Clinging to the Nanny State mentality

I have to give credit to the Kitchener Record for not getting sucked into the Karen Redman vortex of blaming the Federal Government for everything that goes wrong in Canada.


Yesterday in Question Period, Kitchener Liberal MP Karen Redman demanded (updated link):

Mr. Speaker, the crisis in the auto parts industry is getting worse and still the government does nothing. Kitchener Frame announced that it is throwing 1,200 people out of work and this is a huge blow to the Waterloo region

Will the government finally admit that there is a strong role for the federal government? How many good Canadian jobs have to disappear before the government does something about this emergency?

By contrast, the Record points to a variety of factors causing the carnage, including the stubborn stand of the CAW brass which refuses to consider wage cuts (Let's work to save Kitchener Frame):

...Unfortunately, CAW president Buzz Hargrove has fingered the federal government as Kitchener Frame's saviour, as if it wields a magic wand that can set everything right. Hargrove should look to his own organization and the company for salvation. The threats facing Kitchener Frame, as well as other auto parts manufacturers, are mainly beyond the federal government's power to control.

High labour costs, particularly compared to those in similar plants in Mexico, declining demand for the sports utility vehicle frames the company makes, increased transportation costs as well as the high Canadian dollar -- these are the series of body blows that have sent Kitchener Frame reeling. Despite having coffers stuffed with billions of taxpayer dollars, the federal government just isn't rich enough to turn back the global economic and market tides washing over -- and away -- Canadian industry...

Of course, unions shouldn't be blamed exclusively either. It is however, a huge factor contributing to the perfect storm that's tearing the heart out of automobile manufacturing in Ontario.

Karen Redman's simplistic attitude of demanding that more taxpayer money be thrown at an industry which needs to undergo some serious introspection is disingenuous, irresponsible and only serves to pander to the interests of the buddy of her ex-boss.


Even if Corporate Welfare could be used to save some companies the Record points out, "if it does intervene selectively, who gets saved and who is allowed to perish?"

Instead of trying to score points in QP with useless accusations and pointless questions, perhaps Karen Redman could start addressing the concerns of her constituents with suggestions of realistic methods of helping workers adjust to economics changes that are part of the ebb and flow of life - and to which we must all adapt.

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More from At Home in Hespeler - Auto Industry Bloodbath continues.

Climbing out of the Dark - Buzz, Lightyear's Behind!

Where the rubber meets the road - Part Deux

From the school of harsh reality - Carbon Tax Bill in the Mail (Gazette) H/T National Newswatch:

"They said consumers would not pay for this - and now here we are, paying for it."

When the Liberal government introduced the carbon tax, it said it was targeting oil companies with deep pockets.

"We are asking them to be good corporate citizens," Natural Resources Minister Claude Béchard said at the time.

He added that the plan is based on the principle that the polluter should pay.

How naive.


In the end, there really is only one taxpayer - whether you pay the bill directly or as a consumer - or even as a laid-off worker.

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Related: Lorrie Goldstein has a gutsy column this morning - The New CEO of Sharia Green (H/T Canadian Blue Lemons)

Premiers back stricter emission rules, Campbell says - Globe

More bad tax news here for Ontario - CTV

Crowding the left

Deirdre McMurdy articulates what many of us have been observing for some time now - that the more Stephen Harper moves into the rational centre of the political spectrum, the more Dion crowds the left (Party faithful set to pick economy as next hot-button election issue):

...All this blurring of traditional lines would certainly have caused real brand confusion issues for voters at the polls if the Liberals hadn't been quite as obliging as they've been lately.

As the Conservatives have nudged to the centre, the Liberals have gone all retro and moved further to the left, back into the territory marked out in the Trudeau era. Party leader Stéphane Dion is already calling for a return of targeted spending programs to help individuals and businesses make it through a rough patch...

But this doesn't just apply to the economy. The Afghanistan mission has also become a tug-of-war between the government and the opposition parties, with Stephane Dion vacillating like a reincarnated Mr. Dithers, and a Liberal caucus that is not united on this issue.

In spite of the Manley report however, Dion now seems to be throwing his weight to the left, which may be regrettable decision in terms of the future of Afghanistan' women and children.

I suppose it could end up depending on whether or not Dion allows his caucus a free vote.

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Related - More strategy theories here - H/T Kerplonka!

Canwest - Liberals continue to wobble about tactics to topple Tories.

CTV - Manley says Afghanistan report isn't all bad news.

This is priceless: Manley report spreads chaos in Punditland - Post.

Anyone jumping out of windows yet?

Things not looking too good today - Toronto Stock Market falls more than 600 points.

What do you think? Bail or hang in for the ride?

