job market and reducing economic opportunity
Minimum wages are on the rise again in Ontario. As of Oct. 1, the province’s incessant central planners have not one but six higher price controls for labour. These hurt the most vulnerable Canadians and do the bidding of unions. However, vociferous proponents delude themselves into thinking they have the moral high ground and are…
Balancing physical and social needs key to ensuring equity in affected communities
As our world adapts to climate change, a renewed focus on social vulnerability is critical to supporting affected communities, according to a study by University of Alberta urban planning experts. “Our research shows we must expand our thinking beyond solely the physical aspects of climate change, and to instead design for the social effects of…
COVID-19 has made us realize that many people whose jobs are too important to be interrupted are the ones earning the least money
Almost everyone agrees that grocery store workers should earn better wages, especially during a pandemic. In Canada, their hourly rate hovers around $15 an hour. New hires get about $13 an hour, while the highest paid earn almost $50,000 annually, or about $25 an hour. In a high-volume, low-margin world, salaries are what they are.…
Someone said, ‘Greed is good’ and we repeated it. But the only thing that matters when you die is your legacy
I have to apologize to the youth of the world for the state we find ourselves in. Yes, great things have happened in my lifetime. We watched the fall of the Berlin Wall and we have taken some steps in the progress of human rights. But the legacy of the baby boomer generation leaves little…
The world’s problems are many, and the solutions require abrupt shifts and great sacrifice. But change is essential
The world is in crisis. After touching on some of the problems, I’ll list possible policy responses and suggest why humanity so far has failed to implement them. Time is short but I believe that at root, our obstacles are political, not lack of scientific knowledge. Problems Global warming and related extreme weather events, rising…