Business And Finance
Mortgages
Travis Bartel: July 28, 2009
I just had the privilege of spending the past two weeks visiting family in beautiful British Columbia. B.C. has this interesting phenomenon called “Summer”. What happens is that for a few months out of the year the rain goes away and the temperature rises above 18 degrees Celsius. It’s quite an interesting phenomenon and I [...]
Summertime readings
Travis Bartel: May 14, 2009
As a child I was a “doer”; I liked to run around, wrestle, and play sports. I wasn’t particularly fond of sitting in one spot, or sitting in general. But in my later years I’ve grown quite fond of this activity called “reading”; maybe you’ve heard of it. Chances are you’re doing it right now. [...]
Minimum wage
Travis Bartel: April 10, 2009
On April 1, the minimum wage in Nova Scotia increased from $8.10 to $8.60 an hour, marking a 6.2% increase. The minimum wage is meant to protect some of the most vulnerable workers and guarantee a minimum standard of pay. Unfortunately, this doesn’t happen. Supply and demand teaches us the following: as the hourly wage [...]
Lack of intelligence in recent bonus package payouts
Travis Bartel: March 22, 2009
At the risk of jumping on an already overcrowded band wagon, I’m not too sure about the logic these days behind the AIG and Nortel performance and retention bonuses. Yes, it does look bad when a company lays off hundreds and thousands of its employees, and then gives a handful of executives millions of dollars [...]