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Ty Thiessen 🌾

@tythiessen.bsky.social
443 followers 164 following 113 posts

Learning the Art of Public Finance at U of S 🌾 | Commerce Student | Fiscal Policy | Legal Research #skpoli

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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
“A simplified royalty on economic rents would help #Sask retain more potash wealth, while enhancing productivity, increasing investment, and reducing uncertainty for investment planning.” #skpoli No better time for potash royalty review in #Saskatchewan thestarphoenix.com/opinion/lett...
thestarphoenix.com
Opinion: No better time for potash royalty review in Saskatchewan
Constraints have led the potash industry to support calls for a royalty review in the past.
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 15/11/2025
My latest: “If we continue to resort to tax incrementalism and government spending as the solutions to our economic woes, we will continue to watch the promise of a prosperous future slip away.” #skpoli #cdnpoli #sask thestarphoenix.com/opinion/opin...
thestarphoenix.com
Opinion: Innovative tax systems an opportunity for Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan has an opportunity to develop a tax environment that rewards businesses for investing in wages, jobs and capital.
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Given that the dataset used (and listed) in the graphic spans nearly 600 months and covers every province, it was never going to be realistic for it to be broken down in granular detail. However, other more recent annual datasets indicate that the bloat is largely in healthcare administration.
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
To be fair, and as the chart shows, the public sector share of employment did fall under Devine, and it was held flat under Wall. So both of those campaign promises were followed through upon by their respective proponents.
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
#Saskatchewan’s provincial government has enjoyed bragging of job growth. Almost all of this “growth” has been in the public sector, at the expense of taxpayers. August marked the highest public sector share of total employment in #Sask data history. This cannot be sustained. #skpoli #cdnpoli
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
For decades, tax policy in #Saskatchewan has deterred new investment and driven thousands of young workers to leave. We can’t afford to continue down this path. #skpoli #cdnpoli My latest column explores these issues, and provides a potential solution: thestarphoenix.com/opinion/lett...
thestarphoenix.com
Opinion: Saskatchewan's tax structure discourages growth
Saskatchewan cannot continue to discourage growth through its tax structure.
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
For decades, tax policy in #Saskatchewan has deterred new investment and driven thousands of young workers to leave. We can’t afford to continue down this path. #skpoli #cdnpoli My latest column explores these issues, and provides a potential solution: thestarphoenix.com/opinion/lett...
thestarphoenix.com
Opinion: Saskatchewan's tax structure discourages growth
Saskatchewan cannot continue to discourage growth through its tax structure.
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
If spending had grown with inflation and population growth since Premier Moe took office, #Saskatchewan would have spent over $2.3 B less in 2024. That’s enough to cut PST by nearly 75% And yet, services haven’t improved. This is the definition of managerial failure. #skpoli #Sask #cdnpoli
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
It’s clear as day that the Diefenbaker Irrigation Project is a bad deal for #Saskatchewan taxpayers. Over $2 billion in costs for the WIRP at a total best-case tax return of under $600 million is an egregious loss. But it’s also a bad deal for #Sask producers. #skpoli 🧵
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
“It’s time for #Saskatchewan to step up to the plate and face the challenges of the day. Budget 2025 is an embarrassment for this province. Let’s not let the rest of this session be the same.” #skpoli #Sask budget leaves province perilously unprepared thestarphoenix.com/opinion/colu...
thestarphoenix.com
Opinion: Saskatchewan's budget leaves province perilously unprepared
Saskatchewan's recent budget is built on egregious assumptions and without the same contingency for the effect of tariffs as other provinces.
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
I need to post on here more often. Will also be posting more on Facebook as well since it is by far the largest and most used platform in the province.
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
#Saskatchewan Finance Minister Jim Reiter says his 2025 budget ensures that #Sask is the most affordable for starting a business. #Sask has the third highest marginal tax on investment in #Canada, the highest on oil and gas, and the world’s least competitive royalty for potash. #skpoli #cdnpoli
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Jeremy Simes @jeremysimes.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
The motion condemns Trump for proposing to annex Canada and imposing tariffs and does not support Canada putting export tariffs on Canadian resources. The motion passes. #skpoli
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Alex Marz @marz.ca · 02/02/2025
Please check out @tythiessen.bsky.social’s break down of the SaskParty Lake Diefenbaker Irrigation Debacle on @tammyrobert.bsky.social’s podcast. #skpoli tammyrobert.substack.com/p/pipe-to-pi...
tammyrobert.substack.com
Pipe To Pivot: Dismantling the Lake Diefenbaker Irrigation Debacle, Chapter 1
With Tammy Robert & Ty Thiessen. Produced by Paul Dechene.
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Paul Dechene @pauldechene.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
New Saskatchewan Survivor's Guide in which Tammy & I talk w/ economics brain-haver @tythiessen.bsky.social about the Westside Diefenbaker Irrigation Project. That'd be the Sask Party's newest mega-project & soon-to-be next billion-dollar boondoogle.
substack.com
Saskatchewan Survival Guide: Ep 128
We talked the Westside Diefenbaker Irrigation project with special guest and agriculture economist wunderkind Ty Thiessen.
