One Dominion

Democrats, Party of the Rich

2007-11-05T14:22:00.001-04:00

There's an interesting article in today's London Financial Times--that in the United States, the Democrat party is now the party of the rich, not the Republicans.

Democrats now control the majority of the nation's wealthiest congressional jurisdictions. More than half of the wealthiest households are concentrated in the 18 states where Democrats control both Senate seats.
This new political demography holds true in the House of Representatives, where the leadership of each party hails from different worlds. Nancy Pelosi, Democratic leader of the House of Representatives, represents one of America's wealthiest regions. Her San Francisco district has more than 43,700 high-end households. Fewer than 7,000 households in the western Ohio district of House Republican leader John Boehner enjoy this level of affluence.
[...]
Democratic politicians prosper in areas of concentrated wealth even in staunchly Republican states such as Georgia, Kansas and Utah. Liberal congressman John Lewis represents more than 27,500 high-income households in his Atlanta district. The trend achievePublish Posts perfect symmetry in Iowa. There, the three wealthiest districts send Democrats to Washington; the two poorest are safe Republican seats.

Sounds kind of like Canada, where the Liberals are the party of big business and affluent professionals.

Supply and Demand

2007-11-05T13:31:00.000-04:00

Dan Leger writes a worthy column in today's Chronicle Herald. I hope Nova Scotians are paying attention. His message is that we've got to back out of the "private financing" is bad mentality, something that New Brunswick is easing out of and now gives them success.

Leger is right to lampoon this province for having no evident economic growth principle beyond demanding more money from Ottawa. Do we have no shame? Even if it was our money that seeded the growth of the West, where's the pride in taking money off them now with no end in sight?

Increased equalization may give us a fleeting sense of triumph when in the long run it really only solidifies in our souls a "can't do it but for them" mindset. In fact to answer Leger's question, I fear that has become the defining principle of economic growth in our fair province. We must shake it loose.

Where is the spirit of those of our ancestors who founded Canada? They didn't demand money from government, either local or European as if it were an entitlement. Individuals built up the economy on their own in one of the toughest locations on the continent. And now, we've grown so dependent on the state that we've forgotten that.

I take issue with Leger's statement that government should partner with business though, because that's a recipe for corruption and disaster. Government should in fact be a bystander. It should get out of the hair of businesses who are working to create wealth by keeping taxes low and regulations to a minimum.

Enterprise oriented individuals may complain about Rodney MacDonald's equalization pandering and old style business subsidizing, but he will only stake out so much political capital on taking the province where it doesn't want to go. Unless we get more demands like Leger's, the Premier won't free the market.

Crime in Halifax

2007-11-04T22:24:00.000-04:00

The Sunday Chronicle Herald online edition has four stories, all on crime in Halifax. Two articles reflect on the murder of US Sailor Damon Crooks one year ago, another is on a man arrested for assaulting a woman on a street corner, and fourth is on a man who was robbed for refusing to buy drugs.

This is more than just a policing issue. After all, a 2006 government fact sheet says Halifax has a higher than national average number of police per capita, 190 per 100,000 citizens. Something is seriously wrong with the culture of Halifax. How did it become so anti-social, so disrespectful for law and life, so un-Nova Scotian?

Wealth Creation Equals Poverty Reduction

2007-11-03T18:16:00.000-04:00

In today's Chronicle Herald, Ralph Surette swoons over recent statements by the UN special envoy to housing and concludes that more forced wealth redistribution would help Nova Scotia. Surette notes that tax-cutting and privatizing has prevailed in Canada over the last two decades. Unfortunately, he fails to connect those measures with Canada and "all its wealth" that he approvingly cites from the envoy.

It's old style thinking from people like Surette that keep our province poor. He wants Nova Scotians to be dependent on the state and dependent on Western cash. After all, "poverty reduction" is just a code for state seizure of property as if we are slaves whose belongings can be taken from us at any time.

In Surette's world, a province already as poor as Nova Scotia would jack up welfare payments, luring more vulnerable citizens into dependency, and jack up taxes, driving more capital to the West. He'd finance this all by taking more money from the West, making us all helpless without their contributions. Sure enough, this province will stay poor and he'd wonder why.

