Election Humour

Ok people, with 4 weeks to go, it's time to lighten up a bit:

While walking down the street one day a Member of Parliament is tragically hit by a truck and dies.

His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.

'Welcome to heaven,' says St. Peter.

'Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you.'

'No problem, just let me in,' says the man.

'Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity.'

'Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven,' says the MP.

'I'm sorry, but we have our rules.'

And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he went down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he found himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.

Everyone is very happy and dressed in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people.

They played a friendly game of golf and then dined on lobster, caviar and champagne.

Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly & nice guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it's time to go.

Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and wave whilst the elevator rises....

The elevator rises and the door opens in heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.

'Now it's time to visit heaven.'

So, 24 hours pass with the MP joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.

'Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity.'

The MP reflects for a minute, then he answers: 'Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell.'

So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down down to hell.

When the doors open he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage.

He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above.

The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder. ' I don't understand,' stammers the MP.'Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, danced and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened? '

The devil looks at him, smiles and says, ' Yesterday we were campaigning..
Today you voted.

The New Canadian Insensitivity - Refugees - Election 2015

This time, it's refugees fleeing a war.  A war, I might point out, that has it's roots in Western meddling and indifference in the Middle East, policies that go back decades and that have involved supporting and arming a number of tyrants over the years.  We just can't ignore or deny our complicity.  To the issue of what Canada should be doing, there could be more support of humanitarian efforts in refugee camps, where they exist, and helping to take in at least some refugees.

Unfortunately, the Harper Conservatives are doing neither, to any serious extent, seemingly satisfied with painting children and their families as potential terrorists and intolerable drains on the public purse.  Shame on the government.  Security is pretty much a red herring and appeals only to people's fears and the xenophobia of a vocal minority, but not reality.  

There have been many articles published on the refugee story:

• Reality Check - Are Refugees an Economic Burden? from Global
• Let Them in and Let Them Earn from the Economist
• Terrorism is a Pathetic Excuse for Doing Little About Refugees from iPolitics
• Calling Bullshit on the Anti-Refugee Memes.... from Vice.com
• Stephen Harper's Abhorrent Record on Refugees & Immigration from the Broadbent Institute

Government inaction on another front, climate change, will ultimately come back to bite us as climate refugees begin to leave uninhabitable parts of the world.  It's shameful, incompetent and dangerous to pretend either of these issues aren't serious problems that need competent action, and yet that is exactly what the Harper Conservatives have been doing.  Is this the Canada we've become?

It's the Economy, Stupid - Election 2015

Just last night, the Globe and Mail (referred to these days as the Globe and Male) hosted an election debate on the economy.  Despite there being 4 national parties, only the boys were invited to attend, leaving Elizabeth May to operate a tweet-fest to weigh in with her points.

I didn't watch the debate.  Partly because it was on-line, partly because I'm not a great G&M fan and mostly because Ms May wasn't invited.  I've read the G&M's rationalization for this decision, but I don't buy it, and neither do lots of other Canadians.  Besides, I had better things to than listen to the boys natter at each other all evening.  I've read plenty about the economy and listening to them surely would not be very enlightening.  So the debate went on without my attendance.

I'm not going to even attempt to discuss who won, who lost, who butted in and was rude the most, who lied the most, who was unrealistic, who was original or not....  Who cares.  If you want to read a real economist's analysis of the Harper government's "management" of the economy, you can check here.  But here's what I think:

First, Canada is in the second recession since the Conservatives took power back in 2006.  I'm not going to blame them for either one.  Both recessions were caused by world events out of the control of the government.  However...

The first recession was at first denied by the Conservatives who tried to pretend it wasn't there.  Recall that the main reason why it didn't affect Canada so much was because we have more stringent rules governing the banking sector.  Harper can't claim credit for those.

The second recession, caused by falling world crude prices, has been a disaster for Alberta but it shows the dangers of putting all your eggs in one basket.  This is exactly what the Conservatives have tried to do, for 10 years.  Consequently we are seen as a single-industry petro-state causing our dollar to fall when oil falls.  This could be an advantage for exports, but we have a problem there too.