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Related: Jonathan Chevreau - Global Stock Market Rout – babies tossed with bath water:

...Exactly the same "baby/bathwater" cliche was used by Gordon Pape in his current Internet Wealth Builder: "Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. In every market downturn, some investors reach a point where fear overwhelms common sense and they sell everything at any price. That happened most recently in November 2006 in the days immediately following the announcement that the government would tax income trusts. Those who blew all their trust units out the door in reaction have long since come to regret it. Don’t make the same mistake now."

Afternoon Update - Global anxiety takes its toll on the TSX - Globe

Sun- Economic fears complicate decision on election timing:

Mounting fears of an impending economic meltdown are making it harder for Liberals to decide whether to force an early federal election.

Even the most hawkish Liberal MPs were suddenly pulling back from the election brink Monday as stock markets worldwide went into yet another nosedive.

“I think the economy is the No. 1 thing right now, rather than an election, I really do,” said Toronto-area MP Garth Turner...

Does this mean the Liberals will be sitting down on the job again this spring?


CBC - TSX plunges 500 points:

"This isn't a 'panic', but in a thin market, with the U.S. closed for a holiday, the scale of the decline today may have been exacerbated by illiquidity — simply not enough bargain hunters around," said CIBC World Markets senior economist Avery Shenfeld...

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Tuesday Update: Terence Corcoran - Throw another forecast on the fire.

Where the rubber meets the road

Funny how when it comes down to actually having to open our wallets, suddenly we value the green we're forced to shell out more than the greening of the environment.

H/T National Newswatch.

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Sunday Update: To work, carbon tax must sting - Star.

MSM split on Harper's stand re: Kyoto

Well, it's hardly surprising that the left-wing media are all over Harper like a pack of jackals. The Record has this editorial offering today - Harper drops the ball on climate change.

Here's a classic line:

To be sure, implementing an international plan to deal with climate change will not be cheap. Every cleanup comes with a cost. Harper's approach of waiting for all countries to be able to pay is naive. It will just delay the process. If rich and poor houses on a street were on fire, would Harper wait until everyone paid the same taxes before calling the fire brigade?

What a weak analogy!!!

For one thing, Harper isn't 'refusing to call the fire brigade'. He simply realizes that it's pointless to fight a wildfire that's engulfing a whole neighbourhood if the poorer houses refuse to have their gas turned off. No matter how hard you try to stop your own house from burning, the fire from your neighbour's house is going to affect yours unless they stop it at the source.


Next they make this disingenuous comment:

Interestingly, Australia's prime minister, John Howard, who opposed Kyoto, has just been defeated by Labour Leader Kevin Ruud, who has pledged to sign the accord. From both a policy and a political perspective, Harper would be wise to become a more ardent opponent of climate change.

Well, Dr. John Ray from Brisbane thinks Rudd's stance is just so much hot air:

...And the resolve of Prime-minister-elect Kevin Rudd to sign the Kyoto treaty is a good example of such tokenism. Australia's emissions of carbon dioxide are already in line with what most of Europe has achieved so the signing will make little difference.

It should also be noted that Rudd will have to get the treaty through the Senate and, in a quirk of Australian politics, he is unlikely to be able to do that until July, 2008. Senate membership does not change until then and the present Senate is conservative-dominated. So Rudd's talk of "immediate" action is just the usual political flim-flam.

By contrast, the National Post has quite a different take on things than the Record - Standing tall in Uganda:

At the Commonwealth meeting in Uganda, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi professed himself "disappointed" with Mr. Harper's stand. No wonder. Under the original draft, nations such as Malaysia would have been subject to no emission limits unless they were also recipients of large cash payments.


Putting aside this attempted cash grab, our more fundamental objection to Kyoto, and any plan that requires large-scale cuts in greenhouse gasses, is that it would hobble our economy -- especially our already-struggling manufacturing sector. Mr. Dion may not admit it, but the drastic cuts he seeks would essentially kill whole industries -- including, most likely, Ontario's auto industry. In recent months, Mr. Harper has been accused of ignoring the financial needs of the Greater Toronto Area by snubbing its demands for more federal cash. Ironically, his rejection of the logic of Kyoto has, in one fell swoop, done more to help the region than any of the bailout schemes proposed by Mayor David Miller.

Exactly. With the auto manufacturing sector already on the skids and begging for help, signing Kyoto would only worsen an already troubled Ontario economy. People are losing their jobs. They have to eat and be housed.

And where does that money come from? Taxes.

Are you willing to pay the price?

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Related:

Tip from a loyal reader - Al Gore buddy owner of sunken ship that left huge carbon footprint on Antarctic Ocean floor: CFP.

Elizabeth May - Global Saboteur. Bourque gave this the following headline - Liz May: Climate Change Worse than Nazis.

Some people never learn.


Elizabeth May goes too far - EcoLibertarian.

Loonie Lunacy

This is what you elected, Ontario (and Quebec) - Whiners. Not problem solvers. Not innovative thinkers.

