FROLITICKS

Satirical commentary on Canadian and American current political issues

Mar 30

Americans Have Even Been Able to Fully Politicize COVID Masking Policies

by bcurry

Want to get a good overview of past pandemics and the current COVID pandemic, I highly recommend that one read “Apollo’s Arrow” by Nicholas A. Christakis.  In it, he highlights how “nonpharmaceutical interventions” such as social distancing, masking and lockdowns helped people get through past pandemics such as those in 1957, 1918 and others.  During those outbreaks, there were no vaccines or other pharmaceutical treatments available for the most part, forcing the authorities to implement masking, quarantine and other spread prevention measures.  Such public health measures were accepted with very little backlash given the severity of the pandemic and fear of exposure which often led to deaths. 

This brings us to the current COVID-19 global pandemic.  In the spring of 2020, the U.S. and most other Western nations were forced to shutdown.  In addition, numerous nonpharmaceutical interventions were introduced, including mandating the wearing of masks in most settings, including those in the transportation, service and retail sectors.  However, no sooner had the requirement been implemented, various Americans cried out that such mandates were an infringement on their rights.  Unlike in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, the simple act of masking became highly politicized, despite what history tells us about the utility of such measures in limiting the exposure of people to the virus.  For the average American, the act of masking was normally done for occasional visits to grocery stores, clinics, pharmacies and on public transportation.  However, for health-care personnel, they were required daily to wear masks to avoid being infected.  As the author points out: “In some photos, their faces were blistered and bruised from wearing tight-fitting masks all day.”  They had no choice.

Recently, you have the so-called “Peoples Convoy” of truckers in the States, who are protesting all public health measures, including masking and vaccine mandates.  Next, one has a group of 21 states (primarily Republican), as well as groups of pilots and flight attendants, asking federal courts to permanently end the Biden administration’s federal transportation mask mandate.  The mandate is set to expire on April 18th, less than three weeks away.  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, reportedly said in a statement announcing the lawsuit that “it is well past time to get rid of this unnecessary mandate and get back to normal life.”  Here you have a Governor who was willing to reduce the budgets of any school boards who defied his “no masking” directive in Florida’s schools. 

Thinking back to two years ago, the airlines were among the first businesses to support masking and testing to ensure the health and safety of their employees and passengers.  Now, several American airlines are claiming that the federal mask mandate and other coronavirus travel requirements are no longer aligned with the realities of the “current epidemiological environment.”  Otherwise, they believe that the COVID pandemic is over and we no longer have to worry about it, especially since one now has widespread vaccine availability and newly available therapeutics.  However, they readily admit that they want to encourage more people to fly by removing some of the so-called hassles such as masks, which can make air travel less comfortable.  However, other major airlines that fly globally intend to keep masking requirements for awhile yet, given the different transportation policies among countries.

Given that experts predict that a sixth wave is expected in the U.S. and Canada this spring, mainly because of the Omicron variant known as BA. 2 which appears to be more transmissible than the original strain, one should consider encouraging people to mask when in public settings.  Mandated masking requirements will hopefully continue to exist in long-term care facilities, senior residences and health care settings for some time to come.  Such requirements are essential to protecting the elderly and those who are immune-compromised.  Many people will continue to wear masks in public as a personal choice and for health reasons.  Hopefully, people will respect their rights to do so whatever their political stance.  Attacking or harassing masked individuals has no place in a free and civil society.  Yes, some will argue that there is some “COVID fatigue”, but surely we can continue to support a little longer those public health measures that helped us limit this pandemic’s horrific impact on families and communities. 

