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William Watson

William Watson

Financial Post

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Pierre Poilievre — take note of Liz Truss's ensnarement: How FP columnists saw it in 2024

latest 7

Financial Post

William Watson

'Rich people pay lots of tax' and a 'woke' Statistics Canada: How FP columnists saw it in 2024

yesterday 8

Financial Post

William Watson

'Reality will continue to swamp the Liberal regime': How FP columnists saw it in 2024

tuesday 10

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William Watson

William Watson: You’re a mean one, Mr. Trump!

20.12.2024 9

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William Watson

William Watson: If this is how America treats its friends …

18.12.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: Show me the numbers in the prevention/cure trade-off

12.12.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: The tragedy of the one-carry-on commons

10.12.2024 10

Financial Post

William Watson

William Watson: Don't blame Canada for the U.S. trade deficit

It's not that big a deal. Plus we account for only seven per cent of it — five per cent if you add in services trade, as you should You can save...

05.12.2024 10

Financial Post

William Watson

William Watson: Trump, Trudeau and the art of the irrational deal

Starting negotiations with a Mar-a-Lago dinner at which you make nice and find out the price of removing the tariff threat isn't crazy You can save...

03.12.2024 20

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William Watson

William Watson: Are we sure we shouldn’t panic about the Trump tariff?

If a 25% tariff is just a bargaining chip, that's one thing. But if it's in place for any length of time, it will be a disaster You can save this...

28.11.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: Christmas bribes? What kind of people do the Liberals think we are? 

A government that's flat broke asks our kids to pay for Christmas bribes that will get us to vote for it again. What chumps we must be! You can save...

26.11.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: Sorry, Pierre Poilievre — reason beats rhyme in policy-making

The federal Conservatives should put good policies in their election platform, even if they can't be summarized in a rhyme You can save this article...

21.11.2024 5

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William Watson

William Watson: In Trump’s Fed we may or may not trust

A study finds that Americans' trust that the Fed can manage inflation and unemployment is not high. Surprisingly, Trump doesn't make it worse You can...

14.11.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: Fifty ways to lose an election 

Why did Harris lose? We'd have to ask the one-in 25-voters who cost her the election. Their answer is likely to involve many things You can save this...

06.11.2024 9

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William Watson

William Watson: And now the world holds its breath

Whoever becomes U.S. president is likely to have less than 50% of the vote, for the 20th time since 1824 You can save this article by registering for...

05.11.2024 8

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William Watson

William Watson: Make sure pension changes don’t discourage work 

A new study of the incentive effects of retirement income programs like CPP, OAS and GIS finds they matter a lot. Policy-makers beware You can save...

31.10.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: Politics in 2024 — slander, pander, weave and deceive

Presidential politics has a long history of insult, falsehood and electoral payoffs. But you'd think we'd be better than that now You can save this...

29.10.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: Do you still dislike inequality even when it’s earned?

A new U.S. study shows that big differences in how much people work lead to big differences in their lifetime earnings. Is that a problem? You can...

24.10.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: Is Ottawa trying to game Canadians?

From votes of non-confidence to charges of foreign interference, it seems clear that politicians are playing their own games, not ours You can save...

22.10.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: Alas, even Canada's soft power doesn't impress the world

A new IMF study ranks us 14th on a 'global soft power index.' Even worse, the U.S., global hard-power champ, is seven spots ahead of us You can save...

17.10.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: Cultivate your own productivity, keeping Ottawa out of it

The productivity numbers haven't been good lately. The federal government trying to plan productivity could make them even worse You can save this...

15.10.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: Enough of the job-creation myths from politicians working to get votes

Graph U.S. employment over time and it's hard to see the mark of individual presidents. Trends dominate. Politics should recognize that You can save...

10.10.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: To encourage growth, fire all the lawyers? 

Two obstacles to growth, glacial approval of mega-projects and that old millstone, interprovincial barriers, won't be so easy to overcome You can save...

08.10.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: What the next federal election should be about

Whatever wonks might want, it won't be about policy detail. And the carbon tax seems old hat now. It could be about supply-side fairness You can save...

03.10.2024 8

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William Watson

William Watson: The deeper meaning, if you want one, of golf fans chanting 'I-N-T! I-N-T!'

At golf's Presidents Cup, fans were crazy for the international team. Maybe we shouldn't give up on economic internationalism just yet You can save...

01.10.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: Bank of Canada should go slow on interest rate cuts

We got inflation post-COVID in part because central banks were too worried about recession. Now they're worrying about recession again You can save...

26.09.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: Couldn’t we get Amazon or Apple to run the CRA?