Despite corporate tax cuts, businesses are sitting on about $630B of "dead money", funds they haven't plowed back into the economy, as is so often claimed.  

So, revenue has been reduced, the dollar has tanked along with the price of oil and companies haven't been investing.  In fact, some are moving jobs out of the country, a process that has been going on for some time now.

The Conservatives have bet the farm on three things, all of which have not turned out well. They include: 1) betting on oil as an economic engine, 2) overstate the job creation record, and 3) irresponsible tax breaks.

Another analysis of the Conservatives' economic policies can be found here.  One telling quote puts it this way:

"Corporate tax cuts have been central to the Harper government’s economic agenda from the beginning. The result has been a huge loss of public revenues for little economic gain. In other words, the evidence strongly suggests that this signature Conservative economic policy has been a failure."

The Conservatives have been swooning about an unexpected surplus from the last fiscal year.  Many jokes and much serious discussion has been made about this.  What is important is this:

During the Harper decade, $160B was added to the National Debt.  It's hard to get excited about a $2B surplus faced with that.

A close look at this graph seems to reveal the national debt at around $1000B.  This strikes me as being the combined federal and provincial debt which IS around $1.2T.  Figures from Stats Can would indicate a federal debt of around $650B.  This blog takes data from a TD Bank publication and shows much the same information.

Various reports also note that inequality has been rising faster in Canada than in any other developed country, other than, perhaps, the USA.

A recent article from iPolitics, written by two real economists, has few complimentary things to say about Harper's economic policies.  Since the authors were closely involved in several federal budgets under two different governments, they might know what they're talking about.

Job creation?  Hard to say how much influence any government has on this.  For the record,  and for what it's worth, this is how this government stacks up:

Really, I don't think there is much here for the Conservatives to brag about.  We continue to be hewers of wood and drawers of water.  The Conservatives haven't done anything to foster any kind of value-added process here in Canada and continue to clutch onto the "trickle-down" theory of economics, one that has been shown to be misguided long ago.

In a way, it could all boil down to this:

This is apparently what the Conservatives are pinning their hopes on.  It's not sound fiscal management.  It's the usual smoke and mirrors.

[Update] - For a discussion of some economic issues that didn't get much or any mention during the recent "debate", consider these....

[Update] - A recent paper from the Centre for the Study of Living Standards, co-authored by former TD Bank/s chief economist suggest pretty clearly that neoconservative economic policies are not working and that social programs need to be revisited.

[Update] - A constant refrain from the Conservatives, whether federal or provincial, is that the NDP (or the Liberals) will "wreck the economy".  That certainly hasn't been true in my limited experience and I did live in Saskatchewan during many years of NDP government as well as some years under the Devine Conservatives (some of whom ended up in jail...).  In any case, this article reports the results of an analysis of a few decades of administration under various parties.  For what it's worth.

Politics South of the 49th - GOP Style

Americans are being subjected to over a year of endless politicking in the lead up to the 2016 elections.  Two things have come up as noteworthy.

First is this anomaly called Bernie Sanders.  This guy has progressive ideas, so I can't see how he has much chance of winning.  I'm often confused by the American political system so I'm not sure if Sanders is running as an Independent presidential candidate or if he's challenging the Democratic nomination.  I'm sure time will tell.

Second is the Three-Ring Circus called the GOP.  This means "Grand Old Party", but you'd never know it from where it has strayed these days.

Following last night's GOP "debate", the Washington Post had this to say....

Then the New York Times weighed in, with an article called, appropriately enough, "Crazy Talk at the Republican Debate".  

The NYT Editorial Board was quoted as saying: 

""On looming disasters (the changing climate) and more immediate ones (a possible government shutdown over, of all things, Planned Parenthood), the debate offered no reassurance that grown-ups were at the table, or even in the neighborhood."

And this is even without bringing up the "autism thing".

