George Patrick Richard Benson
@georgeprbenson.bsky.social
Building better economies for people and planet @ ZEIC.ca
Annoyingly into industrial policy, democratizing finance and economies, and better rule-making.
I have a newsletter: georgeprbenson.com
Annoyingly into industrial policy, democratizing finance and economies, and better rule-making.
I have a newsletter: georgeprbenson.com
Reposted by George Patrick Richard Benson
approved despite over 600 speakers signing up to speak to the budget, with all but a tiny number strongly opposed, and following a public engagement survey that found the majority of respondents supported a property tax increase to avoid cuts.
Vancouver's 2026 draft budget has PASSED.
Approved on a 7-4 vote on party lines, with ABC in favour and councillors Fry/Bligh/Orr/Maloney opposed.
Property tax freeze, $50 million more for VPD, and cuts to Arts, Culture, Planning and Sustainability departments, among others.
Full story to come.
Approved on a 7-4 vote on party lines, with ABC in favour and councillors Fry/Bligh/Orr/Maloney opposed.
Property tax freeze, $50 million more for VPD, and cuts to Arts, Culture, Planning and Sustainability departments, among others.
Full story to come.
November 25, 2025 at 10:22 PM
approved despite over 600 speakers signing up to speak to the budget, with all but a tiny number strongly opposed, and following a public engagement survey that found the majority of respondents supported a property tax increase to avoid cuts.
Reposted by George Patrick Richard Benson
Vancouver's 2026 draft budget has PASSED.
Approved on a 7-4 vote on party lines, with ABC in favour and councillors Fry/Bligh/Orr/Maloney opposed.
Property tax freeze, $50 million more for VPD, and cuts to Arts, Culture, Planning and Sustainability departments, among others.
Full story to come.
Approved on a 7-4 vote on party lines, with ABC in favour and councillors Fry/Bligh/Orr/Maloney opposed.
Property tax freeze, $50 million more for VPD, and cuts to Arts, Culture, Planning and Sustainability departments, among others.
Full story to come.
November 25, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Vancouver's 2026 draft budget has PASSED.
Approved on a 7-4 vote on party lines, with ABC in favour and councillors Fry/Bligh/Orr/Maloney opposed.
Property tax freeze, $50 million more for VPD, and cuts to Arts, Culture, Planning and Sustainability departments, among others.
Full story to come.
Approved on a 7-4 vote on party lines, with ABC in favour and councillors Fry/Bligh/Orr/Maloney opposed.
Property tax freeze, $50 million more for VPD, and cuts to Arts, Culture, Planning and Sustainability departments, among others.
Full story to come.
Well said. Lots more uncertainty than Smith’s new sunny ways suggest.
I feel the need to repeat this, even as suggesting that we not focus so heavily on the pipeline positioning in the imminent MOU feels like an increasingly lonely argument. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...
Pipeline mania is distracting from what the talks between Ottawa and Alberta could actually achieve
Negotiations should work toward setting clear, predictable policy conditions that open the door to private-sector investment
www.theglobeandmail.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Well said. Lots more uncertainty than Smith’s new sunny ways suggest.
Reposted by George Patrick Richard Benson
About a dozen parents and children here at Vancouver city hall this morning for a change-in protest in response to the city looking at removing change tables and hygiene stations. Today, council votes on the 2026 budget that would see a zero percent property tax increase.
November 25, 2025 at 5:15 PM
About a dozen parents and children here at Vancouver city hall this morning for a change-in protest in response to the city looking at removing change tables and hygiene stations. Today, council votes on the 2026 budget that would see a zero percent property tax increase.
Signed up to be an organ donor today. Please consider it if you haven't already: register.transplant.bc.ca
Organ Donor Registry
register.transplant.bc.ca
November 24, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Signed up to be an organ donor today. Please consider it if you haven't already: register.transplant.bc.ca
What if we didn’t just give free advertising to people who will never do the thing their website says? What if we didn’t breathlessly believe every person who calls themselves a founder?
