FROLITICKS

Satirical commentary on Canadian and American current political issues

Mar 6

The Kingmakers: How Corporate Elites Work to Re-elect President Trump

by bcurry

Now that Donald Trump has garnered the Republican candidacy for the Presidential election next November, you can be sure that a number of the corporate elite will be lining up to support him and help fund his campaign.  After all, Trump believes that he is one of them.  Remember, that both Hitler and Mussolini garnered the support of the corporate elite respectively in Germany and Italy to help overthrow their existing democratic regimes in order to push forward their agenda and solidify their places among the wealthiest in each nation.  Both average Germans and Italians, like many Americans today, were upset with the current economic state.   Once in charge, those same elites worked with each dictator to build up the military-industrial complexes, much like what Putin has been doing and continues to do in Russia today.

Trump’s efforts to garner corporate support is already underway as witnessed by the recent reported meetings whereby he is urgently seeking a cash infusion to aid his presidential campaign.  These took place with the likes of Elon Musk, one of the world’s richest men, and a number of wealthy Republican donors.  Furthermore, now that Nikki Haley has withdrawn from the presidential campaign, it will be interesting to see whether the conservative billionaire Koch brothers will back Trump during his campaign.  The Koch brothers founded and fund the Americans for Prosperity Action (AFP), a libertarian conservative political policy body.  Initially, the AFP, which fuels the most powerful donor network in conservative politics, had declared itself as part of the NeverTrump effort for 2024, aiming to deny former President Donald Trump a third nomination for the White House.  Therefore, it will be interesting to see whether the Koch brothers will continue to take this position.

In addition, Nikki Haley was probably not the corporate elites’ most preferable candidate. Instead, like Musk, they would have preferred Florida Governor Ron Desantis as their candidate given his similar extreme right-wing political positions to those of Trump.  However, Desantis had a weak campaign and did not live up to the expectations of many of the corporate elite and those in the Republican Party.  The tide swung quickly in favour of Nikki Haley as a possible alternative to Trump, although unfortunately somewhat weak at the outset.

The corporate elite know that despite all the current indictments against Trump and his continuing denial of the results of the last presidential election, his hard-core MAGA base will continue to support him regardless.  Noteworthy, “The Daily Show” correspondent Jordan Klepper couldn’t recently hide his frustration with Nikki Haley supporters who fiercely condemned Trump but then, in the same interview, admitted they’ll still probably vote for the former president when he takes on President Joe Biden in November.

There appears to be too much at stake for corporate America not to support Trump.  After all he supports the fossil fuels sector, denying the impact of climate change; he believes in an “American First” policy at the expense of international trade agreements; he wants to build up America’s nuclear arsenal and speed up the military-based space race; he would never introduce new tax measures aimed at high-income earners or any new capital gains taxation; once again reduce the abilities of federal regulatory agencies such as the EPA and IRA; and he would increase further access to federal lands and waters for mineral exploration.

It was just a matter of time before we witnessed the “kingmakers” coming out of the woods, SuperPacs and all.  While a few corporate elites may support Biden, the majority like Elon Musk will most likely support and fund Trump.  It’s quite simple, the so-called “haves” want to keep what they have without paying their fair share.  After all, they are the kingmakers, and neither you nor anyone else can change that.  Just ask the German and Italian descendents of earlier insidious times!

Conservative Political Groups Donald Trump Joe Biden Presidential Election 2024 Republican Party US US Politics

Leave a comment »
Feb 26

Future of Child Care Up in the Air in Both the U.S. and Canada

by bcurry

Providing adequate child care has been a major issue in both countries.  From an economic point of view and in terms of economic growth, the continued participation of women in the labour market is recognized as being extremely important.  A 2019 Washington Post article reported that in 1990, 74 percent of American women between the ages of 25 and 54 either had a job or were looking for one, the sixth-highest rate among 22 rich countries.  By 2017, though, that number had risen to 75 percent, by then the fourth-lowest share among the same group of wealthy nations.  In Canada, statistics have shown that the participation of women in the labour force has consistantly been well above 60 percent in recent decades.  There are more working couples than ever, especially now that more women have chosen professional careers and many are needed in numerous labour-intensive sectors such as in health care, education, retail and the services.  Interestingly, a Statistics Canada study in 2019, noted that approximately 60 percent of children aged 0 to 5 years were participating in a formal or informal type of child care arrangement.