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Mar 6

Truckers’ Convoy in U.S. Aspires to be More Calm Than Canadian “Freedom Convoy”

by bcurry

On February 23rd, taking its cue from demonstrations that paralyzed the downtown of Canada’s capital city of Ottawa for over three weeks, U.S. truckers embarked on a 2,500-mile (4,000-km) cross-country drive towards Washington, D.C., to protest coronavirus-related mandates and restrictions.  Having arrived in Maryland, organizers of the so-called “People’s Convoy” say they are planning to circle their armada of trucks, cars and SUVs around the Beltway on the morning of March 6th and into the following workweek at the minimum speed limit to slow traffic and get their message out to lawmakers.  The convoy, which recently numbered about 1,000 vehicles, intends to repeat that ritual each day this week until the group’s demands are met.  Organizers have proclaimed that they are law-abiding citizens who are simply exercising their rights to protest.  Unlike in Ottawa, they don’t want to shut anything down and they’re not planning to come into downtown Washington.

However, as in the case of the so-called “Freedom Convoy” in Canada, it’s not exactly clear just what are the ultimate goals of the American protesters.  As in the Canadian case, the convoy also involves a number or representatives of fringe groups, often with far-right links and other unrelated causes.  It seems apparent that there are a number of Trump supporters still asserting that the presidential election was stolen, as well as those from the anti-vaccine movement.  As in the Canadian case, many of the signs and messages can be seen referencing far-right political views and conspiracy theories.  A list of organizations supporting the convoy include those led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a leader in the anti-vaccine movement, Gen. Michael Flynn, the former Trump administration national security adviser, and Rob McCoy, a Republican politician and Southern California evangelical pastor.  In general, the convoy participants do push for an end to government health rules requiring masks and vaccinations, a move that has already begun by governments as new COVID-19 cases have ebbed.  However, as in the case of Canada where provincial governments were responsible for implementing most public health restrictions during the pandemic, many of the mandates were implemented by individual states in varying degrees.

Given what happened in Canada, the Defence Department authorized deployment of about 700 unarmed National Guard personnel from the District of Columbia and neighbouring states to help manage the expected traffic.  Capitol Police said that plans were being drawn up to reinstall the temporary fence that was erected around the Capitol after last year’s January 6th riots in the Capitol.  Like the Canadian protesters, the organizers claim that they just have a message that they want heard and they’re not going anywhere until it’s heard.  Unlike the Canadian truckers’ convoy, they have not also stated clearly any specific protest against the American and Canadian vaccination mandate requirements for truckers crossing the U.S.-Canada border.  The Canadian protest included blockages by vehicles of the Windsor-Detroit and Coutts, Alberta, border crossings that occurred in late January and mid-February.  The negative economic impact of the blockades on trade contributed to the Canadian federal government invoking the Emergencies Act in order to pressure the protesters to remove their vehicles and reframe from further illegal activities.

In Canada, many arrests of leaders and protesters were made both in Ottawa and at the affected border crossings.  In the case of Coutts, Alberta, several guns, body armour and ammunition were seized by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).  The seizure is attributed to militia-style right-wing fringe elements.  In the case of the American truckers’ protest, it is hoped that the organizers will maintain a more peaceful stance.  In light of the decline in new COVID-19 cases and related hospitalization rates, the irony is that both protests against government public health mandates are occurring at a time when many of the restrictions are in the process of being removed.  If the American protest resembles its Canadian counterpart, one will probably see no clear plan and a hodgepodge of multiple and diverse grievances.  Many grievances will once again reflect the general malaise within a large segment of the population, often compounded by a growing mistrust of government and the authorities.  Unfortunately, as illustrated in the Canadian truckers’ protest, these grievances can lead to illegal and sometimes violent actions.

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Jan 22

It’s Hard to be Optimistic About the Rest of 2022 — Here’s Why

by bcurry

Well, the New Year began much as the old year ended.  Across the board there are numerous reasons for North Americans not to be overly optimistic about the rest of the year.  Several key factors are leading us to this conclusion.