A 25-person startup is developing technology to block the sun and turn down the planet’s thermostat.
The stakes are huge — and the company and its critics say regulations need to catch up.
Read more: politi.co/4iaojIc
The stakes are huge — and the company and its critics say regulations need to catch up.
Read more: politi.co/4iaojIc
November 24, 2025 at 1:43 AM
What if we didn’t just give free advertising to people who will never do the thing their website says? What if we didn’t breathlessly believe every person who calls themselves a founder?
Terrorized me since Pinocchio with JTT in 1996 and it’s been love ever since. Rest in piece, king.
November 24, 2025 at 1:40 AM
Terrorized me since Pinocchio with JTT in 1996 and it’s been love ever since. Rest in piece, king.
Reposted by George Patrick Richard Benson
Hey, if you just can't get enough of me and @jmcelroy.bsky.social blabbing on about city budgets and the Vancouver mayor's race - then you need to hear our "This is Vancouver" podcast. This week's episode is epic.
Hear it here: podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/f...
Or wherever you get your pods...
Hear it here: podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/f...
Or wherever you get your pods...
November 21, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Hey, if you just can't get enough of me and @jmcelroy.bsky.social blabbing on about city budgets and the Vancouver mayor's race - then you need to hear our "This is Vancouver" podcast. This week's episode is epic.
Hear it here: podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/f...
Or wherever you get your pods...
Hear it here: podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/f...
Or wherever you get your pods...
Reposted by George Patrick Richard Benson
The President of the United States is publicly calling for the political prosecution of his political opponents, urging the death penalty because they urged soldiers to uphold the rule of law.
This should be front page news everywhere. It is not, which tells much about how we got to this point.
This should be front page news everywhere. It is not, which tells much about how we got to this point.
November 20, 2025 at 5:35 PM
The President of the United States is publicly calling for the political prosecution of his political opponents, urging the death penalty because they urged soldiers to uphold the rule of law.
This should be front page news everywhere. It is not, which tells much about how we got to this point.
This should be front page news everywhere. It is not, which tells much about how we got to this point.
Reposted by George Patrick Richard Benson
Goddamn dude, just go ahead knock 25 percent off my 401k and get on with it, I can't take much more of this.
What if the A.I. bubble “is an inevitable part of developing and adopting a revolutionary tool that will fundamentally improve productivity and growth?” Mohamed El-Erian writes.
Opinion | A.I. Is a Bubble. Maybe That’s OK.
Investors’ excitement rightly reflects the potential transformation of the entire economy.
nyti.ms
November 20, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Goddamn dude, just go ahead knock 25 percent off my 401k and get on with it, I can't take much more of this.
Well this is charming 🧀
Nachos are named for Ignacio Anaya, the maître d'hotel at the Victory Club in Piedras Negras, across the Texas border from Eagle Pass, TX.
1943: US Army wives, tired from shopping, asked him to whip up a snack. He covered tostados with Wisconsin cheddar, stuck under a broiler & added jalapeños.
1943: US Army wives, tired from shopping, asked him to whip up a snack. He covered tostados with Wisconsin cheddar, stuck under a broiler & added jalapeños.
November 20, 2025 at 1:25 AM
Well this is charming 🧀
Reposted by George Patrick Richard Benson
The actual secret to why I know stuff is that I ask a question any time I don’t understand literally anything. I don’t care how simple it is. Anybody who makes fun of you for asking a simple question likely doesn’t know the answer either
November 20, 2025 at 12:32 AM
The actual secret to why I know stuff is that I ask a question any time I don’t understand literally anything. I don’t care how simple it is. Anybody who makes fun of you for asking a simple question likely doesn’t know the answer either
Reposted by George Patrick Richard Benson
ICYMI Vancouver's multiplex restrictions mean far fewer homes will be created than provincial reforms intended says senior economist
@1alexhemingway.bsky.social.