In order to support women’s participation, numerous jurisdictions have taken measures to reduce the costs of child care.  In both countries, child care is a direct responsibility of the states and provinces, with support funding often provided by the federal governments.  In 2003, the Canadian federal government announced a $1-billion, multiyear investment proposal in child care, requiring negotiations with the provinces to eventually establish a national child care program.  Consequently, Canada recently introduced a program to subsidize universal child care, in due course providing an average fee of 10 dollar-a-day child care by 2025-26 to all Canadian families.  During the pandemic in the U.S., there was temporary relief to keep the industry afloat.  The federal government made $24 billion available to the states.  Many providers were given thousands of dollars a month, depending on their size, which they used to pay for expenses, the biggest of which was wages.

Running a child care business has long been a very challenging math problem.  Many providers can barely afford to operate, yet many parents cannot afford to pay more.  It has also become harder to recruit child-care workers, one of the lowest-paying jobs in both countries.  With the termination of pandemic federal funding, some states, including a few led by Republicans, have invested state funds to make up for the pursuant loss of federal funds.  For example, this year Vermont will start to spend $125 million a year for large expansions in eligibility for subsidies for low-income families, and Kentucky spent $50 million on grants after federal funds expired.  Reportedly, the Biden administration has asked Congress for $16 billion for one year of additional funding for child care.  Apparently, a group of Democratic senators support it.  However, it is unlikely that it would get the Republican approval needed to pass.

There are additional considerations that have a direct impact on the current use of child care.  During the pandemic, many women began working from home.  Known as remote work, this has permitted some parents to increasingly provide home-based child care, further reducing their family costs and reliance on outside services.  In addition, the current high inflation has had a direct impact on the costs of running a child care operation, hitting the bottom line of many businesses.  Expenses include payroll, utilities, mortgage payments, food and supplies.  Like everyone, low-paid child-care workers have been affected by high inflation, and the result is a greater turnover rate among such workers.

While there are always debates over whether home care or external child care are more effective regarding a child’s early development, the fact is that the provision of quality child care is considered an essential element of a modern economy and its growth.  Those providing child care services are facing very difficult circumstances, everything from increasing costs to a shortage of qualified child-care workers.  In particular, the pay and working conditions for such workers, many qualified in early learning, has to be improved.  It is inexcusable that a society doesn’t adequately support those responsible for caring for our children, be they parents or child-care workers.  This is certainly one of the most crucial issues of our decade.

Child Care Child Care Women's Issues Women's Issues

Leave a comment »
Feb 16

Russia’s Treatment of Wounded Soldiers in the Ukraine Conflict Mirrors American Treatment of Wounded Vietnam Veterans

by bcurry

Recently, more information is coming out of Russia with respect to the estimated numbers of wounded soldiers involved in the war with Ukraine.  Of course, the total number of actual Russian war wounded is not disclosed by the Russian authorities.  After the war’s first month, the Russian defense minister, Sergei K. Shoigu, reportedly announced 3,825 wounded, a figure Russia has never updated.  The Central Intelligence Agency, in an article published in January 2024 in Foreign Affairs, estimated that Russian dead and wounded soldiers numbered 315,000.  The actual number may lie somewhere in between.  Nevertheless, the fact is that such a large number of wounded veterans are returning home means that the Russians have a major political problem.

Now let’s go back to a very unpopular Vietnam War and similar reactions by the American government as to the number of returning wounded Viet veterans.  As in Russia, American participation in the war in Vietnam became less and less popular as the war went on.  Although there were protests initially against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in the early months, Putin’s regime quickly imposed severe restrictions, including imprisonment, against its opponents.  While open demonstrations by anti-Vietnam war protesters were condemned by many in the U.S. administration, and by Presidents Johnson and Nixon in particular, they did represent a significant degree of opposition as the war went on.  The Pentagon underplayed the actual number of American deaths and injuries for some time, only to release more information towards the end of the war.

With the numbers of returning wounded, the U.S. military health care facilities became overwhelmed.  The same can be said for the Russian situation where accounts from doctors and the wounded suggest that Russia lacks essentials for treatment — everything from sufficient evacuation vehicles to hospital beds to drugs in military run medical facilities nationwide.  The walking wounded will increasingly be seen everywhere among the civilian population, creating a PR nightmare for both governments.  Both wars involved a type of warfare that resulted in horrendous physical injuries, including those involving amputations. 