On the other hand, Prime Minister Stephen Harper (a former economist) understands that the best form of poverty reduction is wealth creation. Wealth is not a fixed commodity--it can be created. Does Surette know this? Knowing journalists, he's probably not well versed in either economics or math. To create wealth, the right conditions must be laid, because wealth creators can pack up and move.

Premier Rodney MacDonald, a nice fellow though no economist, finally seems to have caught on to this. He still practices old fashioned business subsidizing, but he is sincere enough to be improving business conditions and busy attracting businesses to Nova Scotia. Of course, the reason he has to try so hard is that business conditions are lousy. (If you were a business owner would you freely choose this jurisdiction out of all the others in Canada to set up shop? Didn't think so.)

Nova Scotia's per capita GDP is less than half that of Alberta's so in fact we're pretty much all poor; we all need poverty reduction. And businesses, with that thing they provide called jobs, are the best way to do that. Lets stop giving them reasons to not start and thrive out here.

Perhaps some wealth redistribution is justified, but let's be real about this: there must be wealth to redistribute in the first place. You can't scare it all away and then demand that it be there to pass around.

Power Struggle: Towns vs Province

2007-04-27T11:09:00.000-04:00

Let towns buy power from outside Nova Scotia Power! The story of centralized government imposing its will on local government continues. The mayor of Lunenberg and six other municipalities are waiting for the province to ok a purchase outside of the province's monopoly power (cash) source.

Energy Minister Bill Dooks has stalled on this for some time now and hopes to have it resolved by the end of the year. End of the year is too long. Why must people be held to the whims of a centralized government? Keep decisions local!

When a town chooses something, only its citizens are subjugated. When a province chooses something, hundreds of thousands are voiceless, often with no hope to sway the bigwigs in Halifax. Of course, the town of Lunenberg might be angling itself for a boneheaded decision for its people, but they should be free to choose so.

Government Price Fixing

2007-04-26T22:35:00.000-04:00

Gas regulation in Nova Scotia costs the province $10 million more dollars than necessary. All for the sake of stability. Assuming 500,000 drivers, that's $20 a piece. I would trade some instability for $20.

If only there were a way for people to choose between regulated and unregulated gas price stations. Give people the freedom to choose. That wouldn't happen though, because people would always choose the cheaper of the two or perhaps all the stations would become unregulated. And the government can't have us going around their monopoly. For some reason price fixing by government is ok. "For our own good" they say. Even if a minority doesn't want it. Too bad, minority.

Service Nova Scotia Minister Jamie Muir says he can find no compelling reason to get rid of regulation. I guess "not being authoritarian" isn't compelling enough.

To What Degree Will Bulb Ban Affect Warming?

2007-04-26T10:24:00.000-04:00

The ban on incandescent lightbulbs is another useless political scheme that will do nothing to stop global warming. Voters who support this are either authoritarian minded control freaks who want to impose their morality on others or are lobbyists working for the fluorescent light industry.

First, nobody has yet to tell us what affect this authoritarianism will have on the climate. We are told it will save electricity, and it undoubtedly will. Fluorescent bulbs generate more lumens per watt, meaning less wattage is required for the same amount of light. So what's the connection between fewer watts and climate change?

Well, it turns out the government wants us to use less power because power is generated from CO2 spewing coal burning generating stations. The idea is that less coal will be burnt because less power will be needed. In that case, why do we burn coal at all?! If we want to limit CO2, then why not simply go to the source? Power consumption is not what we should be concerned about. What we should be concerned about is green house gas emissions. As long as those coal plants are still burning away, these controls on our behaviour are just illusory fixes.

Finally, why isn't anyone being honest about what effect this will have on climate change. Will this lower ocean levels by 0.001mm or will it lower the temperature by 0.00000001 degrees? Tell us what difference it makes so we can judge for ourselves whether it's worth it. What a scam.

Blame Canada

2007-04-25T10:35:00.000-04:00

Why are Canadians so tolerant of foreign forces that torture prisoners? As with the Maher Arar case in Syria, in the current Afghanistan prisoner debate, focus has been put on blaming Canada and almost none on examining foreign security apparatuses. The reasons for this are a mystery.

