We must do away with ‘zombie governance’ in the corporate world – Globe and Mail

In the book Zombie Economics, John Quiggin explained how dead ideas – assumptions about market economics refuted by the 2008-09 financial crisis – live on in the minds of many people, including those charged with cleaning up the mess. While not supported by evidence or analysis, these narratives persist as “dead ideas that still walk among us.” Why? Largely because they advance the interests of particular (typically elite) groups who want to believe in them and make them true.

Likewise, corporate governance best practices are typically based on intuition, opinion and rhetoric. Such thinking has been elevated – mandated by regulators and rated by a burgeoning class of governance experts for whom such standards become self-…

Must Canada leave a mountain of debt to future generations? – Globe and Mail

The 2023 fall economic statement projected large deficits through 2028-29 and a net debt-to-GDP ratio that rises in 2024-25 and then declines only slightly, remaining well above the prepandemic level through 2028-29. Interest payments eat up almost 14 per cent of revenue. The 2024 budget must correct this imprudent treatment of risk.

Debt’s risk is lost opportunity. When servicing costs rise, more tax dollars have to go toward financing the debt, leaving less room for more meaningful expenditure.

The federal government justified the deficits and debt by showing the net debt-to-GDP ratio declining through 2055-56. This is not credible.

First, high debt produces economic costs, even if sustainable under the narrow…

Smarter Government for Turbulent Times

Benjamin Dachis – Unbalanced Burden: The Case Against High Property Tax Rates on Multi-Residential Buildings in Ontario

William B.P. Robson – Toronto’s Annual Budget Panic Ignores Its Surplus

Gripped by Toronto’s annual budget panic? Just wait for the surplus – Globe and Mail

The annual panic over the City of Toronto budget is peaking. The 2024 version stands out in a bad way, with a double-digit tax increase proposed for homeowners and many businesses. Yet much of the ritual is familiar. For one thing, it is late: The city is already collecting and spending money council has not approved. Worse, the dire numbers from city staff last week are long on alarm and short on useful information.

Suppose you are preparing a year-ahead budget for your family, or a business or non-profit. You start with recent experience. Your last complete year is key, because you have actual revenue and expenses for that year, and know the difference between them – your surplus or deficit. The current year isn’t yet over –…

Fall Economic Statement gets a D. Re-write needed before March – Financial Post

Before the release of the federal 2023 Fall Economic Statement, we laid out a framework for grading it. We hoped for transparency about the government’s finances, frankness about the economic and fiscal challenges, and a halt to populist tax measures. Sadly, the Statement presented by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland falls short — often far short — on all these priorities.

Our overall grade for the 2023 Fall Statement is a D. It puts dozens of pages of political messaging ahead of the key numbers, avoids the serious challenges that require major shifts in policy and prefigures more of the same fiscal measures that have led to our current plight.

Our grading framework started with a simple request: Cut…

Mario Polèse – Quebec’s soft rent control. A delicate balancing act.

The Divide Between Policymakers and Those They Serve with Paul Wells

Why does it seem politics today is stuck in neutral? Veteran political journalist and award winning author Paul Wells explains the increasing divide between policymakers and the public they serve, why short-term thinking sabotages long-term goals, and why valuable institutional knowledge is leaving the public service.

Why are Canadian governments so slow to release budgets and public accounts? – Globe and Mail

Nicholas Dahir is a research assistant at the C.D. Howe Institute. William Robson is chief executive of the C.D. Howe Institute.

Among the most grating and persistent failings of our governments is that they are too slow. Too slow building things, too slow issuing permits and passports, too slow processing taxes, too slow even answering questions.

Less obvious in our daily lives, but troubling on a deeper level, is how late Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial governments are in presenting their budgets and public accounts. The C.D. Howe Institute recently released its annual report card on the clarity, reliability and timeliness of these documents. Our findings on timeliness alone reveal major problems…

The ABCs of Fiscal Accountability: The Report Card for Canada’s Senior Governments, 2023

Crystal Gooding – Throwing Money in the Trash? Solutions for Plastic Waste