Gone, baby, gone #nlpoli
In September 2008, four cabinet ministers went to Harbour Grace to announce that the provincial government was giving the company $8.0 million in public money, interest free. The provincial government…
Fragile Economy
The Vibrant Unsustainable Super Energy Debt Warehouse #nlpoli
The Conservatives used to say that Newfoundland and Labrador was eastern North America’s energy warehouse. Once Danny Williams ran for the hills and left Kathy Dunderdale in charge, she kicked…
The Decline of the Forest Empire #nlpoli
While an official with Corner Brook’s municipal government understandably has to say wonderful things about the economy in the west coast city, a look at some numbers shows the city…
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…
GovSpeak Translator #nlpoli
A “forgivable loan” is another way of saying that a private-sector company is getting a free gift of public-sector money. -srbp-
Some help for the St. John’s Board of Trade #nlpoli
…who have suddenly discovered that the provincial economy is in serious need of diversification: a 2010 series called the Fragile Economy. Staying the course (March 2010) Reductio ad argentum (April…
Brand Failure #nlpoli
In another great service to Newfoundland and Labrador, the country’s leading shit-disturber has translated poll results by Abacus Data into a nice table. It shows the results for each province…
The Perfect Storm #nlpoli
“In the fishery of the very near future,” SRBP wrote in February, “fishing subsidies like federal employment insurance wage subsidies, state-sponsored marketing schemes and the stalinist political control of the…
The politics of logic and history #nlpoli
“Government does not work on logic,” a wise man once told your humble e-scribbler. “It works on the basis of history.” When faced with a new problem, people tend to…
Why People in Corner Brook (and elsewhere in NL) are Worried #nlpoli
About four years ago, your humble e-scribbler pointed out a fundamental strategic problem with the way the provincial Conservatives spent money. The premise was pretty simple: at the same time…
No truer words #nlpoli #cdnpoli
“When you wage an ideological war,” wrote Lana Payne this past weekend, “lies are necessary weapons.” Payne, for those who don’t know, is president of the province’s labour federation and…
Dundernomics 101: Public Sector Employment Numbers #nlpoli
In an interview with CBC’s David Cochrane, Premier Kathy Dunderdale said that the public service has grown by more than 2,100 jobs in the past eight years and that total…
The Fragile Economy: addictions management #nlpoli
The provincial government in Newfoundland and Labrador spends more per person on delivering services for most things than does any other provincial government in the country. Health care is the…
Busting the boom in central #nlpoli
Headline: “Grand Falls-Windsor growing without mill”. Sounds marvellous. Then you read the story. Turns out that the central Newfoundland town is doing well without its major private sector employer because…
The reality of her world #nlpoli
Some people are trying to make a controversy out of Premier Kathy Dunderdale’s recent comments that public sector unions should “expect a more modest increase” than the salary rises they’ve…
Labour crunch coming
Only the naive or the demented would portray the looming labour crunch in the province as a “tremendous opportunity”. A report released on Wednesday by the provincial human resources department…
Public sector job growth outpaces private in NL
From labradore: In the five years since the recent-historic low, in early 2006, of about 55,600 public-sector employees, the public-sector labour force has increased by about 11,500 or over 20%.…
15 ideas (and more) – Setting the Table
Our economic vision for Newfoundland and Labrador is that of an enterprising, educated, distinctive and prosperous people working together to create a competitive economy based on innovation, creativity, productivity and…
Harris Centre economic forum: the media coverage
The Telegram’s James Macleod had a decent front page summary of the Harris Centre’s discussion of economic issues facing the province and the subsequent discussion. The CBC has a super…
The looming debt problem
The government’s favourite economist is sounding alarm bells about the provincial government’s financial health. The finance minister, on a local talk radio program, sounding stressed as more and more people…