Universities have become scary places for any student who doesn’t share the views of the minority
Universities have changed drastically since the beginning of the 20th century. And more change is needed. Universities had already evolved from their role as places where sons (not daughters) of the wealthy and noble could acquire some of the traditional culture needed to retain their status in the leadership positions they were destined for. Practical…
Dealing with only one side of an issue – whether it’s migrating fish or electric cars – can generate more problems than it solves
Economists often talk about over-constrained problems. These are situations where there are so many goals to be reached and/or so many limitations that it’s impossible to find a solution that meets all requirements. Contrast this with advice often given to politicians to never talk about anything that can’t be fully described on a bumper sticker.…
Let’s fix what needs fixing but appreciate what we have
I celebrated Canada Day. I took the day off from work. I wore red and white. I enjoyed a barbecue with friends. I’m very glad I live in Canada. Sad, tragic things have happened in Canada. A catastrophic event has been defined as one where little children die and we’re uncovering evidence of such catastrophes…
Wind and solar power won't magically eliminate the threats to our environment
Baruch Spinoza, a 17th-century philosopher, said the future and anything we can say about it is imaginary. He was right. Despite our best efforts to foresee what the future will bring, we really don’t know what is forthcoming until the future becomes the present. The challenge of climate change has focused our attention on what…
Available workers are rarer than openings now. Smart business people will start making adjustments so we can all enjoy some prosperity
At last we’re beginning to see beyond the pandemic to a return to more normal times. Businesses are reopening. Corporations have capital to invest and are starting to do so. Thanks to government support during the pandemic, many people have savings to spend. The combination of a liberation from lockdown and all these available funds…
People who don’t have yards or nearby open spaces should come before bicyclists
Vancouver city council is considering a motion this week to turn sections of Granville Street and Commercial Drive into European-style pedestrian-friendly malls by reducing or eliminating automobile access. This is described as putting people over cars. Reducing car traffic leads to cleaner air and quieter neighbourhoods – good things. Some local businesses will benefit. But…
What we need are carefully targeted programs specifically aimed at dealing with the issues that keeps people in poverty
In a country as rich as Canada, no one should have to be hungry or homeless. We do have people who can’t provide for themselves and we rely on the government to provide a floor below which Canadians can’t fall. We have to remember that this support comes from us, the taxpayers, so we need…
But don’t bet on seeing a balanced budget, let alone one in surplus
For the first time in more than two years, the federal government is bringing down a budget today (April 19). So let’s look at what the budget should do to best serve Canada, its people and our economy. The first function of any budget is to compare expected income and expenditures. In a balanced budget,…
The state wants non-U.S. cruise ships to be allowed to go straight from continental U.S. ports to Alaska, cutting out B.C. entirely
You may think British Columbia has a cruise ship industry because of our great location, marvellous climate and amazing attractions, natural or otherwise. You would be wrong. We have a cruise industry here because of actions by the United States 100 years ago to put America first. The U.S. wanted to ensure that it had…
We'll likely be able to celebrate a more normal December holiday season in 2021. The hard part's getting there
We’ve just marked (I won’t say celebrated) the first anniversary of the pandemic. And we have a long way to go – but we need to stay diligent. A year ago, when it was just starting, most of us expected that the resulting fear, uncertainties and restrictions would be over in a few weeks. As…
In calling an election, the Liberal government would be putting politics before the well-being of voters
Here are some good reasons why we shouldn’t be considering a federal election now. I offer them with some trepidation. Just prior to the last British Columbia provincial election call, I was writing down some reasons why I thought a B.C. election wasn’t a good idea at the time. Alas, the writ was dropped even…
The pandemic has presented us with many new difficulties that we’re struggling to manage. It has also pushed to the forefront some long-standing challenges that we’ve not dealt with in the past and have become even more problematic in the time of COVID-19. One ongoing problem that the pandemic has made much more serious and…
Reducing our dependence on any one particular market or supplier makes us much less vulnerable to arbitrary and unfair treatment
“It’s not fair!” How often have parents heard this loud, angry declaration from young children at any real or perceived injustice? Children have an innate sense of fairness that demands to be respected. Hence the practice of asking one child to divide a piece of cake and the other to choose first. Fairness has become…
All political parties major contributors to the current situation of confrontation and violence
Politics and the COVID-19 pandemic have led to continuing confrontations and unprecedented uncertainties in the United States. The U.S. is still important enough that these events are reflected beyond its borders, leaving many longing for a return to a more stable situation and for the peace, order and good government, which are Canada’s ideals. Demonstrations,…
The good news? Pandemic under control. The bad news? Very slow growth, high debt, higher taxes, high unemployment
The future is imaginary, said philosopher Baruch Spinoza. We don’t and can’t know what will happen in the future and last year certainly demonstrated that. Nevertheless, the desire to see what the new year will bring always overcomes the future’s inherent mystery. We peer into our crystal balls and bravely prognosticate, knowing full well that…
Vancouver is considering a tax on vehicles entering the downtown. It may well reduce pollution, but at what cost?
One definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing and expecting different results. Another definition might be to do something different and not expect any changes. We all have a tendency to do this. For example, we get married and wonder why we no longer have the same services we had in our…
Hugs would be best, but we’re not there yet. So make someone smile
Hope is on the horizon. Soon at least one anti-COVID-19 vaccine is likely to be available and we can start to put the pandemic and its problems behind us. However, between then and now, we face an isolated holiday season and a locked down winter. In the face of that, what can we do to…
Human capital enables us to develop or make use of all other forms of capital. There are several kinds of capital. Mentioned most often are investments in buildings, machinery, equipment and infrastructure that enable us to be productive, and the financial assets that represent them. Natural capital is now getting more attention – that’s the…
A better future awaits if we use this period of uncertainty to work on our mental, physical and career well-being
Dread isn’t too strong a word to describe the feelings many have about the winter about to start. The COVID-19 virus is reason enough to worry. There’s not much individuals can do about that except follow all the good advice about staying safe. However, there are two other major depressing impacts of COVID-19 that we…
Governments tend to forget about consumers when managing supply. Open trade to more cheese and challenge our farmers
Cheese heads – it’s what Canadians are called in many of the United States border regions. It’s because when many Canadians visit their American neighbours, they head straight to the nearest supermarket and buy cheese – and milk and eggs. Dairy and eggs are much more expensive in Canada than in the U.S., even when…
If the European Union with 27 very diverse countries and several languages can do it, why can't Canada?
COVID-19 is still running rampant in many countries, is accelerating in Quebec and Ontario and has recently hospitalized the president of the United States. But in British Columbia, we’re hoping we can avoid a second wave this winter. We’re starting to turn our attention from immediate medical issues to the longer term challenge that the…
Elections will turn us away from dealing with the real issues. And we don't seem to have the means to conduct safe voting
We would really like to have many things right now, even though the prospect of getting them any time soon is rather low. A vaccine against COVID-19 is likely at the top of the list. A bit more certainty about our work and social prospects is probably a close second. Instead of dealing with the…
Move away from false statements and over-generalizations and recognize everyone as individuals
Racism exists in Vancouver. How much, how bad and how widespread it is we can debate. That there are other places where the situation is much worse we can agree. But we still have room to improve here. In case there’s any doubt, Fairchild TV has produced two videos (here and here) documenting expressions of…
Offer to do what needs to be done on a contract basis. Since there’s no long-term commitment, it’s easier for the employer to agree
Summer ends, September approaches. Schools may be opening or closing or something in between – even though the ads for back-to-school sales have been conspicuously fewer than usual. As the days shorten, our thoughts reluctantly turn from beaches, picnics and holidays to getting back to work. Perhaps you, like so many others, are out of…
A government deficit is sometimes necessary but we need plans in place to eliminate it and reduce the debt
Deficits have become emotive hot buttons. A deficit arises when governments spend more than their income, which consists mainly of taxes. If the deficiency is not immediately covered, current deficits turn into long-term government debt. No one seems to be neutral about deficits and the resulting debt. Traditional economists argue against them, saying that spending…
We are too dependent on two of our top three customers: the U.S. and China. And both of these are increasingly hostile
Canada relies on exports. In any given year, about 45 per cent of our economy is in foreign trade. For much of the past, our exports have been mainly in the agriculture and resources sectors. These are still important, but services (think international education), manufactured goods (e.g. Lululemon clothing) and technology (e.g. the Canadarm robotic…
Foreign students spent about $23.6 billion in Canada last year and much of that income will be lost as a result of COVID-19
Some industries are obvious victims of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic downturn. Everybody knows that businesses in the travel and hospitality sector, especially at the international level, have taken a serious if not lethal blow. Even with government aid, airlines, cruise ships, hotels and tourist attractions will have great difficulty rebuilding and even…
It not only generates jobs in the short term, but results in greater productivity, employment and tax dollars in the future
How the economy will be rebuilt in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic is a major concern for us all. There are many unknowns, making the near future and the years ahead even murkier than usual. So uncertain is Canada’s federal government about economic and financial prospects that it’s not producing a budget, or even…
Regardless of how COVID-19 plays out, post-secondary institutions won’t go back to full-frontal classroom instruction
We still don’t know much about how the pandemic will affect our lives through the rest of 2020 and into 2021. But some things, like the impact on post-secondary education, are certain. As new and continuing post-secondary students are already aware, their education in the 2020-21 academic year will be delivered mainly, if not entirely,…
We’re still far from solving the problem of the pervasive pandemic that has overturned aspects of our lives in ways we never imagined. It has made a mockery of everything we thought we had some control over, from our mental stability to our monetary security. After months of lockdown limitations, we’re no closer to the…
Universities have changed drastically since the beginning of the 20th century. And more change is needed. Universities had already evolved from their role as places where sons (not daughters) of the wealthy and noble could acquire some of the traditional culture needed to retain their status in the leadership positions they were destined for. Practical…
