We already know that Canada’s population aging will drag down government revenue and blow up social and health spending, but its long-term impact on fiscal sustainability and intergenerational fairness greatly depend on future government policies. While this demographic change substantially shifts the tax burden away from baby boomers and their children − the baby busters or Generation X – to the boomers’ grandchildren, achieving long-term fiscal sustainability can be possible.
In my recent study for the C.D. Howe Institute, I estimate average lifetime tax burdens for the current generations by birth cohort, and for an unborn future generation. Lifetime tax burdens are simply the total amount of taxes minus cash…
The deadline for consultations on the merits and risks of “open banking” was Monday. So, we ask: Who’s afraid of open banking? Consumers? Maybe. The big five banks? Probably. Regulators? Definitely.
There are certainly reasons to pursue open banking, where new service providers can access customer data from the financial industry to offer more competitive and more innovative financial products. However, before charging ahead with open banking, there are (at least) three questions that must be asked and answered:
Who should own the data? How can we make sure the benefits of open banking reach consumers? And how can regulators protect both the privacy of personal data and the stability of our financial system?…
For much of the last decade, Canadians have been told their debt levels were unsustainable and that their day of reckoning was fast approaching. Data recently released by the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy (OSB) seem to indicate that day has arrived. According to the data, insolvencies by Canadian consumers were up 9.2 per cent in October 2018, compared to a year earlier.
To say the least, these results appear alarming. But in light of what we know about homeownership and net worth, we are not so sure. The data show that Canadians’ net worth has never been higher. Moreover, the data do not distinguish between the more harmful economic effects from households in negative net asset positions, or balance sheet…
