Tags: MerylStreep

TRUE NORTH STRONG AND EXPENSIVE.

Yachting, polo, squash and fencing are what I call upper class sports. You need a lot of money, or go to prep school with it, in order to play or want to even watch.

But two sports that used to be proudly middle class are in danger of being played and watched mainly by rich people. It’s worse that hockey and skiing are the very sports Canadians love and excel at – and are at the heart of being Canadian.

But the news last week that the cost for a family of four to go to a Toronto Maple Leafs game will be $1,000 this season sparked protests from thousands of fans who resent the20%+ jump in season ticket prices in a city that’s already the most expensive in the world to watch pro hockey. The Leafs are a unique subset of what economists call a Giffen Good, a product or service whose demand increases as its price rises. Because the Leaf’s home ice attendance averages 99.8%, with occasional rises to 105%, and has for decades now, they are not just immune to the laws of supply and demand, but to the idea that a better product will draw a bigger audience.

Read on…

SOME CORNER OF A FOREIGN FIELD.

Rich people give their millions to charities for as many reasons as there are rich people. The fight for love and glory is surely the biggest. Some big givers are also grateful patients or students of their alma maters. Some want to plump their city; others, boost their profession, their grandkids’ sports team, their nation’s military.

Canada’s 1% have not been as generous or as loud as America’s in supporting our charities. But this year, when Canada’s elbows are way up, that might change. Especially for causes that promote Canadian excellence on the world stage, like Own the Podium and the Canada Gairdner Awards.

But it’s also time to think of those Canadians who are promoting our country abroad, sending big signals in foreign lands about our values, our standards and our staying power.

Read on…

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