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Censoring free speech breaks faith with Canadians. Don’t go there
Tuesday, June 4th, 2019
The argument against censorship, even when labelled a hate speech ban, is not that its targets are always noble sentiments that only upset idiots and the hypersensitive. It is that in the battle of ideas truth will prevail, and that preventing the airing of ideas undermines truth and decency… freely elected governments almost never try to silence popular opinions… It is a perilous thing to arrogate to yourself the power to silence ideas you find disagreeable.
Tags: crime prevention, ideology, participation, rights
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Tax breaks the same as spending
Tuesday, January 17th, 2012
Jan. 14, 2012
… the main appeal of loopholes to politicians isn’t what they do for culture, the economy or fairness but for re-election prospects… Loopholes amount to nearly 60% of net revenue. If all this were counted as the spending it really is, instead of dishonestly entered as a frugal, small-government reduction in revenue, federal budgets would top $350 billion, a quarter over their on-paper $280 billion. And if it didn’t exist, personal income tax rates could be slashed by a third. (The 67 corporate ones worth about $26 billion, against just over $30 billion in net revenue, are even worse.)
Tags: budget, ideology, tax
Posted in Governance Policy Context | No Comments »
We need to move away from public housing
Tuesday, September 27th, 2011
September 24, 2011
Even those willing to trust the poor with a welfare cheque for other basics do not think it wise to hand them the down payment on a house, or even the monthly rent on a decent apartment. Hence the impulse to furnish housing more directly… if someone else owns your home you gain little from looking after it. Trash it and the state will find you another one; take care of it and you gain nothing… Living on the public dime teaches only helplessness, resentment and anger.
Tags: budget, economy, homelessness, housing, ideology, standard of living
Posted in Inclusion Policy Context | No Comments »
What crime statistics don’t tell you
Monday, February 14th, 2011
February 13, 2011
When citizens increasingly do not bother to report crimes or, worse, are afraid to do so, it gives a falsely reassuring picture of the state of law and order in Canada. It is also troubling evidence of an erosion of citizens’ faith in the competence and compassion of their government when it comes to the criminal justice system. When misinterpreted as proof that citizens are loud ignoramuses, this statistical distortion further contributes to that erosion.
Tags: crime prevention, standard of living
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »
Tear down the economic barriers
Wednesday, June 30th, 2010
Jun. 29, 2010
What this country needs is a legislated Economic Charter of Rights for Canadians laying out our right to be welcome economically throughout our national home while respecting our constitutional division of powers, backed by an Economic Freedom Commission able to investigate breaches of the charter and litigate over them on behalf of small businesses and individuals who can’t afford to sue provincial authorities with bottomless pockets… The horde of petty restrictions on our right to buy, sell and work freely throughout Canada is pointlessly harmful to prosperity.
Tags: economy, ideology, standard of living
Posted in Debates | No Comments »
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