The meritocracy paradox

In polls, an overwhelming majority of people say that they support equal opportunity. An overwhelming majority of people also say that they oppose estate taxes–taxes on inheritance–of any amount. These two sentiments are logically incompatible, at least in their strictest senses. Why the inconsistency? A cynic might chalk it up to people being insincere in their beliefs in equal opportunity,…

Election 2015 Discussion 2: What policies would you like to see?

As of this week, the Canadian Federal Election is officially underway! As firm believers in civic participation, we strongly encourage you to register to vote ASAP (particularly if you’re voting by mail) and watch the first leaders’ debate (hosted by Maclean’s) tomorrow at 8pm Eastern (follow the link for viewing instructions). The election will be held on Monday,…

Links: Eliminating homelessness, putting family on your CV

From Matt: Eliminating homelessness saves money, an in-depth study found; and Medicine Hat has successfully tried it out. The study, published last year, followed over 2000 homeless people across five major cities (Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Moncton) – providing homes to roughly half of them. They found that homelessness costs roughly $100K per year for each homeless person –…