  • The Omicron variant of COVID-19 has created a fourth or fifth wave, depending on who you are talking to.  Although Omicron appears to have possibly peaked, it has once again severely strained our health care systems.  In addition, the unvaccinated continue to represent the largest number of hospitalizations, especially when it comes to patients in our ICUs.  Our health care providers continue to be under a great deal of strain, especially after two years of treating COVID patients.  There is now a tremendous backlog of elective surgeries and treatments.  In addition, although CDC studies show the effectiveness of booster vaccine shots in preventing severe COVID cases, far fewer adults have gotten booster shots to date.  When will we move from a pandemic to an endemic?
  • In most jurisdictions, kids are back for in-person learning in schools.  However, there are still a large number of children under the age of twelve who have not received their first dose of a COVID vaccine.  With the Omicron variant being twice as contagious as the Delta variant, many parents are concerned about the safety of schools and the potential effect of the disease on their children.  Indeed, statistics have shown that more children are being hospitalized due to Omicron.  Questions have been raised about whether in-person learning can continue in the near future.
  • Even with the economy starting to reopen, a number of economic issues have arisen.  Among these is the forecast of continuing hyperinflation over the coming months.  There continue to be supply chain problems, shortages of skilled labour and increasing fuel, food and housing prices.  With the current annual inflation rate running at around six percent, Canadians have not seen such a high inflation rate since 1991.  A survey of consumer expectations showed Canadian households also expect inflation to stay above 3 percent over the next couple of years, above the two percent average considered normally acceptable.  Central banks have little choice but to raise interest rates this year which will have a major effect on government and personal debt payments down the road.
  • Internationally, both the U.S. and Canada, as members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), will have to deal with on-going Russian threats suggesting a possible military incursion into eastern Ukraine.  Although the Ukraine is not a member of NATO, the allied countries strongly believe that there needs to be an immediate and firm reaction to any Russian incursion.  As a warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin, NATO countries are arming and training the Ukraine military and defence forces in preparation for such an event.
  • China’s economy is slowing, a worrying sign for the world.  China’s National Bureau of Statistics indicates that economic output from October through December of 2021 was only 4% higher than during the same period a year earlier.  This is a far cry from previous annual growth rates ranging between 6 and 9 percent in recent years.  The Omicron variant of the coronavirus is now starting to spread in China, leading to more restrictions around the country and raising fears of renewed disruption of supply chains.  Being a major supplier to the North American markets, any continuing slowdown in China’s economy will have a severe impact on U.S. and Canadian businesses and consumers.
  • COVID-19 government relief programs for the unemployed and businesses affected by government-imposed lockdowns and public health measures are being phased out.  This could result in many hardships for lower income individuals and small to medium-sized businesses.  The resulting loss of income due to the pandemic will have an impact on government revenues in the near future.  Many government support programs may have to be reviewed for termination or reduction under expected future austerity measures.

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Dec 6

With More Extreme Weather Occurrences, Governments Will Have To Act Faster

by bcurry

With the recent forest fires, hurricanes and severe floods, both Canada and the U.S. are being forced to increasingly provide support to provinces and states for immediate assistance and longer-term recovery initiatives.  However, Canada does not have any federal agency equivalent to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the U.S.  However, recently there has been more interest in Canada to potentially creating a similar federal agency to FEMA given the recent destructive and massive flooding of regions in British Columbia.

FEMA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter in 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders in 1979.  FEMA’s primary purpose is to coordinate the response to a disaster that has occurred in the U.S. and that overwhelms the resources of local and state authorities. The governor of the state in which the disaster occurs must declare a state of emergency and formally request from the President that FEMA and the federal government respond to the disaster.  FEMA also provides funds for training of response personnel throughout the U.S. and its territories as part of the agency’s preparedness effort.  While on-the-ground support of disaster recovery efforts is a major part of FEMA’s charter, the agency provides state and local governments with experts in specialized fields and funding for rebuilding efforts and relief funds for infrastructure repair.