Without providing actual numbers, the Russian administration recently disclosed that about 54 percent of wounded veterans classified as disabled have suffered amputations.  As for Vietnam, by 1969 more than 500,000 U.S. military personnel were stationed in Vietnam.  As of the current Census taken during August 2000, the surviving U.S. Vietnam Veteran population estimate is a little over one million.  It is difficult to obtain the actual number of physically or mentally injured veterans, except to say that they are in the thousands, many still being treated in VA facilities.  U.S. Wings notes that 58,148 were killed in Vietnam, 75,000 severely disabled, 23,214 were 100% disabled, 5,283 lost limbs and 1,081 sustained multiple amputations.  This most likely doesn’t include those suffering from traumatic stress disorders (TSD).

After the American military left Vietnam, there were no ticker tape parades for the returning vets as most Americans believed the war had been a mistake and preferred simply to forget about it.  In Russia, many of the injured are not openly celebrated and Russians appear “not ready” to see amputees, which satisfies the chosen approach by the Russian propaganda regime.  However, as in the case of Vietnam, the increasing appearance of injured Russian vets within their communities cannot but affect their families and the population at large.  Moreover, they appear to be treated as heroes or not at all.  Efforts are being made to keep them out of the public eye, much like what happened in the U.S. during the Vietnam War.

The Kremlin, military analysts and some medical personnel say, wants to avoid a repeat of the antiwar movements that forced a halt to the Soviet Union’s earlier wars in Chechnya and Afghanistan.  What will happen to the injured Russian vets is anyone’s guess at this time, particularly as the Ukraine conflict is continuing with no end in sight.  If it is anything like what happened eventually to many American Vietnam injured vets, the future doesn’t look too good.

Russia Ukraine US

Leave a comment »
Feb 9

Politicization of Health Issues in North America

by bcurry

The last few decades have seen a greater politicization of a number of issues related to health.  The clear division among pro-vaccine and anti-vaccine proponents during the COVID pandemic was a major indication of such politicization, with even public officials taking up one side or another.  The pandemic raised a number of health issues in both the U.S. and Canada, forcing governments and medical practitioners to support one side or the other.  However, the science was clear and supported the need for a vaccine and the various societal restrictions introduced to protect peoples’ lives.  The high number of COVID-related deaths, particularly in the first year of the pandemic, confirmed the urgency for action in order to minimize the terrible impact of the virus on the population at large.  Results indicated that where individuals were not immunized, the probability of serious health consequences and even death was that much higher.  Many ended up placing an extreme hardship on the health care system and communities.

In the U.S., the recent Supreme Court’s decision which overturned Roe vs. Wade — a 1973 landmark decision establishing a constitutional right to abortion — opened up the door to reviving the whole issue surrounding abortion, another primarily health issue.  Again, pro-life and pro-choice groups became more politically active in many states, with some state governments enacting laws introducing all kinds of restrictions on abortion, sometimes leading in practice to an outright ban.  This placed medical practitioners in a difficult situation, often putting a woman’s health in jeopardy as a result of the loss of the abortion option. 

More recently, governments in Canada and the U.S. have or plan to introduce legislation to support planned policy changes affecting transgender and non-binary youth and adults.  Often under the banner of “parental rights”, the laws aim to restrict health-care options for such youth and inform parents of any name and gender identity changes students request at school.  Age limits are being prescribed for the use by medical practitioners of puberty blockers and hormone therapies for gender affirmation.  As a result, medical experts and patients are weighing in on gender-affirming care and the potential impact of such laws on affected youth.  They believe that limiting their access to care will put some kids at risk of self-harm, especially with respect to their mental health.  Psychiatrists who see gender-diverse youth and adult patients believe that to outlaw access to puberty blockers ignores best practices, guidelines and international standards of care endorsed by major medical associations.  Such laws are an unnecessary and unconstitutional political intrusion into the personal health choices of children, their parents and their doctors.  What is difficult to understand is that it appears to be the policy equivalent to hitting a fly with a hammer, given that the issue affects a very tiny portion of the population, often depicted as representing well less than one percent of children and adolescents.