As with every other problem, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty is showing 'action' on the devastating effects of the high dollar by complaining to Ottawa - Harper Urged to Slow Dollar (Post). He and his fellow all-talk-no-action Quebec counterpart want a First Ministers' summit to try to convince Harper to lower the interest rates in an effort to tame our strong loonie.

And here's the smack-down (Post):

"This notion that Canadian premiers, through a complaint, are going to change the course of the U.S. dollar is lunacy," said Finn Poschmann, director of research at the C.D. Howe Institute, a Toronto-based economic think-tank.

Interest rates are not set by the prime minister, but by the Bank of Canada, which operates independently of the government. And experts question whether the Bank of Canada could yield any influence on forces pushing up the dollar.

"There's nothing the Bank of Canada can do to stop a global trend, which is that the U.S. dollar is going to weaken," said David Watt, senior currency strategist at Royal Bank of Canada.

I said that days ago, and I'm no economist - just your average Jo. (What do you say now, LKO?)



Post Reporter Paul Vieira notes at the end of the article:

Openly complaining about the central bank and the high dollar does allow the premiers to say they are fighting for their local economies --even if they know they yield little power to alter the actual course of exchange markets.

Or maybe they just don't have a clue, Paul.



You blew it Lemmingland. Four more years of whining and inaction.

Four more years of passing the buck to Ottawa.

Get used to it.

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Late morning update: This should help the Premiers relax a bit - Loonie dips a little lower.

The power of China

A number of disturbing items involving China in the news lately:

- 'Adroit' China plays dollar - Post; also see Gazette.

- China rumbles, CBC quakes, doc done in. (Sun's Peter Worthington); also in the Post. However, CBC denies pressure (Star).

- 'Date Rape' Drug found in Chinese Toys - Edmonton Sun; also see City News.



Anyone seeing a pattern here? The Worthington article contains some hints:

David Kilgour, a former cabinet minister who has travelled the world exposing China's abuse of human rights, its sale of body organs and the persecution of Falun Gong, was interviewed in the documentary and has no doubt the CBC bowed to pressure.

"I'm sure the Chinese threatened the CBC that running Red Wall would jeopardize the CBC's coverage of the Beijing Olympics. It's their style," he said. "When I was planning to visit Taiwan they urged me not to, and said it would damage relations with China. I went anyway and nothing happened. They did nothing."

When Prime Minister Stephen Harper was photographed with the Dalai Lama, China threatened this would damage relations. Then nothing happened. Beijing tried it on for size, and when it didn't work, it did nothing. Business as usual. China follows a policy of intimidation -- if a person or organization or country can be intimidated, it will be. If it can't be, it won't be. Beijing will try something else.

Better watch those Christmas toys.

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Update: Meanwhile, China must have felt the economic pressure from the rest of the world regarding the alleged 'Bible ban':

A notice on the official Beijing Olympics Web site explaining entry procedures into the country said "each traveler is recommended to take no more than one Bible into China.''

However, the policy does not apply to Falun Gong, a spiritual movement that has been declared a cult by the Chinese government and banned. China has cracked down hard on followers of the sect, who the U.S. State Department has said face arrest, detention and even possible torture and abuse.

"We don't recognize it because it's a cult.

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Friday Update: Unam-Ambid - Profiles in Courage and Cowardice: Harper and the CBC.

Saturday Update - 'Reworked' Falun Gong documentary to air on CBC - Globe.

The Elephant in the Boardroom

Globe's Richard Patton gives us his take on why so many manufacturing companies are closing these days; especially in Ontario - "While Factories Close, Governments Sleep". (H/T to Bourque.)

According to Patton, who is president of the Canadian Chemical Producers Association, governments need to get more involved in the process of gaining investor confidence. He lists some of the unavoidable problems that are out of our control, such as the high Canadian dollar, but feels that more could be done by politicians. He cites a hopeful sign that this message is finally getting through:

We have recently seen some federal government leadership for manufacturing, following the excellent work by the parliamentary committee on industry, chaired by MP James Rajotte. The committee examined manufacturing woes and issued a unanimous report with 22 recommendations. Its first recommendation, a two-year capital cost allowance for new investments in plants and equipment, was introduced in federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's budget and more recently by provincial Finance Minister Greg Sorbara in Ontario. This is a very encouraging sign that we can work together.

Manufacturing closures will continue if we don't work hard to understand the problems and keep working on solutions.

But no where in this whole article did I see the word "unions".

To me this is the single most glaring issue that will dictate whether a company continues to thrive or is shut down. A militant union can choke production and profit. The union hierarchy often doesn't care about the jobs of the individual members as much as its own perception of strength, and usually takes a very negative stand regarding the possibility of concessions in terms of pay cuts or surrendering of benefits in order to forestall a plant closure.

The new global economy has changed the rules. Jobs can be outsourced where labour is cheaper.

Militant unions belong to an antiquated economic past, and soon so will most of our manufacturing jobs that are controlled by defiant union leaders.