Wednesday Night #1863

Apologies that this is not the usual detailed round-up, will try to send a thorough update later, provided events do not continue to overwhelm us.

Meantime, be assured that the doors will be open as usual and the topics will no doubt include Alabama (that would be the Roy Moore story), and for those who can bear it, yet another awful nomination, Alex Azar aka  the  Man Who Tripled The Price of Insulin Was Nominated By Trump To Regulate The Price Of Insulin as Secretary of Health and Human Services.

The perilous (and parlous) situation in the Middle East precipitated by Saudi  Arabia ’s MBS continues to alarm the pundits and geopolitically-inclined public  along with any of us with friends in that part of the world.

David Jones and David Kilgour weigh in on the critical situation in Lebanon in (respectively) Lebanon Poised on Edge of Cliff, Again and Lebanon Squeezed Between Saudi Arabia and Iran 

Almost equally worrisome and somehow unimaginable  is the failure of Angela Merkel to form a coalition government – whither Europe?

Robert Mugabe may have surprised the world and resigned on Tuesday, but, despite the euphoria in the streets, don’t expect matters to improve in Zimbabwe under Emmerson Mnangagwa. Gwynne Dyer writes: “He is known as “the crocodile”…. And what Zimbabwe will get is not an end of the dictatorship, but just a new dictator.“

We warmly recommend to economists and globalists and those who are neither,  The Platform Economy by Anne-Marie Slaughter ,  Aubrey Hruby
“While developed countries in Europe, North America, and Asia are rapidly aging, emerging economies are predominantly youthful. Nigerian, Indonesian, and Vietnamese young people will shape global work trends at an increasingly rapid pace, bringing to bear their experience in dynamic informal markets on a tech-enabled gig economy.”

We will certainly include Tuesday’s announcement of the Quebec economic update including reduction of taxes on money earned in the first bracket from 16% to 15%, retroactively to January 1, 2017. This represents a reduction of close to $1 billion for 4.2 million taxpayers. Families will also get $100 for every child between the ages of 4 and 16. Our friends at The Hatley Report comment: “You know an election is on its way when the government pulls out the tax cuts!”
They also point out that while “The government is spinning this to say that a family with two kids earning less than $100,000 can expect a reduction of around $1,200. However, media reports are pegging the average number at around $200 per person.”

Run – don’t walk –  Montreal’s Grevin wax museum has unveiled a sculpture of Justin Trudeau.

Ending on a (much) more positive note, do see Copenhagen’s newest architectural gem is a waste management plant – proof that utilitarian does not have to be ugly.

Happy Thanksgiving, or as Art Buchwald would have said le Jour de Merci Donnant,  to all our American friends!