Another political rant ...
x-posted from Facebook:
A coalition government for Canada?
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Mon 21:40 | Edit Note | Delete
I want to rant on the economy, and politics...
but I don't have any alcohol at the moment, so I'll have to continue this soon...
BUT TO BEGIN:
The global shrinkage is a result of a few things, but primarily:
the control of central and other bankers... over currency, and debt.
Now debt has gotten exponential a few times over, and the rules allow banks to loan our 10 times what they have on deposit, so that guarantees a lot of money getting created all of the time. When they loan someone money, it doesn't come out of their reserves, they just create new credits in an account. All of the interest on all of the loans they make pay for the banks' operations and sizable profits for shareholders... they essentially have a license to print money - given to them by the central banks: the federal reserve in the US and the Bank of Canada up here (no, not part of the government nor answerable to it)
Okay, I could rant about that and its effects for a while, but I'll pick up that thread in a bit.
We... the common folk, need jobs, to earn money to pay for our basics and live. In the local economy here we've got dwindling resource based jobs, because of the lumber industry getting raped by 'international market forces' ... and a bit of tourist industry, but it's certainly not a well-balanced or healthy economy.
The BC interior is rural and mostly mountainous - which makes all of our communities remote from one another. Small communities need to work together in the true sense of the word, creating a sense of community which doesn't exist anymore in large cities.
BC has always had a lot of rich natural resources... so mining and forestry
Alberta's economy is almost entirely dependent on the value of natural gas and the oil in the tar-sands. Extracting that oil is more expensive than the oil in Europe and the middle east... but less politically problematic. The Americans don't need military intervention to get the oil in Alberta, they just buy up the companies involved... and Canadians get shafted, because we're not even taxing these guys. The only winners are people getting the well paying jobs... but the environment of Northern Alberta will be a WASTELAND in 10 years.
Ontario (especially the megalopolis in its south) has always depended on manufacturing...
and export. Those things were very hurt by the strong Canadian dollar a year ago... which was caused by the high value of oil.
Now I am a nationalist, a federalist. I believe in the Confederation of the Provinces. I like Canada as a unified country... I think we're unique and we've got cool people and places. A lot to be proud of as a nation. But it's a big country (one of the biggest!) so we've got a lot of geographic issues to balance and different interests to appease.
Port cities like Halifax and Vancouver do a lot of international trade... through shipping.
I'd like to see Canada in general do more trade with Europe, as well as Asia, Australia and Russia. It would give us diversity ... avoid putting all of our eggs in the American basket.
Economics are a complex landscape.
A COALITION FOR CANADIANS
I fully support the idea of a Coalition Government formed by the two progressive parties, and supported by the Bloc Q. (which is pretty progressive itself as the spectrum goes) ... it has even been hinted that the Green Party would be invited to sit-in, or at least asked their opinion sometimes. This would re-enfranchise almost one million Canadian voters who don't have a voice in parliament because they didn't win a single seat. (though they came 2nd in Elizabeth May's riding)
I feel that one agenda that this coalition should push for is reform of our electoral system. So that we can have more proportional representation... the only member of the coalition who would be hurt by this would be the BQ... but it probably wouldn't be up to parliament, it would probably need to go to a referendum.
Obviously there are a lot of other issues that are more important, but that's one which could make our voting system more fair, and bring people's faith in our democracy back. It would also be a strategic advantage for both NDPs and Greens...
We had the worst voter turnout in history this past election. And part of that is that we Canadians were bored, most of us spent more time watching the US news... because Obama is so damned charismatic and inspiring. It's sad that less than 60% of eligable voters bothered to take the time... it matters! The results of any election matter in everyone's lives... Municipal, Provincial and Federal.
I think Michael Ignatieff will make an excellent PM once Dion resigns as Liberal leader on May 1... It's possible Bob Rae could win the leadership race, but it would only be in the party's best interests if he could carry Ontario... and I think there's too many mixed emotions among Ontario voters about their former Premier - who was an NDP-er at the time... Ignatieff is a very smart guy, which is what you kind of want in a political leader. He's progressive and centrist, and has a lot more charisma and personality than Dion. I think Dion will make a great minister and will hold a cabinet post. I just hope he can hold it together for the next 4 months.
Make no mistake, and don't believe the hype... this is happening and its because its what's best for Canada and Canadians. If the CPC can't play well with others, then they can't lead. Period. In a minority government you have to make deals with the other parties and work with them... The conservatives wanted a majority, and didn't get it. They have been acting like they have all the power, but the other 3 parties are all opposed to their policies and agendas. This isn't so much a power play as an act of desperation.
Corporate globalists make a lot of money every day and the ebbs and flows and ups and downs of stock markets and currencies butter their bread and put gravy on their meat.
For the Conservatives to do nothing to help the economy is rude and insulting.
Of course it's not just about that... but there's pretty much no common ground with the other parties...
Anyway, I'll try to settle down.
I wish I had a drink.
