Mark Carney, Bank of Canada governor, is talking too much

Actions usually speak louder than words and so, I have to wonder why Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of Canada is even talking.

More and more people have to understand that there is nothing the central bank can do to stimulate the economy in any responsible sense and the evidence of this is becoming more obvious. It seems like the bankers are still struggling with the realization that printing money does not create wealth:

Holt, who remains bearish about the next few years, agrees with Carney about the lacklustre response of the private sector economy to government stimulus. He says although central banks have done all they can to cut interest rates, consumers and businesses are just not borrowing.

Porter concedes that most of the recent good news points to an ailing economy that has entered a period of convalescence. There could be a relapse, he admits, but it is also possible for the patient to make a better recovery than many suspect.

“I’m concerned because part of the puzzle that we need is to see some repair in confidence, and to have one of our policy-makers stepping on the green shoots is not helpful,” he said.

Such poetic analogies (a repair in confidence, a recovering patient) may work well in academia to maintain the attention of wide-eyed gullible students or to provide meaningless sound-bites to a journalist. However, people who actually have to work for a living and for entrepreneurs who risk their own hard-earned money, economics will have to be a lot more concrete.

How an entrepreneur’s confidence arises is anybody’s guess but I think that providing cheap credit below market rates and printing money only stimulate malinvestment throughout the economy. The monetary inflation of central banks produces a phoney signal in the market and prolongs recessions.

That is not to say that there is no good reason to print money, mind you. To understand the reason, picture yourself on the receiving end of a cheap interest loan: you get purchasing power before you have productivity to show for it. Now, imagine yourself receiving that monetary inflation regularly. Not a bad gig, I would say.

A bad market if you do not get the cheap loans, though:

The numbers also say Canadian households have barely begun to bring down their household debts. A corporation that suffers from too much debt can sell a division, or find new equity partners, or merge with a healthier company. (If these fail, there’s always bankruptcy protection.) A government can raises taxes or invent new ones (goods and services tax, anyone?) – or, as a last resort, let the printing press run harder and longer, and allow inflation to work its painful magic.

But an individual debtor has fewer options.

The end result of monetary inflation is that it distorts the economy by perpetually giving cheap credit to the lenders and their elite clients. Since everybody is forced to use the same money, the people at the low end of the income scale end up subsidizing the parasitic lenders through price inflation. It is no wonder that you can not pay your taxes in a foreign currency.

Toronto T Party? That’s “T” for “Trash”

In 1773, colonists in Boston Massachusetts chose to destroy 3 shiploads of taxed tea instead of returning it to Britain over the Tea Act. This became known as the Boston Tea Party; famous for starting the saying “No Taxation Without Representation”. This was just one of the precursors to the American Revolution.

Fast forward to 2009, Toronto, Ontario.

Toronto Mayor David Miller has through his own actions created a crisis whereby he has established a precedent for his own dealings with Organized Labour and has suddenly either seen the light, or experienced some sort of epiphany where he has realized that these sorts of “rollovers” can no longer go on. Did someone manage to prove to him that money doesn’t grow on trees? (Given that Canadian money is very colorful, his world must be in perpetual autumn.)

So now, during this disgusting crisis taking place arguably at the worst possible time for an already struggling city, Mayor David Miller is sending out the Toronto equivalent to the KGB with orders to track down and identify citizens who dispose of their trash in ways that the city doesn’t approve of (and admittedly any city wouldn’t). As if this wasn’t enough, he is encouraging citizens to snitch on their neighbors by reporting their activities to the proper “authorities”. Doesn’t that sound like the youth programs the Nazi’s established where children were brainwashed into betraying their parents and neighbors to the Gestapo? Now I’m not saying that this is what’s being emulated here, but it certainly sounds eerily similar in flavor.

Anyway, illegal dumping seems to be taking place because striking city workers have been causing some problems at approved dumping sites causing excessivly long waits (which presumably contribute to more traffic snarls in a city already famous for congestion). Now, I don’t condone illegal dumping, but what options are left to the tax-paying citizens who are not being provided with the services they have (and continue to be) paid for?

