Nanny State

The Traditional Census is Dying, and a Good Thing Too – July 22, 2010
America’s constitution requires it to conduct a shoe-leather census, which is why this year’s effort is going to cost it over $11 billion. The Finns, by contrast, spent about €1m ($1.2m) on their last one. That’s about $36 per head in America and 20 cents in Finland. Denmark has been keeping track of its citizens without a traditional census for decades; Sweden, Norway, Finland and Slovenia, among others, have similar systems. Germany will adopt the approach for its next count, also due in 2011.

Busybody Eurocrats and the new “Right” to Vacation – May 6, 2010
The EU recently announced a program to subsidize vacations for the old, the young and people with low incomes. This wasteful nanny-state policy uses taxes and manipulative subsidies to encourage people to spend their recreation dollars on tourism instead of other things they might like more.

It’s Always About Ann, Isn’t It? – March 29, 2010
No one has perfect knowledge, which is why trying to shut down Ann Coulter is a mistake.

Stoning Sacred Cows – March 16, 2010
t’s time to ask whether the amount of harm reduction we get from prohibiting cannabis is worth its negative side effects.

Zero Budget Growth – February 20, 2010
"Over the past hundred years, government has grown to gigantic proportions. It intervenes in almost every aspect of our lives."

The Gluttony of Governments – February 17, 2010
"One of the worst by-products -- among many -- of the rapid expansion of government in the past 50 years has been the politicization of everything, including aspects of personal daily life that government has no business in."

When Welfarism Takes Over, Disaster Will Follow – February 17, 2010
"The misery of Aboriginal Australia is a testament to the social disaster that results when the welfare state colonises responsibilities that are best held by individuals, families and local communities."

It’s Show Time! – October 19, 2009
Human “rights” commissions are long past being fixable. Barry Cooper explains why they should be shut down.

Whatever Happened to the Idea of Progress? – October 5, 2009
Risk-taking is essential to human progress, and the nanny state becomes a source of risk if it displaces resilience in human behaviour.

Canada’s “Schauprozess”—Show Trials – October 1, 2009
Canada’s Human Rights Commissions are akin to “show trials” that have long existed in other, less free countries and to which Canadians once thought we would always be immune. Dr. Barry Cooper from the University of Calgary, Cooper advises Americans to learn from Canada’s poor example on free speech, and for Canadians to both beware of and ridicule the “human rights” bodies that are now the proper object of scorn.

Media Release - Getting Rid of Canada’s Kangaroo Courts – October 1, 2009
New Frontier Centre report warns U.S. academics of Canada's injurious record on free speech.

How U.S. Protectionism is Killing Canada’s Livestock Producers – September 2, 2009
Canada’s livestock producers are being hurt badly by U.S. country of origin labeling regulations (COOL). Canada must continue to fight these regulations at the WTO.

Health And Safety Fears Are Making Britain A Safe Place For Extremely Stupid People – August 6, 2009
But the all-time triumph of the Royal Society for the Extremely Stupid – the sign that clinched it for them at this year's awards – was a big road sign that went up in Swansea. The English version said that this was a residential area and there was no entry for heavy goods vehicles. But it was the Welsh translation that represented a masterpiece of Extremely Stupid lobbying. This read: "Nid wyf yn y swyddfa ar hyn o bryd. Anfonwch unrhyw waith i'w gyfielthu." It was a few months before someone had the nerve to point out that this gnomic message meant: "I am not in the office at the moment. Send any work to be translated."

The Subjection of Women: 21st Century-Style – August 3, 2009
The recent alleged “honour killings” in Kingston, Ontario are an unpleasant reminder that the emancipation of women envisioned by John Stuart Mill in the 19th century are not yet a reality for many women around the world.

Throttling the Internet: Wholesale Service Providers and the CRTC – July 22, 2009
Proposals being studied by the CRTC that would allow large ISPs to “throttle” internet traffic are more about controlling competition than preventing internet congestion.

Neo-Nazi Hate, Courtesy of the Canadian Human Rights Commission and Your Tax Dollars – July 16, 2009
It just get wackier at Canada’s human rights commissions. In her summer attempt to defend so-called human rights commissions and tribunals from their detractors, the head of the Canadian Human Rights Commission. Too bad the chief commissioner is being disingenuous about what the CHRC has been up to.

Local Councils Become Instrument Of Nanny State – July 13, 2009
Compounding the problem of meddling councillors is the even more insidious practice of local bureaucrats weighing into the debate. Somehow these unelected local officials believe that they have a right to impose their world view on the citizenry.

Gay Activists Plus Conservative Pastor: Thank Government for the Unnatural Pairing – June 29, 2009
The wrongly-named "human rights" bodies need to be scrapped; the real courts should deal with claims of discrimination, and not the fake pretend bodies with their wide-ranging and too-often abused and unchecked powers.

In Defense of GDP – June 25, 2009
While GDP may not be perfect as a measurement, alternatives like the Canadian Index of Wellness are comparatively top-down and blunt.

US State Considers Relaxing Smoking Ban – May 29, 2009
Bars and restaurants say they have lost up to a quarter of their takings since the law came into force in 2007.