Do you know anyone who has recently bought a house with less than 20% down? I know a few myself, young twenty somethings with decent but not great income, who’ve decided to take the dive. And why not? Qualifying for a mortgage is easy, and if you’re not good enough
Continue readingTag: economy
Canadian Soapbox: CREA projects average house prices to dip
The Canadian Real Estate Association is predicting that the national average for house prices will drop in 2012, but not by much. I wouldn’t put too much stock in such forecasts though, before the U.S. housing market cratered so called experts were out to lunch on their predictions south of
Continue readingRandom Ranting Raving and Ratings: Government moving forward on proposed unsolicited credit card cheque ban
The government announced that it will be introducing legislation to ban the practice of Credit Cards sending unsolicited “cheques” in the mail. I’m all for that! First the cheques themselves are treated like cash advances and begin accumulating interest as soon as they clear so it is better… ..
Continue readingRandom Ranting Raving and Ratings: Government moving forward on proposed unsolicited credit card cheque ban
The government announced that it will be introducing legislation to ban the practice of Credit Cards sending unsolicited “cheques” in the mail.
I’m all for that! First the cheques themselves are treated like cash advances and begin accumulating inte…
Random Ranting Raving and Ratings: Government moving forward on proposed unsolicited credit card cheque ban
The government announced that it will be introducing legislation to ban the practice of Credit Cards sending unsolicited “cheques” in the mail. I’m all for that! First the cheques themselves are treated like cash advances and begin accumulating interest as soon as they clear so it is better to… ..
Continue readingPolitics and Entertainment: Peak Everything and a Perpetual No Growth Economy
Many heterodox economists and post-carbon researchers – most notably Richard Heinberg in several books but particularly in his seminal The End of Growth and Chris Martenson in The Crash Course – have recognized that, among other lesser causes, because of peak oil, the core source of energy that has been
Continue readingThings Are Good: Diversity is Good for the Economy
The benefits of having a diverse workplace and a diverse community are obvious, but it always helps if some researchers back up these common-sense positions with helpful facts and demonstrated success. For those who champion diversity initiatives you’ll be pleased to know that a diverse workforce can mean $630 more
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Afternoon Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – The revelations just keep on coming in Robocon, to the point where the news of an offensively-named burner cellphone account used to leave fraudulent messages with Racknine has already been overtaken by more ridings and staffers being implicated – even as the Cons
Continue readingThings Are Good: Economy Down, Happiness Up
It seems like the world has its own life-work balance and thanks to the fact that we’re (on average) working less we are happier! The second conclusion challenges the received notions of mankind’s moods. A tenet of political science is that happiness levels rise with wealth and then plateau, usually
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Assorted content to start your week. – In the surest sign yet that the Robocon scandal involved a calculated decision by political operatives rather than having anything to do with mere overzealous volunteers, the Star reports that call centre staff hired by the Cons to perform live calling actually tried
Continue readingCanadian Soapbox: Canadians don’t care about the ‘Robocall’ scam….
When is a scandal not a scandal? When nobody gives a rip. Sorry for the trailer park answer to that question, but I’m thinking some conservatives might read this…and well, I like to pander. If I tossed in a word like dichotomy their eyes would glaze over and their heads would tilt
Continue readingelementalpresent: The Feminization of Pinterest
Pinterest, I’ve discovered, is something you learn by doing. And by “doing”, I mean getting sucked in to the site, like Alice going down the rabbit hole, picture-by-picture, pin-by-pin, only to emerge, feeling hungry and lazy (yet inspired), wondering where the last two hours of your life went. But when
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Friday reading. – Jim Stanford points out that free trade hasn’t delivered any productivity gains as promised – and has in fact moved Canada further away from the model that’s working elsewhere: The famous Macdonald Commission, influenced heavily by market-oriented economic analysis, made two core
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to end your week. – Sure, it’s a plus to know that Canada’s military is ready and willing to leap into action to protect what matters most to the government of the day. Now if only that meant something other than serving as political operatives to protect the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Thomas Walkom points out that the McGuinty Libs’ choice to emphasize austerity rather than stabilizing Ontario’s economy may lead down exactly the same destructive path travelled by Greece and other countries: (T)he crises in Spain, Portugal and Greece occurred because government spending cuts
Continue readingCanadian Soapbox: MSM slowly waking up to Canada’s real estate bubble
We all know the anatomy of a recession, right? For those who don’t, recessions tend to follow this general pattern. Insert government and market ‘experts’ where you see the word ‘we’. Stage 1 – Denial The fundamentals of the economy are strong and ‘we’ anticipate continued growth. Stage 2 – Limited
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: December 14, 2011
Wednesday, December 14 saw another day of debate devoted to free trade issues, this time addressing a proposed treaty with Jordan. But first… The Utterly Unprecedented, Stunning Development Which Shook The Very Foundations Of Canada’s System Of Government As Administered By Stephen Harper Helene Laverdiere asked a simple question to
Continue readingelementalpresent: Questioning “The Prophet Drummond”
In the Commission report that bears his name, and in all of his media appearances since its release, Banker Don Drummond has ably played the disinterested expert, taking no pleasure in sharing the “gloomy message” he has for Ontario. From the way most TV hosts and journalists have rushed forward
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: December 13, 2011
Tuesday, December 13 served to confirm the range of concerns that hadn’t yet been taken into account in the Cons’ seat redistribution bill – even as debate came to a close and the bill was rammed through against the protests of a united opposition. The Big Issue In response to
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Susan Riley brilliantly slams the message that austerity is necessary for everybody but those who already have the most: Is anyone else getting tired of being lectured about austerity by wealthy consultants in expensive suits who charge $1,500 a day for their advice
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