The other day, CNN ran a focus group on what some American voters were now thinking about their president. The comments were almost universally critical including among Trump voters. But even some of the most critical, it seems, may still be Trump supporters. It was, for me, a valuable reminder
Continue readingTag: Improving public institutions
Alex's Blog: Why We Hate Taxes – and why we shouldn’t
A somewhat shorter version first appeared in albertaviews January/February 2015 as Taxes: a small price to pay for civilization About a year ago, my son Jordan, some friends and colleagues and I put together a book on taxes in Canada, Tax Is Not a Four-Letter Word. We had quite different
Continue readingAlex's Blog: The Year Taxes Made a Comeback
A slightly shorter version of this piece written with Jordan Himelfarb appeared here in The Toronto Star. It’s just possible that 2014 will be seen as the year that taxes made a comeback in Canada. Not so long ago Stéphane Dion tried to put a green “tax shift” on the
Continue readingAlex's Blog: Austerity and Trickle Down Meanness
Alex Himelfarb, former clerk of the Privy Council, was interviewed by Adam Kahane. POSSIBLE CANADAS ON BUILDING HEALTHY COMMUNITIES In this excerpt of Adam Kahane’s interview published here in the Globe and Mail I focus on austerity and trickle down meanness. What keeps you up at night? Himelfarb: The number
Continue readingAlex's Blog: On the Weakening of the Collective
Summary of interviewed, June 23, by Adam Kahane as part of his Possible Canadas project and first appeared here on Possible Canadas website Kahane: What keeps you up at night? Himelfarb: The number one issue for me is inequality. Let’s think of the bottom, middle, and top of society. On
Continue readingAlex's Blog: Tax Is More Than A Four Letter Word
http://castroller.com/podcasts/TheAgendaVideo/4043959 The Agenda – Steve Paikin interview before the Ontario Budget May 30, 2014
Continue readingAlex's Blog: Tax Is More Than A Four Letter Word
“Taxes are what we pay for a civilized society”, a quote from Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes on the IRS headquarter in Washington Ontario Budget 2014: watch my interview with Steve Paikin at The Agenda HERE
Continue readingAlex's Blog: Without a Debate on Taxes, We Risk Sleepwalking into the Future (by Alex and Jordan Himelfarb)
“La Sonnambula”, illustration of a Bellini opera Some months ago, we published a collection of essays designed to promote a discussion of taxes in Canada. The book’s premise is that the current tax conversation is distorted. While we rightly ask of any new policy or program proposal, “what will it
Continue readingAlex's Blog: Without a Debate on Taxes, We Risk Sleepwalking into the Future (by Alex and Jordan Himelfarb)
Some months ago, we published a collection of essays designed to promote a discussion of taxes in Canada. The book’s premise is that the current tax conversation is distorted. While we rightly ask of any new policy or program proposal, “what will it cost and how will we pay,” we
Continue readingAlex's Blog: Saying no to the conjuror’s trick of tax cuts
Tax is Not a Four Letter Word is a collection of essays, published by WLU Press, I co-edited with my son, Jordan, Opinion Editor of The Toronto Star. The CCPA Ontario’s Jennifer Story recently interviewed me about the book, and our desire to get Canadians thinking differently about taxes. (The
Continue readingAlex's Blog: Canada’s Dangerously Distorted Tax Conversation
“(In)visible Dialogue”. Installation by Wang King Road. 2011. Wikipedia Commons. (This post was written by Alex and Jordan Himelfarb; an abridged version appeared in the Star here.) We don’t like paying taxes. This is not big news: we don’t much like paying any bills, and there’s probably never been a
Continue readingAlex's Blog: Canada’s Dangerously Distorted Tax Conversation
“(In)visible Dialogue”. Installation by Wang King Road. 2011. Wikipedia Commons. (This post was written by Alex and Jordan Himelfarb; an abridged version appeared in the Star here.) We don’t like paying taxes. This is not big news: we don’t much like paying any bills, and there’s probably never been a
Continue readingAlex's Blog: Why we have no time for politics
Edward Hicks, c. 1824, “Peaceable Kingdom”, National Gallery of Art, Wikipedia Commons. Samara recently published yet another study showing that Canadians, especially young Canadians, are profoundly disengaged from formal politics. Not only are citizens voting less and participating less in political parties, they are not writing, reading or even talking with friends
Continue readingAlex's Blog: Why we have no time for politics
Samara recently published yet another study showing that Canadians, especially young Canadians, are profoundly disengaged from formal politics. Not only are citizens voting less and participating less in political parties, they are not writing, reading or even talking with friends about party politics. While many are still donating money and time to
Continue readingAlex's Blog: Celebrating Public Service
Public servants celebrating the enrolment of 5 million citizens in the Ontario Hospital Insurance Plan (1959, Archives of Ontario) Notes for talk at Public Policy Forum Dinner, April 11, 2013 I am delighted to be here with family, friends and colleagues this evening – an evening that can only be
Continue readingAlex's Blog: Celebrating Public Service
Public servants celebrating the enrolment of 5 million citizens in the Ontario Hospital Insurance Plan (1959, Archives of Ontario) Notes for talk at Public Policy Forum Dinner, April 11, 2013 I am delighted to be here with family, friends and colleagues this evening – an evening that can only be
Continue readingAlex's Blog: The Trouble With Austerity: Economics as Ideology
A somewhat abridged version of this post first appeared in The Toronto Star here Governments here and elsewhere are increasingly preoccupied with cutting even as evidence piles up of its harmful consequences on people and the economy. Austerity is not even delivering the balanced budgets its advocates promise. Even the
Continue readingAlex's Blog: The Trouble With Austerity: Economics as Ideology
A somewhat abridged version of this post first appeared in The Toronto Star here Governments here and elsewhere are increasingly preoccupied with cutting even as evidence piles up of its harmful consequences on people and the economy. Austerity is not even delivering the balanced budgets its advocates promise. Even the
Continue readingAlex's Blog: The Age of Austerity
Notes: Keynote talk, CCPA Post-Austerity session, Toronto, January 9, 2013 We are living in the “Age of Austerity” or at least so says David Cameron, the UK’s Prime Minister. He made this announcement in 2009 at the Conservative convention just before becoming prime minister. This meant, he explained, that he
Continue readingAlex's Blog: The Age of Austerity
Notes: Keynote talk, CCPA Post-Austerity session, Toronto, January 9, 2013 We are living in the “Age of Austerity” or at least so says David Cameron, the UK’s Prime Minister. He made this announcement in 2009 at the Conservative convention just before becoming prime minister. This meant, he explained, that he
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