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
When BHP attempted to buy PCS in 2010, Premier @BradWall306 vociferously opposed the move, saying his government didn’t support BHP’s philosophy, which was in reality economics 101. Today? Radio silence on an uncompetitive merger that will slam #sask grain farmers. #skpoli #cdnpoli
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
Perhaps what strikes me most about #Saskatchewan’s Government is that they’re willing to spend at least $1,000 per taxpayer to support less than 1% of #Sask producers, but they refuse to oppose the Bunge-Viterra Merger which will cost producers $770 million per year. #skpoli #cdnpoli
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liseabetta.bsky.social @liseabetta.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
U of S ag economics associate prof Tristan Skolrud at 27:20. You won't regret listening to his take which is expands upon what Ty Thiessen has posted here. Ask yourselves why are we spending this money for so little in return? #skpoli #saskatchewan www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8_h...
youtube.com
Is the Diefenbaker irrigation project worth the cost?
YouTube video by CBC News Saskatchewan
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
The Diefenbaker Irrigation Project shortchanges #Sask by billions in costs and hampered growth. The @SKGov is far better off investing in R+D, which can benefit all producers. My latest: #Saskatchewan's $1.2B irrigation project fails any economic test thestarphoenix.com/opinion/colu...
thestarphoenix.com
Opinion: Saskatchewan's $1.2B irrigation project fails any economic test
Saskatchewan's plan to spend $1.15 billion on the Diefenbaker irrigation project to benefit a small group of farmers fails any cost-benefit analysis.
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Darcy Warrington @darcywarrington.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
2024 was a year of exceptional people, hard work and learning a lot. I’m honoured to start this year as the MLA for Stonebridge. 2024 will be tough to beat but we’re sure going to try! #saskNDP #Saskatoon
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
bsky.app/profile/tyth...
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
The Diefenbaker Project makes sense for no one but a handful of landowners. If #Saskatchewan is serious about supporting producers and delivering economic growth, the project should be scrapped. Alternatives like R+D are far superior in all regards. #skpoli end of 🧵
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
#Saskatchewan spends the least on research and development as a percentage of GDP in Canada. If the province reversed that record, they could vastly expand economic output, advance the agriculture sector, support producers, and deliver returns for #Sask taxpayers. #skpoli /14
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
Research and development is where subsidies make sense. Individual firms don’t capture substantial benefits from their own investments in R+D, creating a market failure where the #Saskatchewan Government can prudently take up the slack. #skpoli /13
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
At a fraction of the cost of the Diefenbaker Project, the #sask provincial government could establish an endowment to finance research grants at the University of #Saskatchewan to reduce water stress, improve crop yields, and advance soil health. The possibilities are vast. #skpoli /12
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
#Saskatchewan has, in #yxe, one of the best agricultural and water research institutions in the world, the University of Saskatchewan. The WIRP barely has the potential to benefit less than 1% of the province’s producers. Research and development benefits all producers and all of #Sask. #skpoli /11
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
That “modest” regional return is a mere 3.5% annually in the best case scenario, not considering the lifecycle costs of the project. Subsidies for sectors and projects with low returns tie capital and labour to those returns, decreasing overall economic growth. #skpoli /10
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
The last resort for the #sask government is therefore the economic return of the project. In October, #Saskatchewan economist Peter Phillips described this “return” as the “possibility we will get a modest increase in economic activity in one part of the province”. #skpoli /9
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
Thus, it isn’t clear that anyone at all benefits from this project financially, beyond increases in land prices in the region. Producers throughout the province lose out, as do all #Saskatchewan taxpayers. #skpoli /8
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
Of course, in all of these scenarios, the rest of #Saskatchewan, including more than 99% of grain and oilseed producers, remain on the losing end of this project. The total gain in income for local #sask producers is less than the fiscal loss of the project. #skpoli /7
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
It would be more reasonable that the #Saskatchewan government ask producers to front the maintenance and operating costs of the project, which amount to approximately $1 billion. This wouldn’t require initial borrowing. It does, however, cut the annual return for producers to under 1%. #skpoli /6
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
The S&P 500 Index consistently manages average returns exceeding 10% in the long run, which would amount to a $9.2 billion difference between investing $100 million in the S&P 500 and opting in to the WIRP. #skpoli /5
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
Say local #sask producers are asked to contribute a mere 4.5% of project costs. That’s ~$100 million for producers who collectively net $8 million a year according to the report. Their annual return on that investment amounts to a measly 5.6%, an abysmal long term return. #skpoli /4
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
Using further hopeful assumptions as to the crop types that #Saskatchewan producers will grow over the next 50 years (one hell of a risk), over the 50 year span of the project local producers would make an additional $1.5 billion. That figure sounds nice…not considering costs. #skpoli /3
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
Patrick Boyle of the Water Security Agency told CBC #Saskatchewan in October that participating farmers would be on the hook for a portion of the project. The KPMG economic analysis assumes that all local farmers will gradually participate, with 100% participation by 2048. #skpoli /2
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
It’s clear as day that the Diefenbaker Irrigation Project is a bad deal for #Saskatchewan taxpayers. Over $2 billion in costs for the WIRP at a total best-case tax return of under $600 million is an egregious loss. But it’s also a bad deal for #Sask producers. #skpoli 🧵
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 13/12/2024
It was out there before as well. Mentioned in the article is a piece by Ron Styles who discussed the pitfalls of the SK economy in more detail than this piece. Didn’t feature in the campaign. Tax reform: not discussed. Subsides? Unchecked. State of the economy? Scarcely considered.
