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Shockproofing Canada: We can make masks and ventilators, but we can’t make drugs needed to treat COVID-19

Friday, April 17th, 2020

“That’s the problem with stockpiles… You end up sitting on millions of dollars in drugs and equipment. Then you have to keep replacing it. And which ones do you stockpile?” The alternative, then, would be to expand production capacities for pharmaceuticals and medical supplies at home, but that’s more complicated than it might seem… Countries such as Canada will have to each find their own balance between self-reliance and international cooperation…

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Posted in Policy Context | No Comments »

Hollywood needs new script: the rich don’t marry the poor

Saturday, February 12th, 2011

February 11, 2011
… the wealthier or poorer a person’s parents are, the greater the chances that he or she will marry someone from the same financial background, according to a new study… And the results didn’t change much when the researchers adjusted for education and race… Interestingly, wealth affected the success of marriages as well. The richer a woman’s parents were, the more likely her marriage was to fail, irrespective of how wealthy her husband’s family is.

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Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »

In Sweden, pension problems are so 1989

Sunday, January 23rd, 2011

January 21, 2011
… Sweden scrapped its traditional defined benefit pension for what’s called a “notional defined contribution” plan… tied to the national per capita real wage growth… Swedes contribute 18.5 per cent of their pay to the system: 16 per cent to the NDC and 2.5 per cent to a private account where money is invested in mutual funds of their choice. The public pension is… responsible for 75 per cent of the average monthly benefit for men at 17,000 Swedish kronor ($2,562 U.S.) and women at 12,000 kronor. The rest comes from occupational pensions negotiated between companies and unions.

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