The low productivity of Canadian companies threatens our living standards

[Colin Parkinson]

And yet the Danes beat us in productivity and happiness.

When you don't have to build 100 km of road and power grid to service a town of 15,000, it gives you extra money for other stuff. Comparing Denmark and Canada is the Ultimate in Apples and Oranges.

 

[RangerRay]

Something I’ve been harping on. Don’t expect capitalists to save capitalism.

Opinion: Red tape is sticky because capitalists do not necessarily love capitalism

The desire to preserve wealth can often overpower the drive to create new income

www.theglobeandmail.com

Archived here:

https://archive.ph/ccGqk

But there’s more behind the push to increase regulation than mere necessity. A basic error behind the assumption that everyone hates red tape is to assume that capitalists love capitalism. In fact, as soon as a business succeeds, the temptation to protect its position by freezing out new entrants grows stronger. A large recent study in the U.S. found a strong tendency among incumbent firms to lobby for regulations that raise fixed costs, thereby making it hard for new firms to enter the market.
The same protectionist tendency exists among workers as well, since one of the most common barriers to entry has become occupational licensing, something Canadian professionals and tradespeople who have ever contemplated changing provinces know all too well. Similar drawbridge-raising is ubiquitous in the housing sector, with property owners using planning meetings to block new developments that would effectively increase supply and lower prices.