Mayor David Miller is asking people to store their garbage in their garages. Having lived in downtown Toronto for a time, I can tell you there’s not many personal garages around there. Striking city workers are asking people to submit to their ill-conceived (albeit legal) strike and all the harassment that goes with it.

Can you imagine though, if Torontonians chose the path of the Boston colonists? Imagine, if you will, if residents chose instead to destroy their own garbage instead of returning the already taxed trash to the city? I doubt Torontonians would tolerate dumping all their garbage into Toronto’s harbour, but there are other ways of disposing/destroying of trash that do not include illegal dumping.

We could very well see the Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer in Toronto. More “Hazy” than usual maybe.

Just a thought…

To the fathers in Afghanistan

A very warm Father’s Day wish to the men of the Canadian Forces who today are manning the Afghan front of the war against totalitarianism.  I know you wish you could be home today to be honoured by your children, wives (or partners, as the case may be) and extended family.

These sacrifices — the little things, if you will — sometimes go unnoticed.  Today, at ThePolitic, we remember and trust that, even though you are presently away from your loved ones, your return to loving arms will be hastened.

Have a safe and happy Father’s Day!

Michael Ignatieff: Recent History Repeating

Those who don’t not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

I find it somewhat amusing that such a lauded academic, as Michael Ignatieff claims himself to be, somehow missed that little nugget of historical truth. I find it especially interesting since he actually lived on the front lines of this ‘recent history’ for the entirety of it’s course. Maybe he wasn’t paying attention as he quietly concentrated on sharpening his dagger….

Still, Michael Ignatieff is now experiencing Stephane Dion: Re-deux. It must be incredibly frustrating for him to suddenly find himself in that position when he obviously expected thngs to be different simply because he ‘wasn’t Stephane Dion’.

Evidently Mr. Ignatieff, you are.

Obviously Mr. Ignatieff needs to spend a little more time here in Canada learning the moods of the public at large before he starts trying to throw his weight around. Canadians are sick of elections!

One, to think that he might be able to get away with yet another within a year of the last, with a public that was already exhausted before the last one, is absurd. Two, to try and use EI as the ostensible excuse when even a cursory glance at public opinion showed that EI issues aren’t even a luke-warm topic worthy of fighting an election over. Three, backlash against those who decide not to work in order to pressure others into giving them what they want has been astonishing.

What’s even more amazing though, is that Mr. Ignatieff doesn’t see it. We can all rest assured that the BLOC and the NDP will take great pleasure in letting him know over the course of the summer.

Undoubtedly, people are starting to wake up to the fact that the Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) has yet to provide anything even remotely resembling a coherent position or ability to take over the governance of the nation. To date, all they’ve done is dribble out limp ideas or material that has an extremely short shelf life more suited to an election than political grandstanding.

I believe also, that this recent trip to the precipice (brought to you by your neighbourhood LPC) is forcing Canadians to actually examine what it is that the LPC is offering. What are their policies? Where do they stand on position “X”? What is their vision for the country? These are all things that the LPC is going to be busy defending over the summer, and likely in an unsatisfactory way.

Are they afraid of the Conservatives taking some of those ideas and running with them? Is that why Dion waffled so often? And what’s wrong with that anyway if it’s for the good of the country?

Here’s a newsflash for you Mr. Ignatieff. The role of Her Majesty’s Official Opposition is……..

The duty of the Official Opposition and other opposition parties is to “challenge” government policies and suggest improvements, and present an alternative to the current Government’s policy agenda.

And “challenge” is not the same thing as “oppose“.

Now, can you actually imagine how well Canada would be served if ALL parties who stood in opposition actually did that every time they complained about something? Admittedly, all parties are guilty of not doing their full jobs here, but if they actually focused on doing what’s best for the country, and PROVING that they are in fact a Government in waiting…..well, I’m sure you see where that goes.

Until then, it appears that Mighty Michael Ignatieff is content to follow the weak example of his recent predecessors.