However, even FEMA has incurred criticism in recent years, particularly in relation to the impact of hurricanes Katrina that hit New Orleans in 2005, Harvey that hit the Houston area in 2017, Laura that hit Louisiana in 2020, and Ida that hit Louisiana this past summer.  Among the criticism about FEMA is that it takes an inordinately long time to place every displaced resident in temporary housing, sometimes months and sometimes years as in the case of Katrina.  More than three months after Hurricane Ida tore through coastal Louisiana, thousands of residents of the hardest hit bayou communities remain displaced.  This raises the question as the whether supplying temporary or replacement housing for disaster victims is an appropriate role for government?  Most people would agree that it is.

Public Safety Canada helps Canadians and their communities protect themselves from emergencies and disasters related to all kinds of hazards – natural, human-induced and technological – through national leadership in the development and implementation of policies, plans and a range of programs.  The Department maintains a loose network of partnerships with other federal government institutions, provincial and territorial emergency management organizations, first responders and voluntary organizations, and other stakeholders and communities, supporting a whole-of-society approach to emergency management that leverages resources and capacities at all levels across the country.  However, the federal government relies heavily on providing immediate assistance through the Department of National Defence and non-profit organizations such as the Canadian Red Cross as requested.

Given the nature of recent disasters often associated with the impact of climate change, the Canadian government needs to seriously rethink how it handles such future disasters in an efficient, timely and effective manner.  There is a real need for a central agency to do pre-planning in order to prepare for future emergencies.  Preventative measures to deal with climate and environmental related causes will have to be developed and implemented on a long-term basis.  National coordination of such initiatives is a must, and more than sufficient funding needs to be allotted as soon as possible.  After all, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  National, provincial and local infrastructure needs to be immediately assessed to determine its capacity to withstand imminent future natural disasters.  Providing the means to immediately support displaced individuals and quickly provide temporary housing is essential to the well-being of both Canadians and Americans.

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Dec 7

Waning Support for Death Penalty Won’t Stop Trump from Proceeding with Executions

by bcurry

The Trump administration is ratcheting up the pace of federal executions prior to his leaving office.  Having resumed executions in 2019 for federal crimes, there have been 13 executions since last July.  His administration resumed putting inmates to death after a 17-year hiatus.  This will cement Trump’s legacy as the most prolific execution president in over 130 years. While President Obama had placed a moratorium on federal executions, he left the door open for future presidents to resume them.  It is reported that Attorney General William Barr defended the extension of executions into the post-election period, saying he’ll likely schedule more before he departs the Justice Department. 

It should be remembered that the U.S. is the only Western industrialized country to continue to have the death penalty.  The death penalty was ‘de facto’ abolished in Canada in 1963 and ‘de jure’ by legislation in 1999.  An Angus Reid survey in 2012 indicated that fifty percent of Canadian respondents said they prefer life imprisonment without the possibility of parole while only 38 percent supported the death penalty.  Interestingly, according to the same survey, 88 percent of respondents who voted Conservative in the 2011 federal election were more likely to regard the death penalty as appropriate — much in line with their Republican counterparts in the U.S.

At last count, President-elect Joe Biden is a death penalty foe, and a spokesman told the American Press that Biden would work to end the death penalty for federal crimes once he is in office next January.  However, this still currently leaves the death penalty as a legal capital punishment in 28 American states.  Last year, those states carried out a combined 22 executions.  However, most states halted executions since the start of the pandemic as a safety measure in prisons. 

Another concern for the federal government and the affected states is the current shortage of the lethal drug used to carry out the sentences, much of it previously imported from Europe.  For this reason, the U.S. Justice Department was forced recently to update protocols to allow for federal executions by firing squad and poison gas, though it’s unclear if those methods might be used in coming weeks.  Some states also have the option of hanging in carrying out their sentences.  All of which are barbaric!  One wonders if they intend to bring back the guillotine, once used by a number of European countries but since abolished with removal of the death penalty?