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 13/12/2024
My latest column in the StarPhoenix and Leader-Post: Opinion: Forecasts show #Sask economic strategy is failing #Saskatchewan's lagging economy can be traced to its ongoing maintenance of one of the most inefficient and distortionary tax regimes in the country. leaderpost.com/opinion/colu...
leaderpost.com
Opinion: Forecasts show Saskatchewan’s economic strategy is failing
Saskatchewan's lagging economy can be traced to its ongoing maintenance of one of the most inefficient and distortionary tax regimes in the country.
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Laurence Thompson @thompsonlg.bsky.social · 08/12/2024
Excellent analysis of the weaknesses in Saskatchewan govt’s economic strategy & 3 major changes in strategy to improve economic growth. #skpoli
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 08/12/2024
The Federal Conservatives have promised a Tax Reform Task Force. If #Saskatchewan New Democrats want the economic credibility that they did not have with the people of the province in this election year, they should commit to a similar review in #Sask. #skpoli end of 🧵
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 08/12/2024
And if they won’t, the #Saskatchewan NDP needs to step up and commit to a thorough review of the returns of provincial subsidies, as well as a review of the entire tax system in the province, with a focus on delivering efficiency that will lead to economic growth. #skpoli /24
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 08/12/2024
The Government of #Saskatchewan needs to take a hard look at its economic approach, to respect basic economics and to reduce inefficiencies in spending and taxation that lower growth and drive away jobs and investment. #skpoli /23
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 08/12/2024
This subsidy strategy has resulted in the second lowest rate of economic growth in the nation. It hasn’t worked, and continuing to promote this anti-market approach would be the definition of insane. #skpoli /22
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 08/12/2024
According to Statistics Canada, in 2023 alone, excluding spending on agriculture, #Saskatchewan dished out $435 million in subsidies. With a $734.5 million deficit this year, such spending not only is likely reducing our economic growth, but it increases #Sask debt. #skpoli /21
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 08/12/2024
This is a likelihood that #Saskatchewan seems to ignore when it comes to the largest public sector capital project in #Sask history, the Diefenbaker Irrigation Project, which itself acts as a regional subsidy with poor returns, reducing growth. #skpoli /20 thestarphoenix.com/opinion/colu...
thestarphoenix.com
Opinion: Sask. irrigation project analysis shows it must be scrapped
Saskatchewan's next government would be well advised to shelve a massive irrigation project that would produce a poor return on investment.
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 08/12/2024
Economist Claude Lavoie has duly written that, despite the claims of politicians who say subsidy projects lead to job growth, such expenditures more likely shuffle the economic deck, shifting jobs from one region to another. #skpoli /19 policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/se....
policyoptions.irpp.org
Direct subsidies to companies are always a bad idea
Industrial policies only serve to enrich a small group, at the expense of taxpayers and the economy as a whole.
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 08/12/2024
Economist Jack Mintz recently wrote that subsidies “kill productivity”. If dollars go to firms with poor returns, economic growth suffers. If dollars flow to firms with strong returns, the dollars were wasted as such investments would occur regardless. #skpoli /18 financialpost.com/opinion/corp...
financialpost.com
Jack Mintz: Corporate welfare shrinks the economy
Successful firms don't need government help and unsuccessful ones don't deserve it. We should stop wasting tens of billions a year. Read on
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 08/12/2024
#Saskatchewan is the second most subsidized province in all of Canada, having spent nearly $10,000 more per taxpayer than 3rd place New Brunswick between 2007 and 2019. #skpoli /17 fraserinstitute.org/studies/cost-o….
fraserinstitute.org
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 08/12/2024
These tax problems are structural, and perhaps unintended by the government. But their actual intended economic strategy leads to decline as well. #skpoli /16
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Ty Thiessen 🌾 @tythiessen.bsky.social · 08/12/2024
The #Saskatchewan Government wants to deliver a $140 million inefficient tax cut through a variety of tax credits that won’t provide financial relief to families until 2026. That $253 million far exceeds that $140 million cut, which will only increase the deficit. #skpoli /15
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