Beyond The Commons

Aaron Wherry covers all the goings-on in and around Parliament Hill. Follow Aaron on Twitter: @aaronwherry

Categories: Beyond The Commons, Capital Read

The Year in Ideas

by Aaron Wherry on Thursday, December 23, 2010 3:28pm - 21 Comments

At some point I decided I could use this tiny corner of the Internet to create the sort of op-ed page I’d like to read—filled with people like Stephen Gordon, Eric Grenier, Alison Loat, Mike Moffatt, Alex Himelfarb, Rob Silver, David Eaves, Taylor Owen, Brian Topp, Bruce Anderson and all the other names that have turned up here these last few years. Smart people—far smarter than I—with smart things to say about serious matters.

These periodic nods to seriousness—as well as my own periodic turns toward the earnest—were probably in response to the realization of just how unseriously everyone else seems to regard the proceedings here (it’s less fun to poke fun when everything is already treated like a joke). And in the same spirit, with tongue at first placed in cheek, I began issuing periodic Idea Alerts. These were attempts to identify those fleeting outbreaks of thought that periodically interrupt the daily dance of jesters. These were, for the most part, legitimately intriguing notions, theories and passing fancies.

Herein, the Idea Alerts that were issued in 2010. No doubt if you could manage to implement them all, you would have a kind of utopia. Or at least fewer plastic bags and better television programming. My favourite remains the suggestion that we randomize seating in the House of Commons. Although an end to political hackery would perhaps result in the greatest benefit to society at large.

Prison reform.
Guaranteed income.
A video-conferenced Parliament.
Banning political advertising from television.
A ban on plastic bags.
Social innovation.
Turboprops.
Drones.
Random seating in the House of Commons.
Home-care benefits.
A home-heating tax break.
Making it easier to make a citizen’s arrest.
Subsidized education abroad.
A tax credit for voting.
An end to political hackery.
A national food policy.
Refugee system reform.
Enlisting amateur athletes to improve the physical fitness of school children.
Increasing the GST.
Democratic reform.
RCMP reform.
Taxing the richest.
Legalized sports gambling.
Reducing maternal mortality in the developing world.
Senate reform.
Limits on the Prime Minister’s ability to prorogue Parliament.
Renting out the House of Commons while prorogued.

Tags: democracy, economy, idea alert, Ottawa

More by Aaron Wherry

Leo

That was a short vacation!!!
ColdStanding

"…were probably in response to the realization of just how unseriously everyone else seems to regard the proceedings here"

Am I to assume that you are refering to the cavalcade of nom de plumes that regularly muddy your waters?
Gary

"No doubt if you could manage to implement them all, you would have a kind of utopia."

Oh really? That's a bold statement to make. I'll give you a few of them, the rest is garbage! Please leave me off your Utopia guest list!

McC_

I'm sensing that you don't know what the word "utopia" means (hint: it's Greek)

Gary

U·to·pi·a /yuˈtoʊpiə/ Show Spelled
[yoo-toh-pee-uh] Show IPA

–noun
1. an imaginary island described in Sir Thomas More's Utopia (1516) as enjoying perfection in law, politics, etc.
2. ( usually lowercase ) an ideal place or state.
3. ( usually lowercase ) any visionary system of political or social perfection.

Perhaps it is YOU that doesn't know the definition. See #2 & #3. Wherry's notion of an ideal place is MUCH different from mine, hence the dissagreement.

Lydia Scratch

Ummm… "Reducing maternal morality in the developing world?"

Yeah, those loose mamas are causing serious problems in the developing world. Awesome!

Crit_Reasoning

Reducing morality rates in the third world is no laughing matter. Inhabitants of developing countries have a long way to go before they can benefit from the same low morality levels enjoyed by citizens of rich industrialized nations.

Jenn_

My favourite was the video-conferenced Parliament. I don't think it was taken seriously the first time around. But we could put a good webcam in every constituency office, and GET RID of the Ottawa office budget altogether! Sure, yes, members would need to visit the nation's capital probably four times a year or so, hopefully for more than a speech from the throne each time, LOL, but I'm sure we could scrape together hotel room funds for four nights. But we'd no longer have an accommodations allowance, and air fare would be cut by a HUGE amount. Also, as Belinda said, balancing work and home life would be much easier for both men and women in Parliament.