It will be interesting to see whether the Biden administration will live up to its intention to do away with the death penalty for federal crimes, despite the current Republican-led Senate.  Hopefully, if Biden follows through, states with capital punishment may consider putting an end to their death penalty option and thus becoming part of the more humane and civilized world.  In addition, Canada has seen a number of prisoners who have been found innocent after serving a number of years as a result of life sentences.  As history shows, abolishing the death penalty would also put an end to the tragic execution of persons found innocent after the fact. 

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Aug 16

Postal Service Is More Than Just Delivering Mail

by bcurry

In many rural American and Canadian communities in particular the only contact with the federal government is the local post office. People rely on the postal service to deliver their old age security cheques, medical prescriptions and devices, food stamps, and now mail-in ballots for the next American elections.  Rural community offices serve as a gathering point and source of stability, employment and a critical link to the rest of the world.  Up to now, American experts and employees believed that the Postal Service was still capable of operating as usual. However, under the Trump administration all that has changed with blatantly obvious cutbacks to the postal service under the new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a Republican megadonor to President Trump. Incidentally, he has no previous experience at all with any postal service. The President has argued that the purpose of Mr. DeJoy’s appointment is to make the postal service great once again — a recurring theme.

Among claims being made by employees and citizens are that postal boxes have been removed from certain key locations, mail-sorting machines were removed from processing centers, drivers are being sent out according to set schedules whether or not all of the morning’s mail is ready for them, and increasingly limits have been placed on working overtime or overtime has been eliminated. Today, citizens are complaining more about increasing delays in the receipt of mail and packages than had been the case a few months ago. This apparently is not just about the fact that the service is already short on staff because of quarantines and the coronavirus outbreak.

Instead, what it is about is the fact that the President does not want the states to rely on mail-in ballots for the election and continues to argue that, without substantive evidence of any kind, mail-in ballots lead to fraud. While nearly a quarter of Americans voted absentee or by mail in 2016, millions more are expected to mail their ballots this year because of the coronavirus crisis.  Polls have shown that two-thirds of Democratic supporters intent to vote by mail due to the pandemic compared to one-third of Republican supporters.  This could offer an advantage to Trump should there be serious delays in the receipt of mail-in ballots. Due to the recent cuts in service, the Postal Service has already warned states that it may not be able to meet their deadlines for delivering last-minute ballots.

Yes, as in Canada, the U.S. postal service has to adapt to the realities of a new era driven by major technological advances and competing delivery services. However, is this the right time to be making major changes when so many citizens, especially vulnerable persons, are even more dependent than ever on essential mail deliveries because of isolation due to the pandemic?  Or is this just another political ploy by a desperate Trump administration in advance of the upcoming elections?  Do the administration’s actions justify hurting millions of Americans, especially those in rural communities?  Perhaps there is significant danger in this tactic where many of Trump’s rural supporters may become disillusioned and either not vote altogether or vote for Democratic candidates.  Hopefully, Congress will look into the matter more closely.  Time will tell.

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Feb 14

Treating Tweets By Donald Trump As Gospel And The Impact on Governance

by bcurry

At no time in American Presidential history has technology created serious concerns regarding the separation of powers and the obstruction of justice. When the American President tweets out something, his administration, his followers and the general public treat it as gospel.  Gone are the normal press conferences of the past, only to be replaced instead by tweets and short media scrums.  The problem is over how to draw a line between the ad hoc public declarations of the President and perceived interference in the justice system.  Remember, the justice system is expected to be an independent part of governance and rightly so.  Besides Congress and the Executive, the justice system through its various branches is designed to ensure independence and impartiality in its decision making processes and in enforcement of the law.