Is it because we think Middle Eastern countries are primitive anyway and should be held to a lower standard? That's an awfully condescending view of other cultures, possibly even racist. Yet this is entirely fitting with Canadian hesitation to focus attack on Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor over any Afghanistan officials.

Perhaps it's because from a leftist viewpoint, forcing foreign governments to adhere to Western values such as human rights is also a form of imperialism. Such critics might just prefer that the Taliban continue forcing their version of Islamic rule over Afghanis (even women, homosexuals, and non-Muslims) above interfering with foreign cultures.

So, it's a mystery. Canadians are blamed for Afghan mistakes. I guess they get a free pass because they can't be expected to know better?

Stabbing Victim Gets Punished

2007-04-25T10:06:00.000-04:00

A Halifax area high school student acting in self defence to a knife attack on Monday has been suspended. He rightly complains to that the outcome is unfair. A school policy that does not distinguish between defender and attacker, especially one with a deadly weapon, only serves to encourage learned helplessness in schools.

Who in their right mind would not defend himself or herself if lunged at with a knife? Was he to run away merely enduring the pain of being stabbed in the back until he found a Halifax West school official? This young person did the reasonable thing and it may have save him his life.

It might make sense to suspend both participants in a traditional school boy fist fight at the flag pole, but an attack with a knife is entirely different. An attacker armed with a knife against an unarmed victim usually ends with severe consequences. More so if the victim was not allowed to defend himself.

Fortunately, one student was smart enough to know he should not just stand there and be a victim of an attack. One less victim, one more empowered citizen. I suppose that's what being in the Canadian Forces Reserve taught him. The school doesn't seem to get it though. Its lesson to students is to not engage in violence, even if it means you end up dead.

Global Warming Honesty

2007-04-19T15:18:00.000-04:00

Like many Canadians, I am prepared to give up some things for national objectives. What I want to know however, is what complying with Kyoto will do for the country.

The pro-Kyoto forces haven't been very clear. If Canada meets Kyoto, how much exactly will that limit global warming? 1 degree? 1 hundredth of a degree? This is something we deserve to know.

Otherwise, it's very hard to be a choose Kyoto over the economy. Should the government put a special carbon tax on airplane gasoline for example, I know the price I'll be paying. But I won't know what that does.

All I'm asking for is a little more honesty from the pro-Kyoto side. What will complying with Kyoto get us--especially if China and India don't do anything?

A New Government "Investment"

2007-04-19T10:25:00.000-04:00

Another day, another corporate welfare announcement. A lumber mill in Queens County, Nova Scotia will receive a $1.5 million loan from taxpayers to expand its operations.

Governments are enthusiastic about the business of business subsidies because it makes headlines, preserves jobs, and wins votes. What they're not interested in, is sound investments.

Banks on the other hand, are interested in sound investments. If they could have lent money to this lumber company without expecting a loss at reasonable rates, they would have. They compete with their rivals to loan money to make back interest revenue, while at the same time balancing the risks of business loans.

If it were a good investment, a bank would have offered the loan. Not so the government. A $1.5 million interest free loan for business equipment is akin to giving away $300,000 (estimating a business loan rate APR of 10%).

Getting Our Money's Worth from MLAs

2007-04-18T17:53:00.000-04:00

Definitely short and sweet. To date in 2007, the Nova Scotia legislature has sat for less than five weeks.

The Chronicle Herald remarks that while sitting days have fallen, MLA salaries have gone up. I'm fine with that. They'd be worth $200,000 each if it means getting sitting days down to a week.

It's silly to believe that debate in the legislature means anything. Everything is decided beforehand. It's better we influence them when they're back in their constituencies, ready to discuss, away from the temptation of sound bites to the Province House media.

The less politicians sit, the less they'll feel the urge to create new spending programs and new regulations. That's how to get our money's worth from our legislature.

Dion Would Reinstate Court Challenges

2007-04-17T15:32:00.000-04:00

Stephane Dion said today that if elected he would reinstate the Court Challenges Program. He connects it with strengthening the Charter.

The CP describes the program as one that helped pay for lawsuits seeking to expand government provided benefits. Strange isn't? I thought it was the job of elected officials to do that. This is a democracy after all.

It doesn't matter to Dion that judges decide things, because it's been his party that's been stacking the benches for 13 years. As if Canadians trust politicians to be "fair and non partisan" in anything, let alone judicial appointments. Fair and non partisan means lots of Liberals and a few friendly Tories to keep the media at bay.