________________________________________________________

Update: June 18, 2009 @ 3:21pm EST

And in case any of us had forgotten…

Sell off CBC, VIA Rail and the National Arts Centre

Praise the Lord! There is hope for this country:

The federal Department of Finance has flagged several prominent Crown corporations as “not self-sustaining,” including the CBC, VIA Rail and the National Arts Centre, and has identified them as entities that could be sold as part of the government’s asset review, newly released documents show.

Finally, this government is starting to get things right!

Paul Dewar NDP supports crony capitalists and corporate welfare

Paul Dewar of the NDP is now demanding corporate welfare for the laid-off Nortel employees:

“Nortel has a long history of R&D in Canada. We can’t let the last 10 years affect Canada and prevent it from being an R&D leader. We can’t sustain a country on service workers. We need knowledge-based workers.”

That sounds poetic but I beg to differ. We can not sustain people with government bailouts. The technology industry did not just collapse over night. If those workers can not find “knowlegde-based” jobs — whatever that means — elsewhere in the market, tough luck. They should go find different jobs.

CONRAD BLACK Gets Shot At SCOTUS

In a HUGE development in the fraud conviction of Conrad Black, what every pundit was calling the remotest of happenings came to pass this day. The Supreme Court of the United States has agreed to hear the appeal of Lord Black’s convictions; fitting that it should come on Victoria Day no less.

Is it just my reading or does CTV’s headline, “U.S. court agrees to review Black’s fraud conviction,” seem rather understated. The Supreme Court of the United States agrees to hear a select FEW cases.

Chrysler LLC management appeals directly to workforce in 11th Hour letter

In a letter today to Chrysler LLC employees, chief executive Bob Nardelli and president Tom LaSorda are appealing to the workforce to consider the future of Chrysler in Canada.

“The clock is running. Without labour concessions, Chrysler Canada’s manufacturing operations will not survive long-term,”

“Let me be clear, our negotiations are about saving Chrysler Canada.  We are coming down to the wire in the fight for our company’s survival – and we need your support.”

It’s unusual for companies to bypass organized labour leadership and appeal directly to the workforce. It flies in the face of precedent when negotiating deals or settlements. Only in times of dire need or when the situation is so grim and no progress is being made with the Union Leadership have I ever seen a direct appeal to the workers to take control of their own futures.

Make no mistake. Chrysler values it’s operations in Canada. I seriously doubt that was honestly ever in question. Seeing that Ken Lewenza and his ilk are not acting in the best interests of the company or those they are supposed to represent, they are taking their case “to the people” as it were.

I’m certain we’ll hear something angry and red-faced from Ken Lewenza very shortly.

I certainly appreciate the 11th Hour plea to the workers, but I suspect that it may just be a case of ‘too little, too late’.  The workers will need to organize on their own, communicate with one another and likely fight their own union in order to accomplish anything. And that takes time. More time than they have I think, but I suppose we’ll see what happens.

However, should Chrysler fail and withdraw it’s Canadian operation in order to make a deal with Fiat to survive (and that too is a very real possibility) CAW members might really want to make an excruciatingly detailed examination of the actions and performance of their so-called Leadership, because it will have been a spectacular failure on their part to act in the best interests of it’s membership.

—————————-Update April 18th, 2009—————————-

BTW, for the record, I’m predicting that the CAW will refuse to meet the demands of the Government, Chrysler and Fiat. They may give a little more, but not enough. In order to salvage a deal with Fiat (who’s sub-compact car technology Chrysler needs to survive), Chrysler will announce that it is pulling out of Canada directly as a result of the failures of the CAW to behave as a fully participating member in a solution so that a merger with Fiat can proceed and save the jobs of the UAW workers who will ultimately make the needed concessions.

Is our future Multicultural, or Multiethnic?

First of, I’d like to subscribe 100% to Multiethnic. Let me make that clear from the outset.

What a fantastic question! And what an amazing differentiation!