When it comes to personal health matters, I believe that the majority of people would prefer that the government stay out of the equation.  In Canada, we saw a similar political split during past debates on the issue of medical assistance in dying (referred to as MAiD).  There were those that opposed MAiD primarily on religious beliefs, compared to the medical profession and civil rights groups who argued in favour of assisting those with terminal diseases, living with pain, in anguish, and with no hope for a cure.  In the six years since assisted dying was decriminalized by the Canadian Parliament in 2016, more patients are seeking MAiD year over year as this option becomes more widely known and available.  Since the introduction of this practice into the Canadian healthcare system, over 40,000 Canadians have taken advantage of the option. Decisions for assisted dying are left to the individual, his or her family and their medical practitioners, using several prescribed guidelines developed under the program.

I don’t know about you, but I want to make decisions about my health with the least amount of government interference or that of politically motivated groups.  I want decisions to be based on the best science at the time and the experience and input of medical practitioners.  There has been far too much politicization of health issues, driven by motives that most likely have nothing to do with the freedom to determine what is right for each person.  Our beliefs are our own.  As long as one is not harming anyone else, our health-related choices are our business. 

Canada Civil Rights COVID-19 Health Care Health Care Systen Mandatory Vaccination US US Politics

Leave a comment »
Feb 6

Addiction to Sports Gambling on the Increase in North America

by bcurry

A recent episode by 60 Minutes on CBS on February 4, 2024 touched on the issue of addiction to online sports betting in the U.S.  Interestingly, a study of people involved in online sports betting indicated that the majority of gamblers were between 25 and 34 years old.  What was most concerning is the fact that the operators in online gaming — including sports betting — are gathering immense of amounts of data about each individual’s gambling habits.  They then use this information to individualize their online marketing to each gambler in order to encourage more betting and to lure back former gamblers to their site.  As a result, there is a greater chance of some gamblers to overextend their betting, and to develop an addiction to online sports betting.

In addition, the marketing of sports betting sites appears to be directed mostly to young people.  All one has to do is watch any sports event and one will see several flashy ads for such sites.  Operators also now cover any sport anywhere at any time (24/7), whereby some gamblers may not even know much about or follow a particular sport on a regular basis.  Beyond football, you have everything including curling, soccer, basketball, hockey, motor sports, rugby, volleyball, and even tennis.  There appear to be no limits on what one can bet.  The sites do not really make an effort to provide such limits, even though they have all the necessary individual data.

In the U.S., a 2018 Supreme Court decision opened the door for states to legalize sports betting, whereby the majority of States have since seen it as a new source of revenue.  Since then, 60 Minutes reported that Americans have spent more than a quarter of a trillion dollars sports betting.  Canada made single-event sports betting legal in 2021.  The province of Ontario was first to move ahead with a regulated sports betting program — allowing multiple operators to provide legal online sports gambling services.  There are now more than two dozen companies to compete for this sports-related segment of the broader provincial online gaming market.  In-play betting also opens the door to people being able to make many bets within a given game.

What all this means is that the possibility of increasing the number of gambler addicts is definitely in the mix.  While governments claim that their gaming commissions are trying to educate people about the dangers of excessive gambling, very little funding is provided to deal with this issue when compared to revenues going into their coffers.  The ability to control online gambling has become even more difficult because of the nature of the technology itself.  It was one thing in the past where an individual had to go to a casino or offsite operation to make a bet in cash.  Making a physical bet in cash is certainly more evident than making a bet online where to amount of total bets become more elusive and less discernable.  Young people in particular are more comfortable with using new technologies and have become more reliant on them for their daily experiences.  In such an environment, how to deal with potential addictive behaviour has become that much more difficult.

60 Minutes interviewed Matt Zarb-Cousin, a leading gambling reformer in the U.K.  He is also a recovering gambling addict.  Mr. Zarb-Cousin successfully lobbied for stricter gambling regulations in Britain — limiting how betting companies advertise and how much gamblers can wager.  He says the U.K.— where gambling’s been legal for decades — offers a sobering glimpse into what he believes is a crisis headed straight toward the U.S.  He noted that online sports betting addiction has been intensified by how much more the gambling companies now know about each user.

