We have to start demanding that politicians start making some tough choices
Fifty-seven thousand dollars. That’s the average amount each Canadian will owe in provincial and federal government debt by the end of the year. It’s not just the rich or big corporations that will be mopping up this budget mess if politicians don’t take some air out of their bloated budgets. Politicians are already starting to…
Rising prices may be increasing their allure but there are considerable risks
The value of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and others recently hit new record highs, in the thousands of dollars per unit. This escalation has attracted more speculators, further boosting prices over the past several months. Much of this is the result of investors fearing they will miss out on a chance to profit. While…
The decentralization genie is out of the bottle
Underneath all the media brouhaha and institutional focus on bitcoin, a struggle is brewing in the crypto world: which altcoin will pick up the baton? A fierce competition is underway for the podium, with Ethereum having a clear first-mover advantage. Bitcoin, as economists and investors such as Larry Summers and Ray Dalio have come around…
There is no subsidy pot of gold going to oil and gas companies that can be diverted to renewable energy ventures
By Mark Milke and Lennie Kaplan Canadian Energy Centre When the issue of taxpayer subsidies for energy comes up – oil and gas and renewables alike – the public, policy-makers and media could be forgiven if they feel like they’re drowning. Endless decimal points and numbers that run into the trillions can make it near…
Before our fiscal house falls to pieces
There’s only so many times that you can superglue the same broken mug back together, and there’s only so much debt a country can pile up before there are serious consequences. COVID-19 subsidies were always supposed to be temporary and now it’s time for the feds to set a concrete end date to all this…
MacKenzie Scott's fuzzy criticisms of capitalism
By Bradley Doucet and Miguel Ouellette Montreal Economic Institute Allow us to join in the chorus of praise for the charitable giving of MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who announced last month that she had given away another $2,739,000,000 to 286 organizations. Private philanthropy is part of what makes the world…
Most Canadians live beyond their means
Most Canadians are living beyond their means, with a debt-to-income ratio of 181 per cent. More than half are within $200 of not being able to cover their bills and loan payments. These kinds of statistics make Faculty of Education professor Damien Cormier uneasy and prompted him to launch a research project to boost financial literacy in young…
What you tax more of, you get less of
Calls by self-identified progressives and others who purport to champion equity, compelling everyone to pay their fair share, have grown louder and more strident. It seems these social justice warriors have discovered previously unknown inner fiscal conservatism, with their usual zeal for redistribution and punishment for those who they deem have excessive wealth. It’s wealth…
A global minimum corporate tax is a 20th-century solution imposed on the 21st-century, where the digital realm is disrupting taxation
World leaders should resist U.S. pressure to enact a global minimum corporate tax, despite a recent move by the G7 countries to adopt the plan. It would harm corporations, small companies, workers and consumers while discouraging investment and wealth creation. If anything, the world needs more competition for post-pandemic recovery. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s…
But what does that mean for consumers and suppliers?
Regenerative agriculture is making some noise of late – so much so that some companies are making it a priority. Foods, the world’s largest producer of french fries, just committed to limiting its climate footprint, saying all its french fries will come from farms using regenerative agriculture by 2030. For consumers, this is supposed to…