JUSTCAWS

Many of us are still confused as to why Americans would elect a political party hell bent on cutting the size of government and turning its back on helping the world. I’ve been taken back by the change, but the voter frustration that has led to it has been building for sometime. If liberals are still wondering why their brand is under siege globally, perhaps a lesson about Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs can help explain. I’ve learned and taught about Maslow so many times I feel like I met him, even though he died before I was born. His premise was that humans are motivated to satisfy a pyramid of needs and that until our most basic needs are met (food, water and shelter) we won’t concern ourselves with any higher purpose. Once the basics are met then people move onto safety and security, love and belonging, self-esteem and finally fulfilment. I believe the same motivation holds true for voters. Nobody will concern themselves about more progressive causes or concern themselves with...

  Wanted to follow up on a column I wrote nearly five years ago during the wake of the George Floyd murder.  It is interesting to look back at the counterproductive movement that followed and the inevitable retreat that is happening now. I appreciated the frustration at the time that society was not doing enough when people saw a live murder take place at the hands of police on their screens. What followed however, was a lack of appreciation for past progress made and the idea that everything done before was lost. Being colour blind was apparently wrong and we needed to wake up to now see everything through the lens of race. Equality of opportunity, an inspirational goal with broad support, was replaced with equality of outcomes, a concept that few believe in. So it is not surprising that the over compensation has now been rejected. You probably heard about a former President who just won an election riding the wave of anti woke sentiment. Corporations whose only allegiance is...

                                             It takes a lot to get Canadians angry, but when an economic war is declared on your country by your number one ally, feelings of betrayal can quickly turn hostile. Case in point the crowd in Ottawa booing the American national anthem at last Saturday’s hockey game. Expect more uncharacteristic actions of hostility by Canadians if this provocation continues or escalates further. Personally, I am not buying that Americans won’t care what Canadians think. Yes, they did vote in Trump, but they didn’t sign up for a trade war with their northern neighbour.  Properly calculating the American public’s response is vitally important in determining how Canada should react. It should also be remembered that this is Trump’s trade war with us, it doesn’t have broad support even among his own party. Of course they will go along with Trump,...

Due to my current occupational hazard, the one topic that I am asked most often is for my view on cryptocurrencies. I haven’t written on this before because it's not a topic easily understood or explained. By this point however, I believe most people have an underlying understanding, or at least have soundbite they can repeat so they sound like they know what they're talking about. Perhaps before getting into what crypto is, it is best to explain what it isn’t. One thing to remember is that crypto currency is virtual, there are no actual physical coins or bills being circulated. When you see an image of Bitcoin (the most popular of the crypto currencies) used in a news story, it is used for visual purposes only - to quote Getrude Stein “there is no there there”. Its value is entirely determined by what investors are willing to pay for it, and the only way to make money is to sell it to someone else at a higher price. If that sounds like any other investment, there are some key ...