RISING PRICES - CAUSE AND CURE
     CARBON TAX: obviously, a carbon tax on fossil fuels increases the cost of food, and almost everything else.
     MARKETING BOARDS AND REGULATIONS: there are over 80 agricultural marketing boards in Canada, and they all exist to protect themselves from competition from imports. Doug Ford, premier of Ontario, says there are over 360,000 government rules and regulations in Ontario – I’m thinking there’s a couple too many.
     GOVERNMENT SPENDING: during Covid-19, governments around the world spent like there was no tomorrow. Canada’s government spent hundreds of billions of dollars, and we were told that the resulting inflation was only temporary – well, tomorrow’s here.
     THE CANADIAN DOLLAR: you can’t build a strong country on a weak dollar. The last time the Canadian dollar was at par to the U.S. dollar was in 2008. It now costs 1.38 to buy one U.S. dollar – driving up prices on all imported goods, including groceries. The Canadian dollar has long been considered a petro dollar. With Trudeau’s stand against fossil fuels, the value of our dollar is not going to improve.
Further, a weak dollar allows exporters to sell their goods more easily, leaving little incentive to invest in productivity increasing equipment. And those that want to increase productivity find that the equipment required to do so is more expensive to import – all resulting in a low, if not declining, GDP per capita.
     THE CURE: repeal the carbon tax, over a period of 2 or 3 years get rid of marketing boards, start repealing rules and regulations now, cut government spending, eliminate the deficit, start paying down the dept and remove the restrictions on the export of Canada’s resources including oil and natural gas. I.e. move towards free markets by restricting the coercive power of the state.
     MORALITY: in conclusion, there’s a moral aspect to the preceding practical issues. Canadians should be told that they have a right to their life and property – and they are responsible for both. The unthinking, lifeless parasites that just don’t feel like taking responsibility for their own lives should not be helped - thus incentivizing them to change their feelings.
Almost all politicians become politicians because they want to do good, and they intend to use the coercive power of the state to achieve that – because you couldn’t possibly know what’s good for you. If we are to stop and then reverse the coercive power of the state, we must say loud and clear, “I’m onto you. I don’t want or need your help – because I can think for myself, I’m productive and I’m self-reliant – and I’m proud of it.”
Check out my post – a 3 minute read
https://www.rationalselfinterest.com/post/morality