However, Attorney General William Barr has now stated that President Trump’s criticisms of the handling of his friend Roger Stone’s sentencing has undermined the legal system, and he is not able to do his important job. Although there may be no direct evidence of interference by Trump, his tweeted assertions that the Justice Department’s Prosecutors’ push for a sentence of up to nine years for Stone’s convictions was too harsh could only be perceived as an attempt to influence the Attorney General.  Subsequently, the AG decided to overrule his own prosecutors and withdraw the sentencing recommendation, giving the appearance of caving in to Presidential pressure.  Instead, the AG’s office suggested that the prosecutors instead lay out factors for Judge Amy Berman Jackson to consider in sentencing Mr. Stone but defer to her on the length of the final sentence. With this outcome, the four prosecutors resigned from the case in protest, with one actually leaving the Justice Department.

As the New York Times notes, speaking up could have put Mr. Barr at risk of losing the backing of the President, but remaining silent would have permitted Trump to continue attacking law enforcement and all but invited open revolt among the some 115,000 employees of the Justice Department. Previously, the President had made it difficult for Mr. Barr to maintain the appearance of independence, threatening the AG’s credibility by repeatedly calling for federal investigations of Trump’s perceived enemies.  Trump had suggested to the president of Ukraine that he work with Mr. Barr and the President’s personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani to investigate for personal political benefit some of Mr. Trump’s political opponents: i.e. Joe Biden and his son. This action of course formed the whole basis for the impeachment hearings and trial against Trump in Congress.

Even more serious, is the fact that public statements by any President, in whatever format, are considered as the administration’s official position. Despite the fact that the President’s staff often is forced to follow up with a further explanation of just what the President’s assertion was, Trump’s initial tweet will always be taken by his followers as gospel.  This may play well with Trump’s base of support, but will often undermine the credibility and sanctity of the three separate legs of governance and democracy.  Even the Republicans in Congress are now beginning to realize that the powers of the President have to be restrained as intended under the Constitution, given the importance of the intended checks and balances provided by the three arms of government.

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Jan 17

U.S. Federal Government Leaves Public Servants and Their Communities in Economic Turmoil

by bcurry

Well, here we go again! Back in January 2018, I blogged briefly about the then federal government shutdown in Another U.S. government shutdown – is this anyway to run a country?

Now, we are almost a month into the longest shutdown of government services in U.S. history, all thanks to President Trump’s insistence on funding for a larger wall, barrier or whatever at the Mexican border. As a result, over 800,000 federal public servants have been furloughed or are working without being paid.  Needless-to-say, this is having a negative impact on most workers and an economic impact in the local communities in which they live.

Imagine, the shutdown is affecting security at airports with TSA agents calling in sick or turning to temporary jobs to make ends meet. Air traffic controllers are being forced to work extra hours because of no new personnel are graduating from their training institute.  Food safety inspectors were unable to carry out their daily inspections.  National parks, while open, have no park wardens or other employees to oversee their daily operations, often putting visitors at risk.  Homeland security personnel are also affected, including Coast Guard workers.  Farmers are forced to wait for government subsidies.  These are only a few of the key government services that are affected.

As for local communities, federal government jobs represent many of the better paying jobs in the communities. Normally fairly stable, federal workers contribute to local economies by buying homes, paying municipal taxes, volunteering, purchasing local goods and services, etc., etc.  Many public servants are highly educated and have chosen public service over working for often higher wages in the private sector.  They have chosen public service careers because of relative certainty, good pension plans and health insurance, perks that are harder to come by as an employee in corporate America. In addition, an increasingly diverse public service offers an equalizer for African-Americans and women, who are far more likely to earn high salaries working for the government than they would with a company.

Whether one supports public servants or not, the fact is that they play an increasingly major role in modern society. The on-off-again shutdowns of recent years do nothing to enhance the reputation of the government to potentials hires.  The loss of many important government services and economic contributions is not what the U.S. needs at this time. Experienced and highly-skilled employees are reconsidering their future employment options, threatening to create the potential loss of talent at a time when the federal government needs it the most.  Congress and the President need to get on with the business of governing, sooner rather than later.

