Canada, Land of Smaller Government – Jason Clemens, The Wall Street Journal
“[T]he Canada of the 1970s and early 1980s—the era of left-wing Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau—no longer exists…In 1995, the federal government, led by the Liberal Party, passed the most important budget in three generations. Federal spending was reduced almost 10% over two years and federal employment was slashed 14%. By 1998, the federal government was in surplus and reducing the nearly $650 billion national debt…all government spending peaked at 53% of Canadian GDP in 1992 and fell steadily to just under 40% by 2008. (Government spending in the U.S. was 38.8% of GDP that year.)… But if present trends continue, within two or three years Canada will have a smaller government as a share of its economy than the U.S…Canadian taxes have also come down at the federal and provincial level. They were reduced with the stated goal of improving incentives for work effort, savings, investment and entrepreneurship…Government austerity has been accompanied by prosperity. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), between 1997 and 2007 Canada’s economic performance outstripped the OECD average and led the G-7 countries…Mr. Clemens is the director of research at the Pacific Research Institute and a co-author of “The Canadian Century: Moving Out of America’s Shadow” (Key Porter Books, 2010).”
China to Close Factories in Energy Drive – Leslie Hook, Financial Times
“China plans to close outdated factories owned by more than 2,000 companies in heavy industries in the clearest sign yet of Beijing’s determination to meet its low energy targets even at the expense of economic growth…Beijing said it would target 18 industries, including steel and cement, and took the unusual step of listing each company affected and the amount of production it must close by the end of September. The list included subsidiaries of large state-owned companies such as Chinalco, Angang Steel and the Shougang Group.”