How taxes and regulations keep people in poverty
When Ralph Klein became premier of Alberta in the 1990s, he focused on deregulation, tax cuts, and a reduction in government spending. The outcome? Improved economic mobility for all Albertans.
When Ralph Klein became premier of Alberta in the 1990s, he focused on deregulation, tax cuts, and a reduction in government spending. The outcome? Improved economic mobility for all Albertans.
The heroic assumption is that governments can pick the right technologies and right companies to invest in—but in reality, governments appear ill-equipped to do so. It’s hard to imagine why the current plan to pick winners would work better than it has in the past.
The lesson is clear. If Canadian governments (at all levels) were to deregulate, it would not only boost long-run growth, it would also limit the severity of the next recession, whenever it does come.
Quebec history suggests that the economic vitality of the francophone community—not legislation and regulation—is the key to cultural persistence.