This from the CBC Canada’s ‘housing bubble’ deemed close to bursting It would seem that more people than just Chris Horlacher can see the writing on the wall. Canada’s housing market is in a bubble that’s set to burst and
Archive for June, 2011
A Few Glances at Government
The OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) has just published a report entitled, Governments at a Glance 2011 (a summarized version is available here)Â Â It provides a statistical overview of what the thirty or so states (it’s actually 34, but
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CUPW and the Curse of Machinery
“King Ludd”, Leader of the Luddites. All he needs is a mailbag! The Canadian Union of Postal Workers recently proposed that “[i]nstead of replacing antiquated community mailboxes, the Corporation should provide door-to-door delivery”, in order to, among other things,
What me Worry?
From the Financial Post Canada posted its highest inflation jump in eight years in May, and the stronger-than-expected rise now poses a dilemma for the Bank of Canada three weeks ahead of its interest-rate meeting next month. Consumer prices were
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Grade Inflation at Canadian Schools
A very interesting piece by Amanda Achtman over at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy Blog Last week I attended the convocation of a friend of mine at a local liberal arts institution offering Bachelor of Education degrees. Their program
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In Defense of the Drug Pusher
In honour of The International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking we are republishing Chapter 4 from Walter Block’s classic, Defending the Undefendable. Most recently published by the Ludwig von Mises Institute in 2008. Available online at mises.org. Available for purchase
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Blessed are the Gold Bugs, for They Shall Inherit the Earth
As I write this, the Dow Jones Industrial Average costs about 8 ounces of gold. You may wonder why I’m not using the value that it’s normally quoted in. The reason why is very simple. The DJIA is measured in
What Hazlitt Would Have Thought About Greece
The Greek parliament is now debating an austerity and privatization program that the troika made up of the EU, ECB, and IMF is demanding in exchange for a second bailout. Outside the Greek parliament in Syntagma Square, the protests will
Kids Noting Property Rights
My two year old nephew has a habit of telling his onlookers that a certain object, say a toy or  a ball,  is “mine”. What makes this interesting is that it cannot be chalked off to the self-absorption of youth.
What Explains Crystal Meth?
In honour of The International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking we are republishing Mark Thornton’s great piece on Crystal Meth - originally published on Mises.org, Thursday, January 20, 2011 Most people have never really met crystal meth; sure,
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The game changed on Thursday, June 23rd
Read this article in pdf format: june-27-2011 Thursday, June 23rd, 2011 was a day of infamy: The International Energy Agency surprised the world by announcing that 60MM barrels of oil would be released over 30 days, as an answer to
Senate Sallies
Harkening back to his roots in the Reform Party, Stephen Harper has tabled a plan to reform the Senate. The opposition NDP has responded by reiterating its position that the Senate should just be abolished. Neither side, unfortunately, has an adequate
A Free Market Libertarian History of Canada? George Woodcock’s failed effort, at 30.
In stark contrast to that all-too-Canadian tradition of Canadian–focused scholarship being funded by the Canadian state, through various government subsidy programs, I am attempting to execute a free market approach to funding my efforts at writing a free market libertarian
Mises Circle Calgary – Liberty and Oil: the Foundations of Modern Civilization
With the dawn of the Industrial Revolution humankind harnessed the power of fossil fuels to radically increase the productivity of Humanity and unleashed the creativity of the Human mind. Join the Ludwig von Mises Institute of Canada for our very
Some Advantages of Austrian Economics in the Defence of Markets
What are the potential benefits in being familiar with Austrian economics? This is the question that I hope to at least partially answer here. I study economics at the Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of
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The Canadian Moral Hazard Corporation
On January 17, 2011 Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and Natural Resource Minister Christian Paradis announced that they would be making ‘prudent adjustments’ to the rules for government-backed mortgages.[ref]http://www.fin.gc.ca/n11/11-003-eng.asp[/ref] The press release was laden with the usual self-congratulatory fanfare and statements
A Libertarian Take on Vancouver’s Hockey Riot
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson has issued a statement, expressing his “disappointment†with the mindless looting and violence. Vancouver, he said, “is a world class city.†SorryMayor. But it’s not. Vancouver, what a disgrace. Brian Hutchinson, National Post Okay, first, enough
Competition in Mail Delivery: An Idea Whose Time Has Come
Originally Published in the Mid-Atlantic Journal of Business Studies, Fall, 1989. Now that the latest round in the perennial strike of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) against the public is ended, this gives us an opportunity to reflect
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