Too Big To Jail
Too Big To Jail

The SNC-Lavalin affair has embroiled the Trudeau administration in an ever rising tide of apparent scandal. Former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould has testified under oath that key members of the Trudeau cabinet pressured her to pursue financial penalties instead of criminal charges for SNC-Lavalin’s briberies. The suspected bribery of the Libyan government by SNC-Lavalin is no doubt worthy of criminal conviction, and likely would have been pursued as such without question if the act had been committed by an individual, not a large company. But is this recent scandal really as explosive as it seems to be?

Read More
Jacek KnudsonComment
Problems Within the Gig Economy
Problems Within the Gig Economy

These days our lives are constantly entwined with service applications. We take Ubers and Lyfts to get to work, to visit restaurants or friends, and to get to the airport. People rent Airbnbs while on vacation instead of hotels. Food delivery services make it easier to eat in at home, and Amazon Prime is becoming the most convenient way to get groceries and common household objects instead of going to the store. The people that work for these companies are part of the gig economy - an expanding portion of all employed workers within the global workforce.

Read More
Hena Matthias Comment
Happiness and Policymaking in the 21st Century
Happiness and Policymaking in the 21st Century

Happiness is a twenty-first century buzzword. Chances are, you’ve seen headlines declaring a Scandinavian nation as the happiest country in the world. Cultural and media focus on happiness has elevated the term from the stuff of self help books to the stuff of international development policy. The Kingdom of Bhutan was an early proponent of using happiness to measure national welfare, and the nation’s King Jigme Singye Wangchuck first alluded to a concept he called ‘Gross National Happiness’ (GNH) in interviews in the 1970s. Thereafter, Bhutanese leaders played a key role in the United Nations’ adoption of a happiness policy.

Read More
Hana GolightlyComment
Reconsidering Trudeau’s Carbon Tax Plan from a Public Standpoint
Reconsidering Trudeau’s Carbon Tax Plan from a Public Standpoint

Trudeau’s carbon tax, or price on pollution as he likes to call it, certainly seems like a valiant effort to counter the impending global environmental calamity. […] The apparent plan is consistent with what climate scientists and economists have argued for decades: putting a price on carbon is the most efficient way to incentivize reducing emissions. […] Why then, is Trudeau facing so much criticism for a seemingly efficient and favorable policy?

Read More
Yuki KinoshitaComment
America’s Runny Nose
America’s Runny Nose

From his unprecedented announcement to pull troops from the middle east to his firings of high level administration officials, Trump leaves the American people on edge. Trump’s sporadic and anti-bureaucratic style of governance often leaves people struck with worry and shock over sudden shifts in policy.  

Read More
Jacek KnudsonComment
Economic Impact of Amazon’s HQ2 Cities
Economic Impact of Amazon’s HQ2 Cities

At the beginning of November, Amazon announced the conclusion of a year-long search to find the home of their second headquarters. They elected to split their headquarters between Long Island City in Queens and Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia. Their original promise of 50,000 new jobs and a $5 billion investment into the HQ2 city will now be split evenly between the two locations.

Read More
Hena MatthiasComment