Monthly Archives: September 2012

Food for thought on central banking

A well-written and thought-provoking text by Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr.: Twin Demons. Continue reading

Posted in Property Rights, Regulation, Role of Government, Taxation | 1 Comment

I want your money but not from your royalties.

BC Premier Christy Clark will be in Alberta next week, looking for money to boost her sagging electoral fortunes. Continue reading

Posted in Alberta, Energy | 2 Comments

The “bacon shortage” story is journalism at its shoddiest

Global bacon shortage ‘unavoidable.’ So read the headline on CBC’s website for one of the most poorly reported stories in recent memory. The actual story is that poor corn yields this year will push up feed prices, which will translate into higher costs for hog producers. This leaves the industry two options: produce less, or raise prices. While either scenario will lead to a decline in bacon consumption, neither will lead to a “shortage.” Continue reading

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Commonsense from Manitoba Liberal Leader Jon Gerrard

Listen to Jon Gerrard’s talk. You will hear the intellectual leadership that is sorely missing in Manitoba politics. Continue reading

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Excited new climate report cannot be taken seriously

For example, while some scientists do indeed give the sort of confident, absolute statements included in the Monitor report, some scientists say the exact opposite, namely that we are headed for far more dangerous global cooling no matter what humanity does. Many others simply say that we do not know the future of global climate and that we cannot make meaningful forecasts until there are considerable advances in the basic science. Continue reading

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Private Smoking Bans

Indoor public smoking bans are now common place, but health advocates continue to push for further and further restrictions on outdoor public areas, like playgrounds, parks, outdoor dining areas, etc, and have had some success in some cities. Continue reading

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Language matters in war

Politically correct but deceptive phrases such as “carbon tax” are dangerous because they influence millions of people and, ultimately, important government policy. Continue reading

Posted in Climate Change, Energy, Environment | 1 Comment

Plagiarism and Intent

Margaret Wente at the Globe is accused of plagiarising, but her woes pale in comparison to the ongoing problem in universities. Continue reading

Posted in Alberta, Education, Labour, Property Rights | 2 Comments

Video Preview

One of the projects I’m working on here at the Frontier Centre at the moment is a series of short videos for YouTube on education. Continue reading

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Globe series on African prosperity provides lessons for First Nations

The Globe and Mail is running an excellent six-part series called Africa Next, which reports on several case studies highlighting growing African prosperity. Apparently, investment has now outpaced foreign aid in that continent. That is certainly great news. However, some important … Continue reading

Posted in Aboriginal, Local Government, Poverty, Property Rights | Comments Off

Cigarette taxes are a disproportionate burden to the poor: (study)

A recent study documented the distributional effects of New York’s high cigarette taxes. The results are staggering: low income New Yorkers now spend nearly a quarter of their income on cigarettes. Continue reading

Posted in Regulation, Taxation | Comments Off

Quebec Student Group Will Now Push for Zero Tuition

This development was recently predicted by Frontier’s Peter McCaffrey, who wrote in the SUN chain of newspapers (and elsewhere) that Quebec student groups would be likely to move the goalposts further if the modest planned tuition rises were cancelled. Continue reading

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