All in all, more has to be done to deal with gambling addictions.  Governments can no longer be complicit in online gambling in particular.  I once read that about one in five persons will develop a gambling addiction.  This of course has a major impact on individuals’ lives, their families, their communities and the health care system.  The costs associated with such addictions can be enormous!

Canada Gambling US

Leave a comment »
Jan 25

Assaults on Canadian Politicians Increases Costs for Security Details

by bcurry

A recent CBC News article highlighted the fact that the cost of keeping Canada’s Prime Minister (PM), Cabinet, and members of Parliament (MPs) safe has hit a record high.  This isn’t really all that surprising given the politicization of such highly contentious issues as past COVID-related government measures and the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  Fortunately, unlike the U.S., Canada has to date never seen a PM or Cabinet member assassinated.  History however has some examples of recent incidents involving lone wolves who attempted to harm a federal politician.  For example, a series of shootings occurred on October 22, 2014 at the National War Memorial and on Parliament Hill involving a lone gunman.  The gunman managed to enter Parliament, but in a shootout with Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers he was shot  and died at the scene.  In 2020, police arrested an armed man, without incident, who had gained access to the grounds at Rideau Hall, the Governor General’s official residence.  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family also live on the property at Rideau Cottage, not far from where the gunman was intercepted by the officers.  In both cases, after further investigation, it became clear that the assaults involved persons with mental health issues exhibiting previously known erratic behavior.  Terrorism was ruled out as a primary motive.

More recently on January 24th at a local level, a heavily armed man fired shots and apparently threw a Molotov cocktail in Edmonton’s city hall.  At the time, Mayor Amarjeet Sohi and several councillors were among the people present for an in-person meeting.  Fortunately, no one was hurt and upon receiving reports of shots fired at city hall, Edmonton Police Service officers arrived within minutes and took one adult male into custody.  The motive of the man isn’t yet known, and officials could not confirm whether or not he was previously known to police.

Since the 2014 incident on Parliament Hill, security has been greatly increased in order to provide better protection for Canada’s 338 members of Parliament (MPs).  Security on the hill involves the RCMP, local police services in Ottawa, the Parliamentary Protective Service and the House of Commons.  As reported by CBC News, during the first nine months of this fiscal year (2023-24), the RCMP spent $2.5 million (Canadian) on security for MPs.  If spending continues at the same pace, it is estimated that the cost of MPs’ security for this fiscal year could hit $3.4 million — almost double what it cost a year earlier.  Reportedly, former federal public safety minister Marco Mendicino said the rising price tag reflects a change in the “threat environment”, especially since the pandemic and the 2022 Ottawa truck convoy protest.  He further noted that there’s no doubt in his mind that the threat environment has escalated over the last couple of years, especially as result of the divisive Middle East crisis in Canada between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli supporters.

Greater harassment of the PM and members of Cabinet has certainly surfaced in recent post-COVID years, especially when they are on speaking tours.  On one occasion for example in August 2022, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was verbally harassed outside an event in Grande Prairie, Alberta.  There was also a very recent incident during which protesters, upset with Canada’s position on the Israel-Hamas war, gathered outside Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly’s home in Montreal.  In addition, there has been an alarming increase in threatening or abusive emails sent to individual MPs.

In general, the PM cannot go anywhere without the potential threat of harassment by anti-Trudeau factions.  As a result, RCMP security details for the PM have been greatly increased, along with the associated mounting costs.  Given the current highly volatile political environment, costlier security for politicians — federal, provincial and local — is likely to remain the new normal.  Canada has always prided itself in terms of being a country where civility and respect predominated the political scene.  All that appears to have changed as evidenced by the mounting verbal and physical harassment associated with recent events surrounding the pandemic and the weeks long truck convoy protest in Ottawa during the winter of 2022.

Canada Extremism Extremist Groups Federal Government National Security Police Services

Leave a comment »
Jan 20

Issues Over Privatization Of Health Care Services in Canada

by bcurry

As you know, Canada has a universal health care system, largely funded by the federal government via the Canada Health Act with services largely provided by each of the provinces under their provincial health acts.  However, in recent years, provincial governments have been considering more delivery of health care services through private outlets.  This occurrence became increasingly an issue in light of the fact that provinces have to be careful not to violate the Canada Health Act by requiring people to pay for medically necessary procedures. Otherwise, they could loose funds that they receive annually from the federal government for health care.  The issue has once again arisen as result of a severe lack of family physicians in many provinces, long wait times for some surgeries and in emergency rooms, and hospital closings because of staff shortages.  Some have described the situation as one reaching crisis levels.