Politics just makes me angry!
A coalition government for Canada?
Share
Mon 21:40 | Edit Note | Delete
I want to rant on the economy, and politics...
but I don't have any alcohol at the moment, so I'll have to continue this soon...
BUT TO BEGIN:
The global shrinkage is a result of a few things, but primarily:
the control of central and other bankers... over currency, and debt.
Now debt has gotten exponential a few times over, and the rules allow banks to loan our 10 times what they have on deposit, so that guarantees a lot of money getting created all of the time. When they loan someone money, it doesn't come out of their reserves, they just create new credits in an account. All of the interest on all of the loans they make pay for the banks' operations and sizable profits for shareholders... they essentially have a license to print money - given to them by the central banks: the federal reserve in the US and the Bank of Canada up here (no, not part of the government nor answerable to it)
Okay, I could rant about that and its effects for a while, but I'll pick up that thread in a bit.
We... the common folk, need jobs, to earn money to pay for our basics and live. In the local economy here we've got dwindling resource based jobs, because of the lumber industry getting raped by 'international market forces' ... and a bit of tourist industry, but it's certainly not a well-balanced or healthy economy.
The BC interior is rural and mostly mountainous - which makes all of our communities remote from one another. Small communities need to work together in the true sense of the word, creating a sense of community which doesn't exist anymore in large cities.
BC has always had a lot of rich natural resources... so mining and forestry
Alberta's economy is almost entirely dependent on the value of natural gas and the oil in the tar-sands. Extracting that oil is more expensive than the oil in Europe and the middle east... but less politically problematic. The Americans don't need military intervention to get the oil in Alberta, they just buy up the companies involved... and Canadians get shafted, because we're not even taxing these guys. The only winners are people getting the well paying jobs... but the environment of Northern Alberta will be a WASTELAND in 10 years.
Ontario (especially the megalopolis in its south) has always depended on manufacturing...
and export. Those things were very hurt by the strong Canadian dollar a year ago... which was caused by the high value of oil.
Now I am a nationalist, a federalist. I believe in the Confederation of the Provinces. I like Canada as a unified country... I think we're unique and we've got cool people and places. A lot to be proud of as a nation. But it's a big country (one of the biggest!) so we've got a lot of geographic issues to balance and different interests to appease.
Port cities like Halifax and Vancouver do a lot of international trade... through shipping.
I'd like to see Canada in general do more trade with Europe, as well as Asia, Australia and Russia. It would give us diversity ... avoid putting all of our eggs in the American basket.
Economics are a complex landscape.
A COALITION FOR CANADIANS
I fully support the idea of a Coalition Government formed by the two progressive parties, and supported by the Bloc Q. (which is pretty progressive itself as the spectrum goes) ... it has even been hinted that the Green Party would be invited to sit-in, or at least asked their opinion sometimes. This would re-enfranchise almost one million Canadian voters who don't have a voice in parliament because they didn't win a single seat. (though they came 2nd in Elizabeth May's riding)
I feel that one agenda that this coalition should push for is reform of our electoral system. So that we can have more proportional representation... the only member of the coalition who would be hurt by this would be the BQ... but it probably wouldn't be up to parliament, it would probably need to go to a referendum.
Obviously there are a lot of other issues that are more important, but that's one which could make our voting system more fair, and bring people's faith in our democracy back. It would also be a strategic advantage for both NDPs and Greens...
We had the worst voter turnout in history this past election. And part of that is that we Canadians were bored, most of us spent more time watching the US news... because Obama is so damned charismatic and inspiring. It's sad that less than 60% of eligable voters bothered to take the time... it matters! The results of any election matter in everyone's lives... Municipal, Provincial and Federal.
I think Michael Ignatieff will make an excellent PM once Dion resigns as Liberal leader on May 1... It's possible Bob Rae could win the leadership race, but it would only be in the party's best interests if he could carry Ontario... and I think there's too many mixed emotions among Ontario voters about their former Premier - who was an NDP-er at the time... Ignatieff is a very smart guy, which is what you kind of want in a political leader. He's progressive and centrist, and has a lot more charisma and personality than Dion. I think Dion will make a great minister and will hold a cabinet post. I just hope he can hold it together for the next 4 months.
Make no mistake, and don't believe the hype... this is happening and its because its what's best for Canada and Canadians. If the CPC can't play well with others, then they can't lead. Period. In a minority government you have to make deals with the other parties and work with them... The conservatives wanted a majority, and didn't get it. They have been acting like they have all the power, but the other 3 parties are all opposed to their policies and agendas. This isn't so much a power play as an act of desperation.
Corporate globalists make a lot of money every day and the ebbs and flows and ups and downs of stock markets and currencies butter their bread and put gravy on their meat.
For the Conservatives to do nothing to help the economy is rude and insulting.
Of course it's not just about that... but there's pretty much no common ground with the other parties...
Anyway, I'll try to settle down.
I wish I had a drink.
Politics just makes me angry!