And if Liberals were so concerned about helping interest groups bring challenges to the government, why don't they voluntarily donate? I wonder how much him and his pals give to legal charities. Well... why use money out of their own pockets, when taxpayer money can be used.

The Court Challenges Program consolidates power in unelected judges and the elite lawyers who argue before them. It must not come back.

Politicians Vow More Authoritarian State

2007-04-17T08:44:00.000-04:00

The Virginia Tech shooting is a tragedy. It is also the platform on which even the Canadian left has now jumped on to propose a more authoritarian state.

Deputy Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff called for action to prevent future shootings in Canada. Translated, that means give the government more power and submit yourselves to more dependence. Left wing, activists are more overtly calling for "power to the state":

As MPs remain divided on a plan to scrap the federal gun registry, Wendy Cukier of the Coalition for Gun Control said the massacre serves as a sobering reminder of the need for strict gun control measures. The prevalence of shooting deaths in the U.S. is directly linked to the availability of firearms, she said.

More like, the prevalence of shooting deaths at Virginia Tech yesterday is directly linked to the helplessness of the victims. Ms. Cukier wants Canadians to be just as dependent on the state in the event of shootings at their schools. No thanks.

Subsidy Lets Nova Scotia Call Centre Expand

2007-04-16T20:26:00.000-04:00

Through a $914,000 "payroll rebate" from the Nova Scotia government, a Cape Breton call centre is hiring up to 175 new full timers. Great for the company, ServiCom Canada Ltd., but just how did they get chosen for such a break? As if it's special news that free money lets a company expand.

Of course, Premier Rodney MacDonald is very happy about this as he is from Cape Breton. In normal situations, the blogger would slyly ask if that's a coincidence, but not in Nova Scotia. Subsidized businesses are a fact of life here.

Giving government agencies such as Nova Scotia Business Inc. the power to choose subsidies hands too much power to government. This is a case as clear as any where government dependency is created. And it's no doubt political. Support a certain government and get goodies. The NDP and Liberals? Just as bad.

It's frustrating that the press lifts words off government talking points. The government calls it "help" as if it's out of compassion. Well, it's not quite help, it's more like diverting the tax burden to others. It's help if you turn a blind eye to others who are taxed to compensate for this. As if this helped them (everyone else). Thanks a lot media.

Sarkozy's Message to Expats

2007-04-15T22:32:00.000-04:00

A message from leading French presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy.

Message aux Français de l'Etranger
Uploaded by sarkozyfr

I'm still curious... if Stephane Dion had kept his French citizenship would he have voted for Sarkozy or Segolene Royal? Probably the Socialist...

More from the Economist.

(HT)

Court Releases Suspected Terrorist

2007-04-14T17:56:00.000-04:00

The Federal Court of Canada yesterday released a senior terrorism suspect back to his home in Toronto, where he will be supervised by his son. Mahmoud Jaballah, has been in detention without charge for the past six years and Madame Justice Carolyn Layden-Stevenson took this into consideration when giving her order for bail surety. The Globe and Mail reports on the conditions:

Mr. Jaballah's house arrest will be strict, his communications will be closely monitored and federal agents will follow him whenever he leaves his home.
A source yesterday suggested immigration-control officials in Toronto are preparing to lobby for as many as 20 new enforcement positions, just to keep tabs on Mr. Jaballah and the newly released Mr. Mahjoub, an Osama bin Laden associate.

While it is not comforting to know that people can be detained without charge for years, terrorism brings new challenges to the criminal justice system. Arguably, they should not even fall into the criminal category, especially if these terrorists consider themselves soldiers in a war (so they would prisoners of a war they're waging on us). Nevertheless, taking on 20 new officers to keep tabs on two suspected terrorists is quite a notable number.

One can only presume that those 20 would be in addition a few other officers already assigned to them. After all, these two men have to be watched 24 hours a day by armed teams who also monitor all their communications and watch for leads they might generate. How much does that cost? It can only be thousands of dollars a day, in addition to the lost manpower on the streets of Toronto. Perhaps these 20 odd officers should be out hunting for other suspects instead of babysitting a known danger. Perhaps he should be back in jail.