And we thought the Canadian election was long and full of stupid.  As usual, Canadians have much to be thankful for, and it's not just Medicare and the Queen.

With any luck at all, there should be one more thing to be thankful for after October 19. 

The Dream Portfolio - Election 2015

I was asked to pick what I like from each party's platforms, so I spent some time thinking about what I really valued.  I've included a non-partisan graphic here but keep in mind, this is not how I'm making my list.  I explain why at the end of this post.  This likely won't be a complete list, but for starters, and in no particular order...

Health care - Negotiate with the provinces for a suitable funding formula in the short term and engage in a discussion/study to find ways to make the system more efficient and even more effective.  That could include contracting out certain services (diagnostic, whatever) since that's already being done, where it can be done more cheaply and/or faster/or better.

International Affairs - re-engage with the UN (especially) to attempt to repair our international image with peacekeeping, negotiating, humanitarian aid, etc.

Canada's Military - procurement has been a disaster (helicopters, fighter jets, naval supply ships, polar ice-breakers), veterans have been mistreated and our military's role is muddled.  First we have to decide, as a country, what role we want for our country.  This should NOT be decided by the whims of whatever party is in power, but should start by being a national debate on our role.  Then the military needs to be equipped properly to carry out that role, whatever that ends up being.  Procurement should be open to full competitive bidding.  The full costs of this must be clear and transparent so taxpayers can decide what is reasonable and affordable.  Veterans (especially disabled veterans) must be given decent pensions and proper medical care during and after their service.  If this seems too expensive, then perhaps we need to re-think the role of our military.

Re-join the UN Convention to Combat Desertification - Canada left that awhile ago making it one of the only countries in the world to not have a presence.

Climate Change - start a serious discussion about how to tackle climate change.  This could include a carbon tax, or a fee and dividend system, increased efficiencies research and implementation, reducing carbon emissions (carbon capture and storage, alternative sources of energy... whatever might work) and working with other countries to deal with the problem.

Bill C-51 - there are provisions that might make sense, but it badly needs parliamentary oversight and needs to be reviewed every few years (3? 5?) to see if it is accomplishing what it was intended to do.  Sharing between certain specified security agencies could be helpful but making criminals out of people who disagree with the government has no place in a democracy.  If you need proof of where the Conservatives are going with this, just look at their language: "enemies list", "extremists", "terrorists" and so on.

Repeal the "Fair Elections Act" in its entirety.

Engage in a discussion and legislation to improve democracy in Canada.  This could (should?) include some form of Proportional Representation, increased powers of investigation by Elections Canada into electoral fraud, changes to how elections are funded and disclosure of WHO funds elections and political parties.

National Science Policy - we need one, although what we really need to start is to have a National Science Advisor (that position was canceled a few years ago) to Parliament, allow all research results from federally funded scientific research be made fully available and allow scientists to discuss their findings publicly.

First Nations - living conditions on reserves are appalling, even though much money is being spent (and wasted).  Access to safe drinking water, land claims negotiations, decent housing, use of reserve land, band leadership (including training - it's abysmal right now).  Paul Martin could be appointed as a special advisor because of his expertise in this area.  This needs to be sorted.  We have 3rd world conditions on most reserves and we simply can't allow it to continue.  There are probably many solutions to what's wrong.  Every possible avenue should be explored.

Energy Policy - keeping in mind the carbon emission issue, the Feds need to work with provinces to rationalize O&G production, hydro development, nuclear power generation, alternative energy capacity.

Parliamentary Reform - Parliament is currently dysfunctional and the Senate is a corrupt mess, in the eyes of most Canadians.  Since getting rid of the Senate is likely impossible, the way members are appointed must and can change.  Appoint Canadians who have demonstrated leadership in community work, industry, science, technology.... for a fixed term (maybe 5 years?) and have the appointments made by an independent committee much the way judges are selected.  The power of the PMO must be curtailed.  Restore the effectiveness and oversight of Parliamentary Committees.  Daily Question Period MUST be reformed so that it is informative and effective, not a 3-ring circus.  The decorum of members is appalling and needs to be cleaned up.  