“They’ve only allowed a tiny increase above the amount of floor space you could build for a single-family home."
@1alexhemingway.bsky.social.
“They’ve only allowed a tiny increase above the amount of floor space you could build for a single-family home."
Can multiplexes solve B.C.'s housing crisis? - Business in Vancouver
Hearings in North Vancouver highlight uneven zoning, added fees and slow approvals as developers eye cheaper, quicker build forms.
www.biv.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:00 AM
ICYMI Vancouver's multiplex restrictions mean far fewer homes will be created than provincial reforms intended says senior economist
@1alexhemingway.bsky.social.
“They’ve only allowed a tiny increase above the amount of floor space you could build for a single-family home."
@1alexhemingway.bsky.social.
“They’ve only allowed a tiny increase above the amount of floor space you could build for a single-family home."
Reposted by George Patrick Richard Benson
The Mayor isn’t here to hear speakers - the meeting is being chaired by Acting Mayor Zhou.
Vancouver City Council has just resumed to continue to hear speakers on the 2026 Capital and Operating Budget. We’re up to speaker 450.
November 18, 2025 at 11:08 PM
The Mayor isn’t here to hear speakers - the meeting is being chaired by Acting Mayor Zhou.
Reposted by George Patrick Richard Benson
I am pretty sure that when Merv Leitch and Peter Lougheed first created the notwithstanding clause, they didn’t mean it to be deployed to bully and oppress literal school children. #ableg #abpoli #TransRightsAreHumanRights #Alberta #notwithstandingclause
Alberta to invoke notwithstanding clause to shield 3 transgender bills from court challenges | CBC News
The Alberta government has tabled legislation that seeks to invoke the notwithstanding clause to shield a suite of bills that affects transgender youth and adults from legal challenges.
www.cbc.ca
November 18, 2025 at 10:16 PM
I am pretty sure that when Merv Leitch and Peter Lougheed first created the notwithstanding clause, they didn’t mean it to be deployed to bully and oppress literal school children. #ableg #abpoli #TransRightsAreHumanRights #Alberta #notwithstandingclause
Some good news, and some really dark news, but, most importantly, a more complex picture of how life on earth is evolving in the age of ecological breakdown and, more generally, the Anthropocene.
A slowdown, not salvation: what new extinction data reveal about the state of life on Earth
For decades, biologists have warned that humanity is precipitating a sixth mass extinction. By some estimates, species are vanishing at up to a thousand times the natural background rate. Yet a new st...
news.mongabay.com
November 18, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Some good news, and some really dark news, but, most importantly, a more complex picture of how life on earth is evolving in the age of ecological breakdown and, more generally, the Anthropocene.
🙃🙃🙃
new paper by Sean Westwood:
With current technology, it is impossible to tell whether survey respondents are real or bots. Among other things, makes it easy for bad actors to manipulate outcomes. No good news here for the future of online-based survey research
With current technology, it is impossible to tell whether survey respondents are real or bots. Among other things, makes it easy for bad actors to manipulate outcomes. No good news here for the future of online-based survey research
November 18, 2025 at 8:53 PM
🙃🙃🙃
Reposted by George Patrick Richard Benson
Ken Sim's comments on EarlyEd were delusional:
His defense of "thorough budget presentation" suggested councillors were afforded multiple rounds of questions. In fact, critical councillors were given only two 5min blocks for questions and answers on 90 slide, 23p, $2.4b budget before ABC cut us off
His defense of "thorough budget presentation" suggested councillors were afforded multiple rounds of questions. In fact, critical councillors were given only two 5min blocks for questions and answers on 90 slide, 23p, $2.4b budget before ABC cut us off
Listening to Ken Sim’s @cbcstephenquinn.bsky.social interview and it’s kind of surprising his team doesn’t prepare him better for this tough interviewer.
