The Keystone Kops Ride Again #nlpoli
We already knew that the provincial cabinet had abandoned their budget before the document had been debated in the House. That happened last week when the Premier ordered the justice…
Edward Hollett
Talk Radio – Communication Tool or Just Local Banter #nlpoli
International Association of Business Communicators (Newfoundland and Labrador) presents a professional development luncheon: According to Statistics Canada (2007), Newfoundlanders and Labradorians listen to more talk radio than any other provincial…
The Transformation #nlpoli
Provincial Conservatives in Newfoundland and Labrador have a political philosophy that is equal parts Machiavelli, Kafka, and the Three Stooges. For the first few years they seemed to be constantly…
F*ck you in ASL
-srbp-
Edging #nlpoli
Over at cbc.ca/nl, John Gushue has an excellent column on the recent prosperity, in particular the apparent contradiction between a supposedly booming economy and the government cuts or the sense…
The Lady is for Turning #nlpoli
Only a few days ago, natural resources minister Tom Marshall was telling us that the Premier was an Iron Lady. A compassionate one, mind you, but an Iron Lady, nonetheless.…
Kremlinology 43: We Love the Leader! #nlpoli
Twice last week, provincial Conservative politicians offered unprompted endorsements of Kathy Dunderdale’s leadership. Natural resources minister Tom Marshall praised her as a compassionate Iron Lady who had his full support. …
Political Will and Public Policy #nlpoli
The SIDI simulation of government spending that we’ve run this past week might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but these sort of thought exercises are always useful. The most…
Well on the way to Debt Freedom #nlpoli
According to economist-consultant Wade Locke, the provincial government’s “Sustainability” Plan includes a debt commitment: The long-run target is to bring the province’s net per capita debt gradually down to the…
Responsible Public Spending #nlpoli
You don’t need drugs or alcohol to get the feeling of dizziness or stupor like you smacked your head with a hammer. Hard. Repeatedly. Just listen to a representative of…
The Road Not Taken #nlpoli
The number is a hard one to wrap your mind around. $15.6 billion. That’s the amount of oil royalties and mining royalties the provincial government collected from 2005 to 2012.…
Damn the finances! Full spend ahead! #nlpoli
We don’t know precisely what economist Wade “the Can-Opener” Locke is doing to earn his loonie from the Newfoundland and Labrador taxpayers. Finance minister Jerome Kennedy hired him this year…
The Public Debt #nlpoli
One of the greatest political frauds committed by the current administration and its supporters is the idea that they have lowered the public debt. All the politicians say it. Wade…
The joke’s on us #nlpoli
From the current issue of Canadian Business comes this little ad that is not an April Fool’s joke from energy company currently running the provincial government: People following the sorry…
Federalism and the Newfoundlanders: 64th birthday edition #nlpoli
April 1, 2013 marks the 64th anniversary of Newfoundland’s confederation with Canada. Here are a few older posts on the subject that stand the test of time: Federalism and the…
Budget downs and ups #nlpoli
Earlier this year, our government projected a deficit for 2013-14 of $1.6 billion. We are now forecasting that the deficit has been significantly reduced to $563.8 million – a billion-dollar…
The Debt is Passed: Budget 2013 #nlpoli
The throne speech promised that the same Conservative financial management that produced the current financial mess would continue and they delivered in Tuesday’s budget. The strategic problem remains unchanged The…
The debt is passed #nlpoli
Monday’s throne speech was so bad that people started making fun of it almost immediately. On Twitter a few of us tried changing lines from famous John Kennedy speeches and…
Oil Revenues, Surpluses, and Deficits #nlpoli
The Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour hired the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives to issue a report on the upcoming provincial budget that basically says all the things that…
House of Cards (Part B) #nlpoli
Continued from Part A Terry Lynn Karl is the author of The paradox of plenty: oil booms and petro-states., one of the best known books on the resource curse or…