The City on the Bill
The idea of providing municipal public services through competitive tendering - or “contestability” - became popular in the 1950s when cities in southern California began to recognize its inherent advantages. Now, Britain routinely uses competitive tendering at the local government level, and it is a successful facet of municipal services delivery in such big US cities as Indianapolis, Philadelphia, and Phoenix. These policies have produced results - the cities using them have experienced significant improvements over traditional methods in the safe and efficient delivery of government services. In the 5th paper of AIMS Urban Futures Series, Andrea Mrozek and Don McIver make the Canadian case for contestability.
Are anti-terrorist regulations trumping commerce in North America?
In the post September 11th era the focus being placed on security is understandable and necessary. Transactions crossing international borders must be secured and free of terrorist threats. On the other side of the equation lies the concern of retailers and distributors who depend on a well managed an efficient border so that delays don’t drive up costs and threaten business opportunities for the Atlantica region.
Illusoire déséquilibre
Les provinces croient qu'elles peuvent camoufler leur intention de faire main basse sur les surplus d'Ottawa derrière de grands principes en disant qu'elles veulent régler le " déséquilibre fiscal ". Mais plus on cherche ce déséquilibre, plus il apparaît illusoire.
AIMS’ Atlantica Concept is a Hit in Buffalo, New York.
The AIMS concept called Atlantica is a trade corridor reaching from Halifax to Buffalo - the International Northeast Economic Region - and it can change the prosperity of the region while improving the access of the North American heartland to emerging international trade patterns. It would appear business and community leaders in Buffalo, New York agree, after hearing details of Atlantica from AIMS president Brian Lee Crowley. He explained to a breakfast meeting of political leaders and a luncheon crowd at the Rotary Club of Buffalo how the northeast trade corridor from Halifax to Buffalo would benefit all communities along the route. Both events attracted the influential leaders of the community interested in learning more about Atlantica.
Ottawa’s surplus should equate to lower taxes, not more hand-outs to the provinces.
Ottawa should turn a deaf ear to provincial demands for more money. The provinces have adequate resources at their disposal. Ottawa’s surpluses are the proper reward to the federal government of its fiscal rectitude, and while it is certainly the case that Ottawa taxes us too heavily, that is an argument for Ottawa to cut taxes, not to transfer its excess tax take to the provinces. In his regular column, AIMS President Brian Lee Crowley suggests that if provinces want more money from taxpayers, they should have to raise it through taxation and be democratically accountable for that decision.
AIMS Paper Gives Atlantic Canadian Finances a “C”
In a report released Monday, AIMS stamped Nova Scotia's 2004/2005 finances with C/C+ because of poor financial planning. "Although the province ended 2003/2004 in reasonably good fiscal health, its grade is reduced by a high-spending, tax-raising 2004/2005 budget that is hardly conducive to promoting a healthy environment for economic growth," said the report's author David Murrell, an economist at the University of New Brunswick. Read this piece from the Chronicle Herald to learn more.
Could Do Better
AIMS latest paper "Could Do Better" shows where the bar needs to be set in measuring fiscal performance in Atlantic Canada. Prior to their 2004/05 budgets, the Atlantic Provinces were fiscally worse off than the nation as a whole. Despite that warning sign, their 2004/05 budgets were both a disappointment and an opportunity missed. This is a lesson worth heeding as we enter the 2005/06 budget season. The only way to master our budgetary challenges is to promote economic growth throughout the region, but provinces are failing to use their budgets effectively to achieve that growth.
The Mystery of the Missing Fiscal Imbalance
The fact that Ottawa has been a better fiscal manager of its resources than many of the provinces is not an argument for transferring the results of that superior fiscal discipline to the provinces, just as the fact that Ottawa’s fiscal burden may be too high is not an argument for giving some of those tax resources to the provinces. AIMS president Brian Lee Crowley told the House of Commons SubCommittee on Fiscal Imbalance that the provinces have the means to fix their fiscal problems, and he sees little reason why Ottawa should do the job for them.
Grano Series – The American Empire
On February 10, 2005 Samual Huntington was the third speaker in the Grano series. He spoke to the "Great American Myth". The Atlantic Institute for Market Studies has been a partner since the series inception.
Nova Scotia premier invests wisely upon sale of assets
If you sell the house to buy the groceries you will soon have neither shelter nor food. It is this simple concept that Nova Scotia Premier John Hamm has understood and applied to the $830-million that Nova Scotia is expected to immediately receive as a result of the offshore accord just signed with the federal government. In his regular column, AIMS President Brian Lee Crowley applauds Premier Hamm for securing real long term gain from the sale of Nova Scotia's offshore assets and avoiding the potential economic and political pitfalls of attempting to spend or invest the $830 million.