Manufacturing Policy - we need to develop jobs here in Canada.  Trade deals should probably not be entered into if they will transfer jobs out of the country.  No trade deal should be entered into that will prevent Canada or any level of government from passing whatever rules they deem necessary to protect the environment, health care or education.  Restrictive trade barriers could be considered where appropriate to protect Canadian jobs.  Canada also needs to become more than an exporter of resources.

Tax Reform - there are far too many "boutique" tax credits.  The whole system needs to be streamlined, simplified and made more fair.  Our poverty rate is one of the highest in the OECD.  It is ludicrous to assess income taxes on people with very low incomes.  Corporate income taxes could be increased but remain competitive with our trading partners.  The GST as a consumption tax is regressive and probably does not need to be increased, but that could be an option, depending on the outcome of discussions over our military, health care, etc.  Special tax incentives for the rich are not needed.  They don't need that kind of subsidy by all taxpayers.  All churches need to be taxed - no exemptions - maybe give them a credit for humanitarian work the same as individuals are given a tax credit for donating to charities.  A massive crackdown on tax evasion and offshore tax havens is needed.  Re-hire the special accountants that were let go a few years ago so this program can get serious.  Stop harassing small charities just because they don't happen to disagree with government policy.  In fact, if they disagree with government policy, perhaps government policy needs to be changed.  Charitable organizations do a great deal of the heavy lifting in Canada when it comes to work on the ground in communities.  To attack them is further tearing at the fabric of our country and it needs to stop.

Long Form Census - needs to be reinstated immediately.  Canada needs this information and it is used by governments, industry and academia.

Criminal Law & Corrections- get rid of mandatory minimum sentences.  Decriminalize and possibly legalize marijuana, regulate it and tax the sale of it.  Re-introduce rehabilitative programs in our prisons (prison farms, education, etc).

Education - explore ways to make university education less expensive.  Free tuition exists in quite a few countries.  Is it possible here?  Or should loans be made interest-free?  As a technological society we need to value advanced education and society as a whole must contribute in some reasonable way to encourage this.

So, there it is.  It likely contains elements from the Liberals, the NDP and the Greens.  However, to be absolutely clear, that's NOT how I'm voting this time.  There isn't a single policy of the Conservatives that I'm aware of that I can agree with.  But please, if you can think of any, point them out.  They also have a 10-year record to examine and I am disgusted with or am abhorred by almost all of it.  So I'm voting AGAINST the Conservatives by voting for whatever candidate seems to have the best chance of beating the Conservative candidate.  Once we have Proportional Representation in the HoC, I will consider voting for party platforms and currently the Greens attract my interest the most, but that might change.

The Tin Foil Hat Brigade

A few days ago, a contractor working for the area's power corporation showed up to replace our power meter.  This has long been a topic of heated discussion among a certain number of BC residents, and our valley has been no exception.

This is a wireless smart meter.  It's been accused of many faults: transmitting radio signals that affect the health of some people who claim to be sensitive to such things; causing fires; spying on residents and collecting "data" on electrical use....

What it does do (or will do, at some point) is measure electrical power use based on time of day so customers can be charged more for peak use and less for off-peak use.  Personally, I think this is an excellent idea.  All power grids and generating capacity have to be designed to meet peak use and if some of the demand can be shifted to off hours, it delays the need to build more dams on wild rivers, build more coal-fired power stations or (heaven forbid) nuclear generating stations.  Anyone who claims to be even just a little bit environmental should applaud this.

What it might make possible is for customers to select their billing cycles, something that's not possible when meters are read manually.  Not a big thing, but convenient.

What is also might make possible is for the power company to track down areas of power outages more easily (ie: faster).  This might be handy, especially in a rural area where we are some distance from the closest depot of the power company.

What it likely can't do, at least on it's own, is cause fires.  My understanding is that there have been problems with the meter base - old, corroded contacts.  I was told that some were so bad that it's a wonder that the old meter worked.