He says the police board has said no to some budget asks and the police have cut back their spending - but can’t name examples. #vanpoli
He says the police board has said no to some budget asks and the police have cut back their spending - but can’t name examples. #vanpoli
November 18, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Ken Sim's comments on EarlyEd were delusional:
His defense of "thorough budget presentation" suggested councillors were afforded multiple rounds of questions. In fact, critical councillors were given only two 5min blocks for questions and answers on 90 slide, 23p, $2.4b budget before ABC cut us off
His defense of "thorough budget presentation" suggested councillors were afforded multiple rounds of questions. In fact, critical councillors were given only two 5min blocks for questions and answers on 90 slide, 23p, $2.4b budget before ABC cut us off
Reposted by George Patrick Richard Benson
GOAT
After much deliberation and a grueling interview process, I’m pleased to announce that I’ve accepted a new job and will not need any financial support from my parents to cover the high costs of childcare going forward. #AmericanDream #ThisIsYourCity
November 18, 2025 at 4:51 PM
GOAT
Reposted by George Patrick Richard Benson
Great to see the Yukon to BC grid connection added to the federal major project list. A BC grid connection would allow switching from diesel both on community and on new mine projects! www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
ANALYSIS | Ottawa names Yukon grid project in new major projects list. What does that mean? | CBC News
Prime Minister Mark Carney may have put the Yukon-B.C. grid connection on the latest list of nation-building projects, but Yukoners are no closer to knowing when they can tap into B.C. hydro.
www.cbc.ca
November 18, 2025 at 5:28 AM
Great to see the Yukon to BC grid connection added to the federal major project list. A BC grid connection would allow switching from diesel both on community and on new mine projects! www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Great quote from Mike Larson:
“An FOI request is not really a request,” he added. “It’s a legal mechanism.”
“An FOI request is not really a request,” he added. “It’s a legal mechanism.”
VPD ignoring FOI requests for chief's communications leading up to 2022 muni election referencing then-mayoral-candidate Ken Sim or stranger assaults, which became highly politicized during the campaign, @andrewweichel.bsky.social and @lisa-steacy.bsky.social report
www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/ar...
www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/ar...
Vancouver police ignore FOI requests for chief's communications
For nearly a year, the Vancouver Police Department has failed to fulfill two freedom of information requests seeking records from Chief Adam Palmer and other high-ranking officials – a situation trans...
www.ctvnews.ca
November 18, 2025 at 5:22 AM
Great quote from Mike Larson:
“An FOI request is not really a request,” he added. “It’s a legal mechanism.”
“An FOI request is not really a request,” he added. “It’s a legal mechanism.”
File this under “incredibly niche topics that actually have massive societal implications.”
Interesting podcast episode about Switzerland's new risk-based fire safety code, which was prompted by concerns that fire safety costs were getting too high and that they were overregulating (the phrase "too safe" is uttered) in some cases www.firescienceshow.com/226-new-swis...
226 - New Swiss fire safety code with Gianluca De Sanctis and Sofia Kourgiantaki
It is a massive effort to rewrite a national fire safety code around measurable risk, explicit targets, and cost-effectiveness. But sometimes, there are great reaso…
www.firescienceshow.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:33 AM
File this under “incredibly niche topics that actually have massive societal implications.”
Reposted by George Patrick Richard Benson
New opinion piece in the @vancouversun.bsky.social: A turn to austerity will cost Vancouver dearly. vancouversun.com/opinion/opin...
Opinion: Vancouver goes small: The city risks big new problems with its proposed turn to austerity
Austerity budgets save some money in the short term, but have long-term costs, both financial and otherwise
vancouversun.com
November 17, 2025 at 10:51 PM
New opinion piece in the @vancouversun.bsky.social: A turn to austerity will cost Vancouver dearly. vancouversun.com/opinion/opin...
Working on a piece about Pyrrhus and it’s so satisfying to get to stretch my historian muscles.
November 17, 2025 at 12:27 AM
Working on a piece about Pyrrhus and it’s so satisfying to get to stretch my historian muscles.