Now, this is not to say that numerous health care services are not now provided through private means.  These include such services as medical testing, drugs, dentistry, physiotherapy, audiology and optometry.  According to one expert, such privately delivered health services already make up about thirty percent of the total health services in most provinces.  They further include the supply of nurses for home care or to cover hospital staff shortages, building of new hospitals in partnerships with governments, and the operation of costly equipment like M.R.I. machines.  Some provinces, such as Ontario, have recently announced that more services will be allowed to be provided through private sources.  These would include a number that initially had been performed only in public hospitals, such as medical imaging, cataract surgeries and hip and knee replacements.  To date, most such clinics have been owned by groups of physicians, and they are relatively small businesses. The primary caveat for this expansion is that patients will continue to be covered by public health plans.  The last thing that they want to see is move to a two-tier health care regime such as exists in the U.S.

Katherine Fierlbeck, a professor of political science at Dalhousie University in Halifax, is the author of a recent report on the issue.  In it, she predicts that as the private clinic business grows, large health care companies based in the U.S. will take a keen interest in the Canadian market.  Professor Fierlbeck also notes that these American companies don’t have that much political clout, and they’re not interested in behaving aggressively.  However, if you open the door and allow these huge corporations to come in from the States, then they are going to act aggressively, the same way that pharmaceutical companies act aggressively.  As a result, you would have to fend off interests who really want to expand the parameters of private business through constant lobbying or lawsuits.

Some observers argue that allowing for more private clinics to operate could lead to more medical practitioners moving from the public hospitals to private clinics, thereby impacting on the services normally provided by public hospitals.  A further loss of staff would only increase the waiting times in emergency wards and operating rooms for patients without access to private clinics, particularly in rural areas.

All in all, the increased use of private clinics is considered as being only one aspect of dealing with the health care crisis in Canada.  It must be accompanied by increases in the number of doctors, nurses and other medical staff through more subsidized training in medical schools and facilitating and speeding up of the licensing of foreign medical practitioners.  As with other occupations, the number of medical practitioners retiring in Canada will only increase in the near future. 

Polls indicate that the vast majority of Canadians continue to support a universal health care system.  There is no doubt that both federal and provincial governments will have to be very cautious in how they deal with this politically-hot issue!

Canada Health Care Systen

Leave a comment »
Jan 15

Increases in Canadian CEO Compensation Break New Records in 2022

by bcurry

For decades now, I’ve been following the steady increases in Chief Executive Officer (CEO) compensation among Canadian corporations.  Once again, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) is reporting that compensation for Canada’s 100 highest-paid CEOs broke every compensation record on the books in 2022.  That means that these CEOs now make 246 times more than average workers made in the same year.  According to CCPA, this is up from their previous high of 243 times the average worker wage in 2021.

To put this issue in greater perspective, the same year Canadians were hard hit by the emergence of the worldwide recession in 2008, the CCPA authored a report that indicated that CEO compensation represented 174 times more than the average Canadian wage.  While the average compensation for the top CEOs outpaced inflation by 70 percent between 1998 and 2008, people earning the average income lost six per cent to inflation over the same period.

Furthermore, the CCPA report entitled Canada’s new gilded age notes that CEOs benefit from inflation because extreme CEO pay is linked to soaring corporate profits.  It’s driven by bonuses, not salaries, and those bonuses are tied to company performance, like revenue and profits.  In 2021 and 2022 as inflation soared, so did corporate profit margins.  As a direct result, CEO bonus pay also hit all-time highs as companies profited from higher prices.

Now, there are those that will say that CEOs should be rightfully awarded for the corporations’ higher profits.  However, in numerous cases, even where a corporation did not perform up to expectations, contractual arrangements still allow for CEOs to receive their bonuses.  What is most unfair is that their workers’ wages have not kept up with inflation.  The report notes that in 2022, the average worker in Canada got an average pay raise of $1,800, or three percent.  However, prices went up by 6.8 per cent in 2022, meaning workers took a real pay cut of almost four percent compared to 2021.  On top of which, the average worker has to deal with inflationary prices for such essentials as food, heating and accommodation and recent higher interest rates affecting everything, including mortgages. 

