John Rustad and Kevin Falcon talk about red tape reduction, but the real goal is deregulation, something demanded by their business sponsors. But regulations are vital tools for improving our day-to-day lives. These promote trust, predictability, and stability. Regulations exist to protect consumers from unsafe products and unfair business practices such as collusion and price-fixing. They exist to protect public health and safety and the environment…
For years, BC Opposition Leader Kevin Falcon demanded “red tape” reductions. Under Premier Gordon Campbell, Falcon spent more than two and one-half years as Minister of State for Deregulation. His effort were joined by right-wing business interests such as the Canadian Federation of Independent Business…
A Boston Globe report ought to interest Canadians because the Massachusetts experience improves understanding of how regulators who do not believe in regulation work hand-in-hand with industry…
When a new government takes office, there is often a significant change at senior levels of the civil service and among OIC political appointments. One person still employed by the Horgan government may surprise more than a few people.
From RossK, The Gazetteer, A New Market For A New White Powder: …it has become religion among conservatives to denounce regulation, saying it stifles business and hinders economic growth. But consider: At […]
With the death toll at 35 42 47 and rising, Quebec’s Lac-Mégantic oil train disaster is not just tragedy, it is corporate crime. At the root is eagerness of big business to take ever […]
According to The Guardian’s George Monbiot, after each of the richest 100 people gained an average of $2.4 billion in 2012, they now hold wealth near equivalent to the United Kingdom’s GDP. […]
When governing parties are controlled by big business, agents shuffle back and forth between the regulated and the regulators. Now, faux capitalists are so confident in their right to rule, they drop […]
Terrance Heath writes a story of frequent and ruinous power outages in territory served by The Potomac Electric Power Company, a utility supplying electricity to Washington, D.C. and surrounding communities in Maryland. […]
Government Press Release, January 2012: Finance Minister Kevin Falcon has won the Canadian Federation of Independent Business Golden Scissors award for cutting red tape for business by more than 40% … I […]
Liberals have been bulldozing barriers and slashing red tape for more than a decade. Who can forget: “Red Tape Reduction Task Force” of 2001 to recommend priorities for the elimination of regulations […]
Dr. David Schindler, University of Alberta: Every year that you can get away with lack of regulation, is a few billion more bucks in your pocket. After 40 years, I’m pretty sick […]
Humanists associate Dick Cheney with war crimes but his legacy of malevolence is broader. In 2005, the U.S. Congress passed legislation exempting hydraulic fracturing from oversight under the Safe Drinking Water Act. […]
Several years ago the Fraser Institute spearheaded a drive to deregulate Canadian banks so they could act more like U.S. banks. That potential disaster was in line with the Fraser Institute objective […]
American news writer Michelle Chen, in Washington’s Anti-Regulatory Crusade, notes, “. . . politicians in both parties, including the White House, have claimed that scaling back regulations would unleash economic growth, suggesting […]
Whether Gas is Cleaner than Coal, Abraham Lustgarten, ProPublica: In January, a ProPublica investigation found that large amounts of “fugitive” emissions were left out of common comparisons between coal and gas and […]
From the Center for American Progress: The oil and natural gas lobby is working hard to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from establishing safeguards to protect the public from chemicals used to […]
The Auditor General of BC today reinforced warnings raised repeatedly at In-Sights about the inadequacies of oversight and regulation in the northeast oil and gas industry. Mainstream media in this province have […]
Paul Kamon‘s foodie site Urban Diner is great for news about local dining. At the UD Forum, most participants are professionals, including owners, chefs, servers and other industry insiders and suppliers. There are […]
Risk, Radiation and Regulation, by Nancy Folbre, Economics Professor, University of Massachusetts The New York Times, March 18, 2011 Early warnings about potential nuclear dangers in Japan and about Wall Street’s propensity […]
Among the special advantages granted to billionaires? They can create monopolies which politicians will both subsidize and protect. Are domestic…
You mention investing. Anybody remember Canada Savings Bonds? Seventy years ago it offered people worried about becoming destitute pensioners a…
A huge fan of long-eclipsed Russian military glory, Mr. Putin expected Ukraine to collapse in 3 days. Three years ago.…
One thing I think people forget is - it became a good idea to invest in real estate as an…
in-sights.ca 
Blair Fix at _Economics from the Top Down_ also wrote two very good papers on the converion of housing into…