And now, from the This-Is-The-Best-Thing-I’ve-Read-All-Week department, an open letter sent by Bob Rae to Stephen Harper. Just let me quote two little bits, which should be enough to get you to go read it. First, from the beginning: I am writing you in my former role as Deficit Poster Boy and Punching Bag. This title was bequeathed to me by… Read more →
Tag: economy
How Did I Miss This?
Well, apparently I missed this year’s Massey Lectures. Quite a change from last year, when I was even part of the broadcast, eh? This may be in part because this year’s lecturer was Margaret Atwood, and I have a deep-seated and utterly irrational dislike of the woman. (I’m not saying that it’s irrational to dislike her, just that my particular… Read more →
And so it begins
So, on the one hand we have Harper making speeches about how this isn’t the time for Conservatives to be ideological, and how they need to govern “for all the people”… Conservatives must put ideology aside as they prepare to weather looming economic challenges facing the country, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday. … Harper told Conservatives they must be… Read more →
Aside
You know, watching all this news about the U.S. financial crisis, I’m forced to wonder if Osama isn’t winning after all.
Microfinance, Aggregation, Kiva
One of those concepts that most North Americans don’t run into everyday is that of microfinance. You can read about it at the link, but in a nutshell it’s the idea that even “poor” people need access to financial services. One particular area where this is true is financing for the small–by North American standards–loans that entrepreneurs in third world… Read more →
On Shortages, Mostly Food
I read a lot of news. I read magazines. I follow news blogs. I make a very concerted effort to keep up with what’s going on in the world, and to get the information from several perspectives. And yet somehow I’ve found myself thinking, quite frequently, over the last month that this whole “food shortage” thing somehow “snuck up” on… Read more →
The Next Slum?
The Next Slum? Arthur C. Nelson, director of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech, has looked carefully at trends in American demographics, construction, house prices, and consumer preferences. In 2006, using recent consumer research, housing supply data, and population growth rates, he modeled future demand for various types of housing. The results were bracing: Nelson forecasts a likely surplus of… Read more →
If I Were Him, I’d Just Be Saying “Told You So” All Day Long
Just for fun, let’s look at what Paul Krugman wrote five years ago. Snippet one, concerning the U.S. finances: Meanwhile, consider this: we need $400 billion a year of foreign investment to cover our trade deficit, or the dollar will plunge and our surging budget deficit will become much harder to finance — and there are already signs that the… Read more →
Understanding How Greed Hosed The Economy Again
If you had trouble following the last presentation I linked to that explained the subprime crisis and how it’s affecting the broader investment community, then you don’t have a chance with the NYT piece that attempts to take on the same task. If you could handle the stick figures though, you might want to give the piece a try. It… Read more →
Lazy Sunday Links
So, last night we had a ridiculously out of season snowstorm, which dropped almost a foot of snow on us over night. Yes, I am writing this on Easter weekend. Yes, it is April. And yet still I saw this when I looked out the window this morning: The one upside of this is that I got to go out… Read more →
