Okay, here is monkey loves to fight first bulletin. Since a lot has happened since the first week of September, this will tie in all the events since then with the emphasis on the past week.
Michael Ignatieff decided to no longer back the government after the first week of September. Since he promised the Liberals would vote against the Tories on all confidence matters, this meant they had to get the support of at least one other party. Since then, the Tories have gone from a tie with the Liberals to approaching majority territory. Clearly most Canadians are sick and tired of having elections every year, so no suprise in the change in numbers. He can still comeback, but it will require a real change in direction. The Tories meanwhile are doing well more because of the weakness of their opponents, not either of their strength. Monkey loves to fight is disappointed neither party is talking about what they plan to do to fight the large deficit. The deficit won't disappear on its own, it requires massive spending cuts or tax hikes. Monkey loves to fight thinks the GST should be raised back to 7% while keep income and corporate taxes at their current level and cut them once we return to surplus as they do more to promote economic growth than sales taxes do. All departments should undergo a major review and be slashed. Likewise when civil servants quit or retire, they should be replaced internally, not through new hires, thus cutting the size of civil servants. Also offering early retirement to all civil servants over 60 would help cut the size as well and cost too. Crown corporations should be reviewed and privatized if they can be and they are at the best value. Right now monkey loves to fight supports privatization of VIA Rail, while partial privatization of Canada Post (government would still hold 50% + 1 share).
Ontario also faces a similiarly large deficit and needs to make similiar difficult decisions. Monkey loves to fight believes Ontario should institute a hiring freeze in the civil service and fill all positions internally, while offer early retirement to those over 60. After that is complete, lay offs may be necessary, however this should be done only after the above two are done. Privatization should be done of the LCBO (and also we should allow sales in the grocery store for beer and wine as Quebec, most states, and pretty much every other developed country does), Ontario Power Generation, while for Hydro One, sell 49.9% of shares, while maintain majority ownership. This has been done in many European countries to raise cash without full privatization. All departments except education and health care should face cuts, while in education and health care a review should be done to find cost savings without leading to a decline in service. Monkey loves to fight supports the HST as this is good for the economy and although it will raise the price of some goods, it will lower for many others. The reason for this, is with the GST, the sales tax only applies to the final purchase, but the PST applies to each and every purchase, even if the good is being re-sold are used to make something else. Since most products go through several stages, before finally be sold, this can increase the price significantly. This also puts domestically produced goods at a disadvantage since duties charged on imports only take into account the GST, not the PST. It may be unpopular, but it is the right thing to do.
Going back to federal economic issues, there are a few other ones to discuss. The federal government is considering implementing a national securities regulator. Not surprisingly, Quebec and Alberta are dead set against it. Monkey loves to fight supports this, but believes participation should be mandatory, no opt outs. We are the only developed country to not have a national securities regulator and with talks about more coordination at an international level, it seems absolutely silly to have 13 different regulators. Ignatieff also outlined his economic plans. He talked about more trade with China and India which monkey loves to fight supports, although I also believe we should continue to negotiate one on one free trade agreements with Latin American countries after FTAA failed, since they are growing and due to geographic proximity, this seems like a good area to expand. Likewise, we should definitely pursue one with the European Union as this is the largest economy in terms of GDP in the world and having access to it could bring many benefits. While tariff and investment barriers are quite low in the EU, non-tariff barriers are quite high and this restricts Canada's ability to do business here. We need to negotiate an agreement to help bring those down. We should also in Asia, look at one with Japan and South Korea since although they are not growing as fast as China and India, they are more advanced and pay similiar wages to Canada, so we would not be put at the same disadvantage. In the case of India and China, an investment agreement makes the most sense as unlike most other developed countries who are more open to foreign investment than Canada, India and China are quite restrictive limiting the ability of Canadian firms to invest in those countries. Ignatieff also talked about supporting Canadian flagship companies. While monkey loves to fight would love to see more Canadian champions such as RIM, we should not be subsidizing them as this encourages mediocrity. One just has to look at Bombardier which is hugely subsidized. Likewise in the auto industry (although foreign owned) the one company, Ford, who got no bailout is doing better than the other two who did get bailouts. We need to stop rewarding failure and encourage success. In the case of Nortel Networks, it is unfortunate this company went under, but blocking any takeover should not be done, unless it is either state owned or it could be a national security risk. Likewise, if the country of the company doing the takeover would not allow a Canadian one to take it over, than it should also be blocked. In the case of Ericsson, the first two definitely don't apply, while the last one may have been the case 20 years ago, but not today as restrictions on foreign investment are largely non-existent in the EU, with only a few exceptions. Off course if RIM, was unfairly shut out, then a re-auction should be required since I would prefer it went to a Canadian firm and if RIM got to bid on it, it would probably would have won it fair and square.