Or perhaps not. Courts err under the traditional criminal law maxim that "it is better to have ten guilty men go free than one innocent man punished". In the criminal sense, that's still the best policy. But is it still fitting when dealing with terrorists? Where one man may go free to kill a hundred? This is one policy question Canadians need to deal with sooner rather than later.

Nova Scotia High School Math Results

2007-04-13T18:51:00.000-04:00

72% of English schooled Nova Scotian Grade 12 students failed the provincial math assessment, according to this year's Ministers Report to Parents. The Chronicle Herald reports:

Only 28 per cent of students in English schools passed the Grade 12 provincial math exam in 2005-06, down from 31 per cent the year before, say results released Thursday by Education Minister Karen Casey.
The average mark was 39 per cent in regular math, a drop from 41 per cent in 2004-05. Students taking advanced math fared a little better — 52 per cent passed, compared to 57 per cent in 2005. The average mark for the advanced students was 51 per cent, down from 54.

Should we be concerned? Yes. I for one am very concerned. High school math is necessary for citizens to evaluate the economic policies of their political leaders. It is my belief that if more students understood math, Nova Scotia wouldn't be in the economic hole it is in today.

Without a foundation in math, we end up with dozens of economic development boards that do more harm than good. We have people who stand by as spending outstrips revenue year after year. Since so many fail math, Nova Scotians just don't comprehend how much debt they put their children into. It isn't even possible to talk to people about the importance of capital formation, multiplier effects of banks, free trade, etc.

Another interesting fact is that 41% of English students took the advanced math exam, even though it is meant for the top 20% of students who head into the sciences or engineering. In other words, too many kids think they're smart and teachers are afraid to demote students to more appropriate levels. It makes me wonder how many unqualified students roam the halls of universities today, deflating the worth of degrees for everyone else.

Supreme Court Turns Down Chance to Legislate

2007-04-12T16:00:00.000-04:00

The Supreme Court of Canada denied leave to appeal for a group of Ontario parents seeking funding for their autistic children.

Good thing, too. It's not a good sign for democracy when people go to judges to get funding. The proper way to do it is to get Dalton McGuinty to pass legislation or regulations to directly fund the specialized treatment.

Either that, or McGuinty should lead the charge to remove the ban on private health insurance. Then maybe these kids would never have been put into this position. But let's not kid ourselves. Ontario Liberals would rather protect a flawed institution than suffering kids.

Questions for the NS Tories

2007-04-12T07:57:00.000-04:00

It's not a good press day for the Nova Scotia Tory government.

Leading off, we have news that last year's budget went $120.2 million over. Cabinet gave itself approval of the appropriations. Nobody expects budgets to be exact year after year, but 9 digits is quite a ways off. It makes one wonder if that's just a secret way of creating spending. And let's not forget to ask: is the budget still balanced?

Columnist Marilla Stephenson, a fair critic of the government, makes a good charge that the government is weak under fire. Last week, the government announced the end of mandatory retirement, an excellent plan. As universities fired back for the expense it would create, the plan was delayed. Then there's the ATV licensing plan (bad to begin with) that also just got altered. This reminds us about the smoking rooms in bars plan, only to see all smoking banned. Or the cancellation of the adult recreation tax rebate. What's going on? Yes, as Stephane Dion reminds, it's not easy to set priorities, but stick to them after setting them.

At least there's a nice story about Premier Rodney MacDonald joining the Facebook bandwagon (348 friends and counting).

These guys are all we have. They'd better get their ship in order. The alternative is no alternative.

Segregated Military Bases

2007-04-11T12:54:00.000-04:00

Shame on Liberal defence critic Dennis Coderre for calling for a segregated military base for native Canadians. Multiculturalism has so gripped Canada that people can't even see that separate isn't equal. Should we go back to black or native only combat units as well?

"I think that we have to show sensitivity since Canada is also composed of First Nations," Coderre said. "The Canadian Forces have always reflected what Canada is."
The idea was first floated by Serge Noel, a local resident who noticed that many natives from the area were crossing the border to join armed forces in the U.S.

"The Canadian Forces have taken steps in the past to attract more aboriginals to their ranks and have achieved a certain level of success, but not as much as they would have hoped for," Noel said.

