The Sustainability of Public Services: Matching Revenue and Expenses

A couple of years into the decade and it seems possible that the decade will be defined in terms of its impact on the size and nature of public services/ benefits? Backlash against austerity are already occurring in Greece and there is considerable uncertainty about the willingness of politicians and publics to accept a “right-sizing” [...]

In the end a narrow loss for HST in B.C. referendum

Question: do we celebrate the referendum results in BC as a victory for democracy? As the ultimate in public consultation the referendum was a decisive public expression. Or was it? And, how decisive and meaningful are these votes. Stepping back. The referendum was the result of an organized campaign that resulted from the surprise announcement after the [...]

A review of POR on Nuclear Energy in Canada

A review of publicly available data indicates that Canadians have been quite resilient in their support for nuclear and the most recent issues are unlikely to seriously dampen long-term support. We speculate that despite the potential for public opposition, an elite consensus around nuclear power may be reducing the mobilization of the underlying “safety” induced [...]

By 2015 Half of US Won’t have a Landline

Projecting on a straight-line basis suggests that by 2015 more than half of American households won’t have a traditional landline phone in their house. This is a staggering possibility but not far-fetched. In fact the landline could be even less relevant if the trend accelerates. Imagine new buildings and subdivisions that don’t even install this [...]

Short-Term Impacts of Disasters on Public Opinion: The Nuclear Issue

The evolving nuclear disaster in Japan raises an important question? How long do these events continue in our collective memory. Are they enduring or does our heightened fear give way to other salient issues? We can only give our attention to a limited set of issues so without constant reminders, it may not be surprising [...]