Going to non-economic issues, two are seem to stick out. The first is the issue of climate change and the Copenhagen summit. After this unusually cool summer here in Toronto, some global warming would be nice, although I realize global warming doesn't benefit everyone. Canada should support efforts to deal with it, but our national interest must always come first. We should not cave into what the EU wants or other countries just to produce an agreement or look good. Our national interest must always supercede the global interest. After all, every other country does this, so we should do it too, and if they complain, they just look like hypocrits then. Finally the best way to deal with is population reduction. If the world's population was only 1 billion, every person could live like Westerners do without causing the environmental damage, so longer term, a smaller population is not something to dread, but something to look forward to.
There was also recently 76 Tamil refugees who arrived on the shores of BC. After slapping visas on Mexico and the Czech Republic this past summer, the issue of Canada's refugee policy has come to the forefront. Monkey loves to fight recognizes there are genuine refugees who Canada should assist, but our refugee policy is way too generous. We have an acceptance rate over 40% while most other countries are under 20%. Such generousity only encourages abuse. In addition, even those who are refused can tie up their case in courts for years and many just go AWOL. We should instead allow the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to screen people right at arrival. If their case seems bogus, they should be deported immediately. Only those with a legitimate case would proceed to the IRB (immigration and Refugee Board). Once rejected, a person must leave and those who do not leave will be forcefully removed. Individuals frome safe third countries (US, EU, all other Western European countries, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand) would be prohibited from making refugee claims in Canada. They can immigrate like anyone else if they want, but they need to stand in line, not jump the queue. Also, the Canadian Embassy in hot spots should be open for those fearing persecution to stay and they can stay there will their claim is processed as most who genuinely need Canada's help cannot afford to get over here. Unscrupulous immigration consultants should face a crackdown and there should be zero tolerance for human smuggling. Those involved in human smuggling should get stiff jail sentences (I am talking about those running the smuggling ring, not the victims).
Finally, turning south of the border, the health care debate is continuing to go on. I don't support a US style health care system, but believe the Canadian government and all parties should stay out of it. It is an internal issue and just as we would rightly be angry if the Americans stuck their nose into our health care debate, we should do the same. They are a sovereign country and what type of health care system they have is their problem, not ours.
With blogs now weekly, hopefully next week's one will be a bit shorter.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Introduction
Welcome to the blog of monkey loves to fight. This will be a weekly blog, when I am not travelling elsewhere or too busy with other commitments. It will give an update on the week's events and give a personal opinion from monkey loves to fight on the important issues of the day. This will be a no nonsense blog. It will tell things as the blogger sees it. It will not be your politically correct blog that your political elites like to read nor will it support or favour any one party. It will both praise and attack every party as the blogger sees fit.
