On Agricultural Subsidies

The Economist published a very interesting table today, showing that farmers in Canada get a LARGER portion of their income from government support than in the United States.  It is still significantly lower than the EU's generous agricultural supports, however.



This should make all people in Canada who claim that our southern neighbour is too blame for farmer's woes.   The real answer is to remove the subsidies and price controls and let the free market settle the issue of farming economics.

Price Controls on Labour

This is a very good article describing why minimum wages and labour laws that improve worker "security" are very bad for the economy.  Recommended reading from the Mises Institute.
Price Controls on Labor

McGuinty almost got it right this time...

Dalton McGuinty has a good idea but doesn't get the implementation right:
McGuinty floats using GST to fix fiscal imbalance

McGuinty wants Ottawa to collect the GST and then send a bunch of the money to the provinces for programs. I have a better idea. Ottawa should CUT the GST (or even better, income taxes), and let the provinces raise their PSTs or income taxes to cover their so-called fiscal imbalance. The money moves to the provincial governments. It's what the premiers want. But it forces the premiers to go to their electorate and say "we are raising your taxes"

The government that spends the money and delivers the programs should be the one to raise the revenue.

Teaching Basic Economics to Fifth Graders

Below is a link that gives a good example of the kinds of things we should be teaching in our primary schools to ensure that classical liberal ideas such as the free-market and individual choice are well understood by our children.  This can also help innoculate the young from being taught "bad economics" by socialists as they get older...

Teaching Basic Economics to Fifth Graders

Another mistake by the SCOC

This decision is ridiculous:

Supreme Court rules in landmark case

The Court is trying to have it both ways.  Parliament said divorce was no-fault and specifically instructed the courts not to consider the behaviour of the spouses.   This isn't a charter or constitutional case - The Court should not override the wishes of Parliament.

Gore is wrong on climate change

Al Gore continues the scaremongering with regard to climate change and Canadians should not be sucked in by his new movie:
Scientists respond to Gore's warnings of climate catastrophe

McGuinty's Nuclear Ambitions

Ontario wants Ottawa to guarantee reactors' costs

Dalton: The answer is NO.  You are the one choosing to shutdown your existing coal fired power plants and replacing them with nuclear.  The federal government did not impose this.  The taxpayers of Ontario should carry the burden of your decisions, not the taxpayers of all the other provinces.  Would you support a federal government guarantee on the cost of the oil sands plants if it meant higher federal taxes for Ontarians?  I don't think so.

If you want a better nuclear power plant with better cost outcomes, put the project out for competitive bid.  Lump sum turnkey would be the best choice.  Let the various nuclear technologies fight it out in a competitive marketplace.  This will provide the best result.

The downside of job security

Neil Reynolds uses the current evidence from around the world to show that government imposed "job security" provisions are detrimental to business hiring people and reducing unemployment.

Protecting workers right out of a job

Freidrich Hayek pointed this out in The Road to Serfdom in 1944.  Why do governments (and the people - such as in France) still not get it???

On Terrorism in Canada

I am sure that everyone has heard that the RCMP and CSIS have apprehended 17 people in Toronto, Kingston and Mississauga who were plotting terror attacks in Ontario. These suspects had three (3) tonnes of ammonium nitrate which would make for a very big bang.

The suspects are all of Arab descent and the indication is that many of them were Canadian-born or at least had gained citizenship at some point.

To me, this is an indication that we need to have better control over immigration and citizenship to ensure that the people we let in ACCEPT our post-enlightenment freedom loving society. And for those born here, we need to institute Civics classes in the public schools with a clear message to our children what the values of the country are. And I don't mean those fluffy socialist values that the NDP and Liberal party would have you believe are important. We need to ensure our children understand the battle that has gone on since the 17th century that provides us with the freedoms we sometimes take for granted.

I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of my copy of "Socialism" by Ludwig von Mises, in which he apparently presents the best arguments against socialism ever published (and I thought Hayek's "The Road to Serfdom" was excellent!