What’s worst is that when corporations are in the market to replace CEOs, they are forced to offer greater compensation at current rates in order to attract who they believe are the most qualified candidates.  This creates a continuing cycle in industries whereby the compensation for each new CEO starts at even a higher level than would have been the case in the past.

The CCPA rightly calls upon governments to address the rampant income inequality between the rich and the rest of us through taxation measures that both disincentivize extreme CEO compensation and help to redistribute CEOs’ extreme income to Canadians on the lower end of the income spectrum.  How much greater does the spread have to be between what Canadian CEOs now make and the average workers make before the federal government finally acts?  The above mentioned report suggests the creation of new top income tax brackets, the removal of corporate tax deductibility of pay packages over a million dollars, the introduction of a wealth tax and an increase in the capital gains inclusion rate.  Under the current circumstances, such measures would certainly appear reasonable and just!

Surely, the Canadian government is in a position to introduce certain tax measures to deal with this issue now.  There is little justification not to address the fact that 100 CEOs, who are overwhelmingly male, got paid a whopping average of $14.9 million in 2022.  This is double what they pocketed in 2008 (an average of $7.3 million), even when taking into consideration yearly inflation rates.

Canada CEO Compensation Fairness in Taxation

Leave a comment »
Jan 9

With Industrialization, Our Sense Of Community Dissipated

by bcurry

Thinking back to more simpler times, pre-industrial for example, one cannot help but admire the nature of community as it existed at that time.  Everyone in the community had their responsibilities to contribute in some way to the general wellbeing of the community.  It was also the age of skilled artisans, each contributing and passing along their skills to the next generation.  The blacksmith forged tools and utensils.  The farmer provided grains, fruits and other foods.  The hunters provided wild game for their tables and furs for clothing.  The bakers provided the breads.  The women did most of the cooking, cared for the children and the elderly and made the clothing.  The mason helped design and build their stone houses and wooden storage sheds.  The potter created ceramic ware of clay for everyday household use.  On special occasions such as marriages, births and deaths, or the harvest, the community would gather together to celebrate.  Each member, young or old, was respected and given the reverence that they rightfully earned.  Through good times and bad times they stood together, helping one another and without expecting any kind of monetary reward in return.

The age of industrialization changed much of the sense of genuine community.  With the onslaught of manufacturing, peoples’ work became compartmentalized and relegated increasingly to assembly lines.  The true age of artisanship slowly faded away.  Community members became more reliant on outside bodies, including governments, to provide for many of their daily needs.  The young often left in search of better work and training opportunities elsewhere.  The nuclear family emerged whereby a family group consisting of parents and their children (one or more), typically live in one home residence.  Their parents and grandparents lived and were cared for separately, sometimes in institutional settings.  Their contribution to the community and interaction became limited primarily to direct family activities involving schools, religious bodies and any needs for health and social services.

Government began to play a greater role in meeting one’s needs and that of the family.  A much simpler way of living became much more complicated.  In turn, the evolution culminated in the emergence referred to by some as the “Me Generation”.  On occasion, as in the case of natural disasters, there are the rare examples of communities coming together to help one another under dire circumstances.  However, media coverage tends to stress the losses to individuals and families rather than the general impact on the community at large.  If one has home insurance or life insurance, than one’s losses are considered to be manageable.  Communities on the other hand are almost entirely dependent on governments to come to their rescue, which is not always a certain and timely exercise.

I once read that the level of community volunteer participation was about ten percent of the total population, varying from region to region.  However, numerous volunteers are involved in more than one cause, thus reducing the total level of actual volunteerism.  With the current economic situation and the inability of governments to meet peoples’ essential needs, such as housing and food, more people have become reliant on non-profits for assistance.  Indeed, local communities are being forced to meet the challenges facing many individuals and families.  Whether or not a real sense of community will return as a result is a question left up in the air?  

There is a real identity crisis facing all of us.  Can we really come together as a true community?  Have we become overly dependent on governments to resolve our issues?  Have modern age issues become so complicated as to be insoluble?  As in the past, perhaps people have to accept greater responsibility for the wellbeing of their communities.  This may no longer be a matter of preference, but one of necessity.  There are numerous ways in which individuals and families can become involved in their communities.  The first step may be simply to become better aware of the needs and characteristics of one’s neighbours.  The bureaucracies of government have demonstrated a failure to do so.  Without a real sense of community, many issues have been left to fester over the years.  Communities must become more self-reliant.  Just maybe, we all should invest more in promoting some elements as those reflected in pre-industrial communities.