Mr. Coderre supports this, not realizing the problem in his sponsor's statement. That natives are joining the armed forces in the US is not because there are native bases there. If this were about recruitment, then investigate why US forces are more attractive to join.

Is it about sensitivity or recruitment? Or both? It doesn't matter. Segregating the military is no solution.

New Formula or Old, Nothing Will Change

2007-04-10T12:55:00.000-04:00

Governments, not people, benefit in the great Canadian equalization scam. That's my take and I believe it's more or less what Charles Cirtwill, acting President of the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies, writes in a Chronicle Herald op-ed today. He concludes:

The federal government met its commitment to bring equalization back to a stable, predictable formula. The problem is that the prediction inflates federal costs and expands provincial demands, with little in the way of evidence that either of those things will deliver the "reasonably comparable levels of service" promised in the constitutional guarantee of equalization.

One thing is certain: Both sides are wrong.

The old approach of special accords and side deals had to go. But non-renewable natural resources will never slingshot a province, any province, off of equalization as long as those resources are included in the equalization formula. Worst of all, the new formula is sufficiently attractive that few provinces will resist it for long; and that means we better get used to "have-not" status around here, just beggars along for the ride.

What does he mean? Well, Nova Scotia doesn't want its resource non-renewable revenues included in equalization. No province would. Fortunately, the province has a good excuse: it's a have-not province that needs to use the revenues to become self sufficient.

Too bad the province has shown weak resolve in moving towards self sufficiency. The 2007-2008 Nova Scotia budget included an unsustainable spending increase of more than +6%. It was balanced only because Nova Scotia had more federal transfers.

If the government really wanted to turn Nova Scotia around, it would use equalization as a buffer for taxes, not spending. We ought to take the trade of a few years of sub comparable services for sub comparable taxes. Give reason for the economy to grow. Give reason for businesses to start or move here.

But Nova Scotians don't want to go the hard way. So who is Premier Rodney MacDonald to lead the other way? Spending more money may help governments stay in power, but it doesn't help the province out of poverty. And so, we trade a few piddling social services for our entire future.

No Such Thing as Optimal Temperature

2007-04-09T15:29:00.000-04:00

"Looking back on the earth's climate history, it's apparent that there's no such thing as an optimal temperature—a climate at which everything is just right. The current alarm rests on the false assumption not only that we live in a perfect world, temperaturewise, but also that our warming forecasts for the year 2040 are somehow more reliable than the weatherman's forecast for next week.

So writes MIT Professor Richard S. Lindzen in a must read article on leadership and the environment in this week's Newsweek. The level of dialogue in Canada hasn't quite reached that level. Here, we talk as if cutting back our 2% of global emissions share to 1.4% will single handedly save the world from impending doom.

Then and Now

2007-04-09T13:12:00.000-04:00

There were nearly 11,000 Canadian casualties at Vimy Ridge. A tragic number notwithstanding that the force was 20,000 in number.

We salute the men and women of that generation. Did they give up saying too many were lost? That its not worth it? No. They stayed in the fight until it was over.

That was 90 years ago. Today, all it takes is 6 Canadian Forces volunteers who die in Afghanistan to make people question an entire mission. What happened?

Vimy Ridge was a legendary "nation building moment" for us, as the Chronicle Herald notes. It is only fitting that we hang in with a little more resolve to play a role in the nation building of Afghanistan.

Wolfville's Fair Trade Scam

2007-04-09T12:52:00.000-04:00

Wolfville, Nova Scotia is about to become Canada's first "Fair Trade" town. I guess they care a lot about feeling good but very little about the workers negatively impacted by fair trade.

Fair trade is a scheme by rich communities to pat themselves on the back for buying higher priced goods. The theory is that products of low paying work is exploitive so if they refuse to buy from those low paying sources, the workers there somehow benefit.

The problem is, there's no proof that fair trade actually makes non fair trade employers in the third world pay employees more. When low paid workers lose their jobs because their employers move elsewhere, they actually get no pay at all. Or maybe they pay some workers more and work them harder, while firing the others. Some pay is better than no pay.

Of course, by then towns like Wolfville are long gone from the scene. And the workers? Well, as they say: out of sight, out of mind.