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Sep 28

What’s Sad — It’s Still An Old Boys’ Club In The U.S. Congress!

by bcurry

Watching Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh testifying on September 27th before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee really brought home the image of the Senate as still being an old boys’ club.  There you had a cast of old Republican senators sitting in judgement of Dr. Ford, preferring to have hired an Arizona prosecutor Rachel Mitchell to ask questions on their behalf. This was of course a political stunt to avoid giving the impression of a bunch of old guys ganging up on a woman.  What’s worse, the whole circus was conducted as if it were a criminal trial instead of a Supreme Court confirmation hearing.

This event brings me back to a recent study by the Pew Research Center in the U.S. which looked at the proportion of women to men in senior positions in governors’ seats, state legislatures, Congress, businesses and education institutions. What the study found is that only 20 percent of Congress is women, although women make up over half of the American population.  Women represent about 22 percent of senators.  The density of women in the House of Representatives is just below 1 in 5.  In both cases, most women are Democrats.  Hopefully, there could be more than 60 women who assume new seats in Congress after this November midterms — most of those women being Democrats. In addition, the Center found that Democratic presidents have had more heavily female Cabinets than Republican administrations.  There are far fewer women in Trump’s Cabinet than there were in Obama’s.

Other Western countries have achieved much more equality of government representation than the U.S., and even Canada. Moreover, Judge Kavanaugh comes from a primarily white male environment, attending the right prep schools and having the accepted middle-class conservative pedigree.  What’s there not to like, especially within the old boys’ club in Washington.  There are currently only three female associate judges on the nine member Supreme Court, with the one existing vacancy.  Just for once, maybe the President could have considered nominating another respected female jurist to the Supreme Court, conservative or otherwise.  However, unfortunately we know what Donald Trump thinks about women!

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Apr 26

Why Is It That We Still Can’t Understand The Limitations Of Governments To Do Things?

by bcurry

Recently, I read a number of articles in reputable sources blaming governments for all kinds of things. The complaints ranged from the decline in North American manufacturing jobs to proactive policies aimed at dealing with climate change and poverty.  The problem appears to be that the authors really don’t understand just what impact government policies and programs can have in reality.  Indeed, what is the ultimate role and purpose of governing?

Let’s put it in simpler terms. Governments are needed to ensure peace and good order in a society.  They do this by creating laws, administering and enforcing them for the good of all citizens.  Governments also strive to protect the individual rights of their citizens, constitutional or otherwise.  However, unlike a century ago, societal needs have become more complex and are influenced by many other factors — from new technologies, globalization, ideologies, oligopolies, world and domestic economic institutions, the environment, etc., etc. Most of these factors are outside the direct influence or control of governments.  If anything, the impact of other factors is felt more than that of government initiatives which tend to be more reactive than proactive.

Today, hundreds of lobbyists continuously work to influence government policies, often through financial support for politicians and parties. While governments attempt to be perceived as being independent, the reality is that the most influential interest groups get their fullest attention.  For example, one only has to look at recent tax reform initiatives in the U.S. and the influence of the National Rifle Association regarding the current gun control debate. Large business organizations run the economy, not government.  President Trump is witnessing their significant influence in the current debate over free trade versus his administration’s move to increased protectionism.

Except in the case of wars, governments rarely tackle issues in a speedy and drastic way, but rather do things in a deliberately slow and incremental approach. Sometimes, politicians just want to please as many interest groups as possible so as to get re-elected in the short-term.  It’s rare that governments attempt to move quickly to tackle those longer-term issues for fear of alienating their supporters, most of whom can’t see further than the end of their noses.  Unfortunately, rightly or wrongly, critics ignore the realities of governing today’s complex societies.  Many of the issues we face today have emerged and evolved over decades of governments with varying political stripes.  In order to be re-elected, political parties are more or less forced to take “centrist” positions or face the countervailing influence of powerful interest groups.  It’s hard to govern effectively and with a longer-term perspective when the immediate primary objective is political survival.  Sorry to be so cynical, but it’s been a tough week!

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