You'd think an agency whose job is taking people's money would provide better customer service. So why can't they answer the phone? You can save this...

24.09.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: Harris sanity and Trump policy would be a winning ticket

Voters' dilemma: Trump favours the lower taxes and lighter regulation that will keep America growing but Harris seems less crazy You can save this...

17.09.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: Afghanistan and Jan 6 — no cause for debate regrets

Harris or Trump describing how they could have handled these two crises better would have been good but the rule is never concede anything. You can...

12.09.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: If we had an electoral college, Quebec would be our Pennsylvania

With an electoral college system in which provinces are winner-take-all, it would be the only swing province at the moment You can save this article...

10.09.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: World trade's new Wild, Wild West

Nobody benefits from a shoot-em-up trade war but it's the little guys, like Canada, who are most likely to get hurt in the crossfire You can save this...

05.09.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: Labour Day lesson: Don’t fight dynamic labour markets

News flash! Read all about it! The labour market has changed You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an...

03.09.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: Canada's economic problem is too few producers

What's needed is to make sure everyone in an organization, government included, contributes value at least equal to what they're paid You can save...

29.08.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: Uh-oh, Democrats. New research says Americans don’t want any inflation

Research from the European Central Bank says Americans want 0.2 per cent inflation, one-tenth the two per cent the Fed is aiming at You can save this...

27.08.2024 20

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William Watson

William Watson: Barack Obama’s tolerance requires more government restraint

Former president says that to remove rancour from politics, Americans must listen to each other more. Yes, but also ram things through less You can...

22.08.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: Communist Kamala? Maybe, if she drives landlords and homebuilders extinct

Like Ottawa, Washington wants more housing built. Piling ever more rules onto builders and landlords won't get that done You can save this article by...

21.08.2024 9

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William Watson

William Watson: Albertans should be steaming mad over EV tariffs

After years of Ottawa telling us oil and gas jobs must be sacrificed to save the planet, it now turns out auto sector jobs are sacrosanct You can save...

13.08.2024 9

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William Watson

William Watson: Thank Elon Musk if we get more one-tier justice

The X boss wants British justice to be blind as to people's politics when prosecuting illegal protests. Who could possibly oppose to that? You can...

08.08.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: Are Democrats really the party of freedom?

Kamala Harris says she's running on freedom vs. chaos, hatred and fear. But how much freedom do Big-Government programs in fact deliver? You can save...

06.08.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: Big Mac data say minimum wages don't matter

A study of McWages and Big Mac prices finds that real wages rose faster in 2020-21 in U.S. counties where minimum wages weren't increasing You can...

01.08.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: All justice should be as swift as Olympics soccer justice

Canada's drone-flying soccer official got caught and sentenced in 48 hours. We need to make our justice system work as quickly as that You can save...

30.07.2024 10

Financial Post

William Watson

William Watson: These days, free-traders appreciate any support. Even from China

Hardly anyone favours open markets, level playing fields and free competition any more. It's interesting that Beijing at least says it does You can...

25.07.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: We know Trump is soft on monetary policy. What about Harris? 

Maybe it's not so bad if politicians don't think much about central banks. What they don't know about, they won't try to interfere with You can save...

23.07.2024 20

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William Watson

William Watson: Making American trade policy 19th-century again

The party that gave us Canada-U.S. free trade, North American free trade and the World Trade Organization began life as protectionist. You can save...

18.07.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: Sorry, Joe, for the time being this is who you are

We need to figure out how to make the divisions in society less divisive. Trust in voting is one way, government restraint another You can save this...

16.07.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: Why the big bounty on Chinese Seagulls? (The EVs, not the birds)

Cheap Chinese EV imports would be great for the planet. So why are usually climate-obsessed Liberals protecting autoworker jobs instead? You can save...

11.07.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: What France and the U.K. can teach us about elections

The British have a better system for announcing who won while France's second round helps reduce the influence of fringe candidates You can save this...

09.07.2024 20

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William Watson

William Watson: What does the St. Paul’s byelection result mean for the Conservatives? 

All governments wear out their welcome. Try to think of ways to slow down that process. Talking to people as if they were adults is a start You can...

04.07.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: Dems need to take a mulligan on Biden

The debate was so bad the candidates ended up arguing about their golf handicaps. Golf's big lesson? Don't double-down on mistakes You can save this...

03.07.2024 10

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William Watson

William Watson: CBC obsesses over the far right. But what about the far left?

You get 10 times more hits on the broadcaster's website for 'far right' than 'far left.' But crazies on the left are a big social problem You can save...

20.06.2024 30

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William Watson

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