Categories
Opinion

Alberta oil extraction uses a lot of energy

Until that changes, it’ll be a challenge to reduce Alberta’s energy consumption, and by extension, its emissions.

Categories
Opinion

Why the private sector shouldn’t do public sector work

The main difference between a service performed by the public sector and the same service performed by the private sector is that the latter must generate a profit. That profit has 2 financial effects: it drives up prices or it drives down quality, which the purpose of either is to increase the profits generated. And […]

Categories
Opinion

Actually, homophobia is a fear

Often when I use the word homophobia—especially in spaces that aren’t exclusively leftist—someone challenges my usage, saying that it isn’t an accurate term, that it isn’t a true fear. Except I argue that the word homophobia actually does describe a real fear. People who express (or even feel) homophobia are afraid of what the presence […]

Categories
Opinion

Owning a business doesn’t make you an economist

Someone recently that I was wrong about my take on business owners and workers because I don’t own a business.

Categories
Opinion

Raising minimum wage doesn’t increase inflation

Opponents of raising the minimum wage sometimes argue that raising it will increase the costs for customers. That’s sort of true, but only in a microeconomic sense. In other words, if a single business has to increase the salaries of the employees and their profit margins are thin (or they don’t want to lose out […]

Categories
Opinion

Workers make the profit, workers get the profit

There’s no inherent right to profit if you start the business, particularly if you perform only a fraction of the labour.

Categories
Opinion

Cutting taxes is a ridiculous political strategy

It’s impossible to maintain service delivery if the cost of delivering that service and the number of people accessing it both increase, while also reducing tax revenue.

Categories
Opinion

Taxes are payment for services rendered

They’re not payment for future services, and certainly not benevolent gives from corporations and the wealthy.

Categories
Opinion

Why capitalists don’t care about low wages

Capitalists don’t care that for many people, wages aren’t high enough to sustain a decent lifestyle, one where you don’t have to worry about how you’ll pay your bills or where you next meal will come from. They don’t care that low wages reduces purchasing power of consumers. They don’t care that raising wages would […]

Categories
Opinion

Funding public services benefits us indirectly, too

I often hear people claim that their tax dollars shouldn’t go to this or that thing because they will never use it or they think it’s a waste of money.