[h/t to cynical joe at Unambiguously Ambidextrous]

Let me first describe the problem I have with Multicultural. Straight up? It’s a farce. It’s totally impractical, rife with logistical and social nightmares, and prone to enormous bounds of personal interpretation. To me, being a multicultural society implies that we are willing to incorporate other “cultures” into our existing culture, thus changing what the Canadian Culture is (or was?).

Personally, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. The reason why so many people want to come to Canada is because it was such a wonderful, stable, and respectful country. We had clear values and respect for one another’s differences. What brought us to that status was a legacy inherited from Britain and France of a predominately Christian philosophy and a structured but flexible legal system based on basic Christian values.

That comes under attack when we seek to ‘incorporate’ other cultures (which may or may not be compatible) into our existing culture. We do not seek to peacefully co-exist under Multiculturalism. We seek to blend. That will become a dog’s breakfast if we don’t stop it. More and more people are beginning to see that.

The virtue of a Multiethnic philosophy is that there is no blending. There is no impetus to incorporate, or to change, or to otherwise alter what makes Canada…well…Canada! By it’s name, it identifies us as being a society composed of multiple ethnic people as opposed to a society based on multiple cultures.

A Multiethnic philosophy allows for the toleration and acceptance of what makes us different, and because of those differences, our society is enhanced. We can appreciate and participate in the wonderous varieties of the cultures of these ethnic groups, without being beholden to them. The difference being that we would not be compelled to change the basic fundamentals of our society in order to incorporate possibly incompatible beliefs and/or justice systems. Canada can remain Canada, and we can maintain the best of all things in this country and of it’s people, while leaving behind that which we (or others) came here to escape.

The alternative, is to continue the cultural collisions and accidents, and in attempting to incorporate, completely homogenize what Canada was and could have been, into a bland, barren and intolerant landscape where the dream of “infinite possibility in infinite diversity” was cast aside in favor of accomodation.

Status-Quo: Toronto getting $9B for transit pet project

Dalton McGuinty (McGiveme?) announced yesterday (April 1, 2009) that Ontario will be spending $9 Billion dollars on Toronto’s long wished pet project for an expanded mass-transit network.

This follows on the heels of the McGuinty government announcing deficit spending in the Ontario Budget:

The McGuinty government is allocating $32.5 billion for infrastructure projects over the next two years, supporting an estimated 146,000 jobs in 2009-10 and 168,000 jobs in 2010-11.

So that means $16.25B in 2009-10, and then a further $16.25B in 2010-11. $9B of which is being poured into that little red spot on the above map. I know, it’s hard to see against the vast bulk of the rest of the province.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’ve lived in Toronto, and I know what traffic is like. More mass transit may help alleviate some of that congestion, and the current system is a little chaotic. I grew up in the far north of this province. I currently live in the automotive “heart” of this province. Is it worth taking advantage of the current times and the opening of the Federal Wallet to jump on this complaint, and disproportionately invest in Toronto given the situations elsewhere?

Dalton McGuinty and the successive Mayors in Toronto have whined and complained for Federal dollars to pay for this project (and other transit projects) for as long as I can remember. Suddenly, the country is about to be awash in Federal money and it looks like the Province and Toronto are taking full advantage of it to have the Feds pay for this project.

Oh sure, the optics are that Ontario is “matching” spending from the Federal Stimulus Package, but let’s be honest here; diverting such a large sum directly into that little red blot (in more ways than one) when other regions of the province are literally hemmoraging jobs in communities that are quite literally circling the drain is more than just a slap in the face.

One person even commented that it’s like giving with one hand and taking with another:

Why is the Ontario government spending billions of dollars simultaneously to destroy and save the auto industry?

It’s almost criminal. I’m sure David Miller is practically swooning in sheer joy to be able to go into his next election with this particular feather in his cap. I’m sure Dalton McGuinty is pleased that he has once again pandered to the largest voteshare in the province instead of having the personal integrity and fortitude to do the right thing and invest the money in the truly needing communities of the province. Toronto is not going to sink or swim based on this pet project. On the other hand, there are a plethora of communities who’s life-support plugs are about to be pulled unless drastic measures are taken to re-invogorate them.

But then, that has always been the Status Quo in this province of ours.

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