Canadians Demonstrate Rare Show of Unity: 98% Vote for Bigger Government, Higher Taxes, More Debt - Peter Diekmeyer (24/10/2019) | Sprott Money:
October 24, 2019 - "Mainstream media pundits, as usual, missed the key message when analyzing the results of Monday’s election, which returned Justin Trudeau’s Liberals to power. On paper the country was divided as never before, with no clear winner. The Conservatives, who won the popular vote, picked up a meagre 34.4% of ballots cast.
"Yet while Canadians can’t agree on a leader or how to divvy up the loot, they were unanimous on one important issue: they trust government, and they want it to do more.... [T]he Liberals, Conservatives, NDP, Greens, and the Bloc (who gathered a combined 98% votes) all put forward platforms that would increase overall taxes, spending, borrowing, and regulations during their mandate....
"During the past three years we have highlighted growing danger signals that politicians are essentially flying blind and that due to vast bureaucracy, conflicting interests, and use of misleading data points they couldn’t stop the country’s downward spiral even if they wanted to. Productivity is collapsing throughout the system and gross domestic product hasn’t grown in major economies such as the U.S. in more than a decade (as calculated on a debt-adjusted basis, using a realistic deflator).
"Canadian public sector debts, when combined with the country’s private, household and financial debts (much of which are de facto government guaranteed) now total an unbelievable $8.3 trillion. That works out to nearly $1 million in debt for each Canadian under the age of 19, making the country’s youth the functional equivalent of debt slaves.
"The results of the recent election suggest that either Canadians aren’t concerned with any this or that they trust future governments to do better.... Maxime Bernier’s People’s Party of Canada, the only major party that could credibly promise to reduce the scope of government, got a meagre 1.6% of the vote.
"The only positive sign for advocates of sound public finances came from the Libertarian Party of Canada. Party leader Tim Moen — who advocated elimination of all taxes (except the GST), the privatization of the Bank of Canada, and a return to the gold standard — managed to keep the party on its feet, despite being banned from the debates and deprived of media coverage from all major outlets.
“'We are in a battle of ideas,' said Moen. 'Right now even if a free market-oriented party won power, they would not be able to accomplish much. Things will not change unless we change the culture, and that process takes place one vote at a time.'”
Read more: https://www.sprottmoney.com/Blog/canadians-demonstrate-rare-show-of-unity-98-vote-for-bigger-government-higher-taxes-more-debt-peter-diekmeyer-24-102019.html
'via Blog this'
October 24, 2019 - "Mainstream media pundits, as usual, missed the key message when analyzing the results of Monday’s election, which returned Justin Trudeau’s Liberals to power. On paper the country was divided as never before, with no clear winner. The Conservatives, who won the popular vote, picked up a meagre 34.4% of ballots cast.
"Yet while Canadians can’t agree on a leader or how to divvy up the loot, they were unanimous on one important issue: they trust government, and they want it to do more.... [T]he Liberals, Conservatives, NDP, Greens, and the Bloc (who gathered a combined 98% votes) all put forward platforms that would increase overall taxes, spending, borrowing, and regulations during their mandate....
"During the past three years we have highlighted growing danger signals that politicians are essentially flying blind and that due to vast bureaucracy, conflicting interests, and use of misleading data points they couldn’t stop the country’s downward spiral even if they wanted to. Productivity is collapsing throughout the system and gross domestic product hasn’t grown in major economies such as the U.S. in more than a decade (as calculated on a debt-adjusted basis, using a realistic deflator).
"Canadian public sector debts, when combined with the country’s private, household and financial debts (much of which are de facto government guaranteed) now total an unbelievable $8.3 trillion. That works out to nearly $1 million in debt for each Canadian under the age of 19, making the country’s youth the functional equivalent of debt slaves.
"The results of the recent election suggest that either Canadians aren’t concerned with any this or that they trust future governments to do better.... Maxime Bernier’s People’s Party of Canada, the only major party that could credibly promise to reduce the scope of government, got a meagre 1.6% of the vote.
"The only positive sign for advocates of sound public finances came from the Libertarian Party of Canada. Party leader Tim Moen — who advocated elimination of all taxes (except the GST), the privatization of the Bank of Canada, and a return to the gold standard — managed to keep the party on its feet, despite being banned from the debates and deprived of media coverage from all major outlets.
“'We are in a battle of ideas,' said Moen. 'Right now even if a free market-oriented party won power, they would not be able to accomplish much. Things will not change unless we change the culture, and that process takes place one vote at a time.'”
Read more: https://www.sprottmoney.com/Blog/canadians-demonstrate-rare-show-of-unity-98-vote-for-bigger-government-higher-taxes-more-debt-peter-diekmeyer-24-102019.html
'via Blog this'