Uncategorized

Leave a comment »
Jan 4

Strange Situation In Republican Primaries For Their Presidential Nominee

by bcurry

As a Canadian political observer, there is little doubt that the current situation south of the border involving the Republican Party (GOP) and their selection of a presidential candidate to run in the election later this year is all very strange.  You have former President Donald Trump who is currently under indictment in four different civil and criminal cases.  Despite this, the majority of GOP supporters continue to back Trump, with the polls showing that he is still leading the other GOP candidates by a substantial margin.  Trump’s primaries’ platform to date has reflected his desire for “personal retribution” against those who opposed him following his failure to get re-elected in 2020, and to implement an “autocratic” regime.

In addition, one of the indictments pertains to the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol by a violent mob and Trump’s alleged role in the conspiracy to keep himself in power by overturning the election results.  Recently, both Maine and Colorado had decisions to throw Trump off the ballot over 14th Amendment’s ban on “insurrectionists”.  Given this unprecedented situation, Trump is expected to appeal and both cases are likely to end up at the U.S. Supreme Court.  On top of which, Trump’s main GOP primary rivals, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, have declined to attack Trump with regards to any of the indictments for fear of upsetting Trump’s GOP base and thereby loosing their potential support.

Given his apparent continuing political support among the MAGA Republicans, Trump has declined to even participate in the recent candidate debates, something unheard of in Canadian politics.  When leadership conventions are held in Canada, current party leaders or aspiring party members to lead the party are required to present their platforms in front of party members as part of the voting at the party convention.  As well, open candidate debates are held prior to the leadership convention.  In the case of Trump, the other candidates are at a disadvantage since they cannot debate him in an open forum, subsequently being left to mainly attack each other in his absence.  Trump, on the other hand, has simply continued to carry out his usual style of campaigning in public and through media coverage, openly attacking his GOP rivals in his traditional style of vicious name calling and spiteful insinuations about their character.

What is even crazier, a new poll recently taken by the Washington Post with the University of Maryland indicated that MAGA has not only stuck with Trump on the questions of January 6th, but a few who even believed that he might have done something wrong at the time have now come back to his side.  Still, they apparently aren’t many.  However, Republicans loved Trump then and they appear to continue to love him now.  Nevertheless, there is little doubt that should Trump be convicted of a criminal indictment, the majority of American voters nationally, especially independents, would choose President Biden over Trump in the next presidential election.  On the other hand, polls indicate that Republicans don’t seem to care.  They’re even starting to warm to the idea of Trump serving from a jail cell, which legal experts believe is constitutionally possible.  This result would really be bewildering to say the least!

For this reason, NBC News reported in December 2023 that Trump’s campaign believes the January 6th trial was specifically timed to take him off the campaign trail at a crucial stage. They further believe that they can outsmart the prosecutors by wrapping up the primaries early.  At this time, much is up in the air when it comes to trial dates surrounding the indictments.  Observers also correctly believe that Trump doesn’t want the particular January 6th trial to happen anytime soon.  It’s pretty much self-evident that he really doesn’t want to be convicted, despite his lawyers’ assurances about an appeal.  Obviously, they further believe that should he win the election, Trump would simply pardon himself and be done with it.

Anyone, including myself, watching this “circus” from afar is left scratching their heads.  Democracy had taken a serious beating in light of Donald Trump’s ridiculous accusations that the 2020 presidential election was stolen by Joe Biden.  His continuing attacks on the judicial and democratic processes in public forum, culminating in the terrible attack on the Capitol, have resulted in major blows to the state of American democracy.  His disposition for autocratic leanings is of great concern to other democracies, including that in Canada.  In the coming months, Canadians need to more closely watch the strange situation flowing from the GOP primaries.  One way or another, the results will affect us all!

Donald Trump Joe Biden Presidential Election 2024 Republican Party U.S. Primaries US US Politics

Leave a comment »
«Older Entries
Newer Entries »
Blog at WordPress.com.