Monthly Archives: March 2009

One of the small joys of my job, and by joys I mean “things that keep me from being driven insane by political idiocy” is the press releases that come to me via the Parliamentary Press Gallery. I enjoy the … Continue reading →

A New York Times story this morning on the state budget deal to eliminate a huge deficit (big tax hikes, pork barrel spending and spending up 8.7 per cent in a stellar display of restraint) ends its first paragraph by … Continue reading →

Government budgets are full of ponderous rhetoric about prudent choices. But leave aside the generally unjustified tone of self-congratulation for a minute and concentrate on the implicit claim that such documents reflect important choices by important people with important consequences. … Continue reading →

A picture is worth a thousand words on the subject of federalism and tax harmonization, at least if it’s today’s Globe and Mail editorial cartoon.

Somewhere in Yes, Minister Sir Humphrey Appleby and a colleague explain the four-stage bureaucratic response to a foreign crisis. First, deny that anything is happening. Next, admit something is happening but say it doesn’t matter. Third, admit that it is … Continue reading →