What it can't do is spy into how you're using your electricity.  It's possible that some "smart appliances" could be controlled at some time in the future, but even with our (relatively new) appliances, the best we can do is manually delay their operation until later in the evening, into the off-peak hours.

The radio waves that the meters generate are perhaps the biggest concern.  True, they do broadcast radio signals a few times a day.  But so do your microwaves, your cell phones, your wireless router and various portable computing devices, and almost all electrical equipment will radiate various frequencies of radio waves when they are operating.

All the frantic concern is somewhat amusing.  But then we're talking about people who believe that jet contrails are really "chemtrails", being part of a massive conspiracy to spread mind-control chemicals over the populace.  In the meantime, some are "locking up" their power meter, demanding "radio off" meters, and so on.  <sigh>

It's time for the tin foil hats.

Reasons Why Voters Should NOT Support the Harper Conservatives - Election 2015

Near the end of August, an article appeared in the Huffington Post, a list of 10 reasons to Vote for Anyone but Harper.

The writer explained that is was difficult to keep the list down to 10 items.  Since that post went up on Facebook, some people I know have submitted a few that seem important enough to add to the list.

In short, the original list, and the additions, are as follows:

1. Bill C-51, perhaps the most important reason the Conservatives and their leader should be removed from office.  The spying and snooping into the lives of private citizens is bad enough, but to not have reasonable oversight makes this bill seem more suitable for the Stazi of East Germany.
2. The economy and job growth.  Despite Harper's assertions, Canada is now officially in the second recession since he took power.  I know, I know, external economic forces...can't control those...better than Greece...best of the G7...blah,blah, blah....  But seriously, the national debt is now $160B higher than it was when the Conservatives took power and many other economic indicators show that this government has not done a very good job.  One great concern, all too visible as the price of crude falls, is putting all bets on the O&G industry.  Seriously one-sided.
3. Veterans Affairs - nothing Harper can say can take away from the closure of offices serving veterans and the money spent fighting veterans in court.  There are other issues concerning military procurement (fighter jets, supply ships, helicopters...) but how this government has treated the people who serve is probably enough for now.
4. Income Splitting and the Child Care Benefit - If you want something to help families, income splitting isn't much of an answer as it benefits very few families.  And what many families still don't know just yet is that the Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) will be taxable.  This means most families will get less, not more.
5. Consecutive deficits - yes, the financial meltdown of 2007-8, blah, blah.... But the Tories were handed a surplus and they've managed to turn it into a series of deficits.  In fact, the 2015 budget was only balanced by stealing money from other programs and selling auto shares at a loss.  Sound fiscal management
6. Muzzling government scientists - Harper and his crew have had a war on science on many fronts.  Nothing like taking Canada to the back of the pack when it comes to science.
7. Attacks on charities - some will ask why they should support charities through the tax system that they don't agree with.  It's a fair question, but if you don't like F-35 fighter jets, you still have to support them through your taxes and other organizations like the Fraser Institute are so obviously partisan it really makes it clear that the CRA has been set on charities that Harper doesn't like.  In other words, it's a vendetta, intended to silence any possible critics.
8. First Nations - not "...really high on our radar, to be honest."  
9. Environmental protection - taking federal protection for many waterways to make his friends at the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association happy.
10. Above the law - from spats with the Supreme Court, introducing legislation that has been repeatedly found unconstitutional, to Senate appointments (Duffy, anyone?)...to retroactively changing laws to make destroying information legal.

To which the following can be added:

• Canceling the long-form census.  Seriously?  Cancel something that can give governments and industry valuable information to guide planning and decision-making?  Because one or two people don't like being asked how many toilets are in their house?
• Negotiating the TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership) in secret, a deal which would give away Canadian sovereignty on many matters of national interest.  So far, few Canadians know much about it, and the government hasn't been very forthcoming about what impact it could have on Canada, but here's one take on what might happen.  Details are considered here.

So, there are a few reasons why Harper and his Conservative Party should NOT be supported in the upcoming election.  How many more do we need?