Musings of the Technical Bard » Canadian

Spend the $5 Billion to mitigate Climate Change

Taliesyn — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 03:07:08 +0000

Today, there was much in the news about the report by the National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy, which says that the effects of global warming could cost Canada $5 Billion dollars a year by 2020. If you read my post of January 2010, this would be a great deal! We should embrace …

Say No to More Stimulus

Taliesyn — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 05:11:34 +0000

As the state of the global economy declines, there are concerns in Canada that we too will slide into a second recession (the “double-dip”). There are also calls that the Government of Canada should consider further stimulus to “help cushion the economy”. This is a terrible idea. h/t to Kate at sda for this link …

On the State Funeral for Mr. Layton

Taliesyn — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 23:53:52 +0000

Unlike some commentators, I do not think it is inappropriate for the sitting leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition to be given a state funeral. Perhaps he did not hold the honorific “Right Honourable”, nor was he Prime Minister or Governor General. I do not believe that every opposition leader, nor every prime minister should …

Book Review: The Original Argument

Taliesyn — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 23:58:47 +0000

The Original Argument was not, as it leads one to believe from the cover, written by Glenn Beck. It was largely compiled by Joshua Charles, a student at the University of Kansas who heard Beck’s call for some to “translate” the Federalist Papers into modern English so more people could appreciate them. As far …

Santelli on the US Debt Ceiling

Taliesyn — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 03:23:41 +0000

Rick Santelli goes on a classic rant: He clearly points out that the US Government must start to live within the revenue it has, and not just reduce the growth in government spending, but actually reduce spending and come up with a real plan to balance the budget. The other folks in that vi deo …

Could be about Canadian Health care

Taliesyn — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 04:45:53 +0000

Small Dead Animals points us to an excellent column in the Telegraph, which points out that we need honesty and hard decisions on the health care system – and that while right leaning politicians know the right answer, they are too afraid to speak to us like adults. I raised this during the 2011 federal …

A Lesson for Canada’s Dairy Industry

Taliesyn — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 03:46:10 +0000

And for the Government of Canada. The Economist, in the Monday 20 June 2011 print edition, has an article on the success of New Zealand’s agricultural exports. Some 25 years ago, the NZ government, in a spate of government cuts, dismantled the supply management system that had coddled various agricultural businesses for decades. The result? …

Rescind duties/taxes at the border

Taliesyn — Thu, 12 May 2011 18:31:01 +0000

Matt Gurney has a good column in the National Post. But he fails to point out the most obvious reason to rescind these duties/and taxes. It costs more to enforce and collect them than it is worth to the state. CBSA collects a small sum, estimated by some to be less than $200 million dollars …

The Risk of an NDP government

Taliesyn — Sun, 01 May 2011 02:41:09 +0000

The polls this week shifted dramatically this week, with the Liberals falling below 20% support and the NDP surging above 30% for the first time in history. The trajectory of the polls was indicating a possibility that the NDP would pass the Conservatives by Monday’s vote, but that appears unlikely as the key base of …

On Corporate Taxes

Taliesyn — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 05:09:02 +0000

In the 2011 Election, the Liberals and NDP have tried to claim that the Tories drive to reduce corporate taxes is not necessary, and trot out socialist economists to claim that “lower corporate taxes do not create jobs”. It is interesting to see then that in other countries, there is concern over high corporate tax …