McC_

but then opposition MPs might never get the chance to see what John Baird is "really" like, that is, when the cameras are pointed elsewhere! (honestly, I think that this is a serious advantage of actually convening Parliament in person, as it gives MPs from across the aisle opportunities to recognize each other's humanity, and to find they sometimes have more in common with each other than with their fellow partisans.)

http://twitter.com/NeilJEdmondson @NeilJEdmondson

Yabbut…they're all pinkos, with the possible exception of Bruce Anderson. Why not – as kitsch or camp or performance art or irony or whatever – get an authentic conservative in the mix in 2011?

s_c_f

Wherry doesn't like conservatives. When he says "ideas", what he often means is "leftist ideas". If it's conservative, he doesn't count it as an idea.

Stewart_Smith

In defence of Wherry, the only conservative (Canadian) to put any real ideas out there is Max.

tedbetts

And even then, what new ideas has he proposed?

s_c_f

Half of that "idea list" is actually the usual tired old list of leftist policies. It's the usual "let's take money from some people and give it to other people", because "we elitist politicians know better where to send your money better than you do", whether it's heating, voting (heck, might as well give voting a leftist tilt), home care, or even the case where we don't bother to name a purpose (guaranteed income), or even a reason (tax the richest – we'll take your money without even telling you why).

Nothing new there, and all of it economically destructive and morally hazard, fueled by envy and socialist ideals.

McC_

true story. just look at all of the tired leftist envy and tax grabs on the list!
Prison reform.
A video-conferenced Parliament.
Banning political advertising from television.
A ban on plastic bags.
Social innovation.
Turboprops.
Drones.
Random seating in the House of Commons.
Making it easier to make a citizen’s arrest.
A tax credit for voting.
An end to political hackery.
A national food policy.
Refugee system reform.
Enlisting amateur athletes to improve the physical fitness of school children.
Democratic reform.
RCMP reform.
Legalized sports gambling.
Reducing maternal mortality in the developing world.
Senate reform.
Renting out the House of Commons while prorogued.
tedbetts

Either you didn't even bother to read the list and are just knee-jerk reacting to the byline of "Wherry" or you have a very bizarre sense of what is left and right since I had no idea the following were "leftist policies" taking money from some and giving to others.

Prison reform.
A video-conferenced Parliament.
Banning political advertising from television.
A ban on plastic bags.
Social innovation.
Turboprops.
Drones.
Random seating in the House of Commons.
A home-heating tax break.
Making it easier to make a citizen’s arrest.
A tax credit for voting.
An end to political hackery.
Refugee system reform.
Enlisting amateur athletes to improve the physical fitness of school children.
Increasing the GST.
Democratic reform.
RCMP reform.
Legalized sports gambling.
Reducing maternal mortality in the developing world.
Senate reform.
Limits on the Prime Minister’s ability to prorogue Parliament.
Renting out the House of Commons while prorogued.

And these comprise most of the list.

Earth to Wherry

Looks like the new liberal eleccton platform to me, good luck with that.
Crit_Reasoning

In all seriousness, I really enjoy the Idea Alerts, even though I disagree with many of the ideas presented therein.

It's a great feature because it highlights interesting ideas and provides food for thought, which is always welcome. Keep up the good work.
http://www.linkedin.com/companies/merger-law-associates-ltd. Julius C.

Excellent feature even though I don't agree with all of them…
http://www.twitter.com/neiljedmondson Neil Edmondson

Michael Bliss's brave new proposal to – hold on to your hats kids – increase income taxes dramatically on high income earners and implement a stiff estate tax is so innovative I…the talent and imagination, it's quite frightening, really. I doubt one in a hundred economists could even grasp such an innovative, outside-the-box revolution in public policy.

Where does he come up with this stuff? Has anyone else clued in on this fresh, hopeful changiness? It's like Gene Frenkle exploring the space with his cowbell, or Archimedes running nekkid through the streets of Syracuse screaming "Eureka!"
Tokalosh

Liberals are supposed to think that structure of society keeps people excluded while conservatives are supposed to believe that personal effort determines financial success.
It would be nice to see the theories of Liberals vs Conservatives discussed in depth.
Idea Alerts with more depth would keep me coming back. I like this conversational format with new postings each day and I appreciate being allowed to add comments. First time I have spotted this. Thanks!