Monkey loves to fight is a classical liberal who believes in the idea of as much as freedom as possible and only government where necessary. Monkey loves to fight supports the free market and believes that while some government intervention is necessary, we have far more than necessary and government should only intervene when necessary. We need fewer and smarter regulations, lower income and corporate taxes to promote economic growth, balanced budgets, and less government spending. Just as individuals have learned how to manage their money properly, governments need to do the same and spend where necessary and based on what we have, not to try and pander to every special interest group who is wanting a hand out and not to buy votes from every potential voter. Monkey loves to fight believes in a smaller and more efficient public sector. Crown corporations should be privatized if they can be done better by the private sector (i.e. Provincial Liquor stores, VIA Rail, public Auto Insurance companies in some provinces, Electricity and gas companies in some instances although not all) and that government should not be in the business of running businesses. Government should also eliminate all subsidies. The market and consumers are far better at choosing winners and losers than governments are. British Columbia back in 2001 eliminated government subsidies and yet it has done just as well as most other provinces and it has not led to massive takeover by foreign companies, in fact BC has less foreign owned companies than Ontario which does subsidize many firms. All activist and political interest groups should have their funding slashed. Monkey loves to fight doesn't care about how noble they think their cause is, if their cause has enough support they will get the support through donations from the public. Unlike socialists, we believe values are something each individual has and we respect that people have different values and that there is no right or wrong, just different opinions. Forcing people to subsidize viewpoints they disagree with goes against the grain of this. Monkey loves to fight supports free trade and open investment policies so long as the playing field is level. When other countries adopt protectionist measures, Canada should not hesitate to retaliate and do so to the fullest extent, but when other countries open their markets, we should too as we can compete. We are not a weak country that is incapable of competing against others, we are an extremely strong country with plenty of resources and talent who can compete against anyone and win.
Monkey loves to fight believes in social programs to help the disadvantaged, but our social programs should be a hand up, not a hand out. They should be there to help those who cannot help themselves, not to foster dependency on the government. He is opposed to a government run childcare program, while supports universal health care, but believes those who wish to purchase private health care should be able to do so, as long as the public system continues to exist. This is the case in every other industrialized country save the United States (which doesn't have a universal health care system) and Canada (which prohibits a parallel private system). In education we have a public school system, yet there is no law prohibiting parents from sending their children to private school, so there is no reason why it cannot work with health care. Monkey loves to fight supports are more centralized but smaller government. In today's globalized world, giving more power to the provinces is neither financially responsible nor does it make sense. In fact it weakens our competiveness. In some areas such as labour mobility for professionals, environmental standards, the European Union (which is not even a country) is more centralized than Canada, so surely if 27 countries with vastly different cultures can work together on issues they have in common, 10 provinces where despite our differences, we are far more similiar than countries in Europe are, we should be able to do the same.
Monkey loves to fight is a social liberal who believes individuals should be free to live their life as they want so long as it doesn't harm others. He supports same sex marriage, the right to choose, legalization of marijuana, legalization of prostitution, and euthanasia. He supports immigration that is beneficial to our country, but believes we should refuse those (save refugees in dire consequences) who do not have skills that can contribute to our economy. He also believes those who come here illegally should be deported, while continuing to welcome those who come here legally and making it easier in terms of time and paper work. We should welcome diversity of cultures, but at the same time recognize the common values that bond us together as Canadians regardless of where we come from or our ancestors came from. Monkey loves to fight does not support regionalism or one identifying primarily with their ancestry over where they currently live. We are all unique individuals, but we are also all Canadians. Monkey loves to fight believes in individual rights not group rights. Dividing people by groups however it may be only serves to further divide us and is arbitrary. There are more differences within any group (be it gender, income, ethnicity etc.) than there are between groups. Giving preference to historically disadvantaged groups (i.e. affirmative action) only helps divide us and lead to more resentment, treating each person based on their ability and characteristics is all that should matter and any characteristic that is beyond one's control should be irrelevant. Monkey loves to fight believes in a foreign policy that puts national interest first and selectively engages with the rest of the world. Problems are best solved at a local, not global level and so Canada should avoid intervening in global issues unless absolutely necessary. We should not be involved in foreign wars such as Iraq and Afghanistan, but we should also limit the role of international organizations such as NATO and the UN to only problems that cannot be solved at a national level. Taking a more isolationist approach, is not being against others, it is simply recognizing each country and culture is unique in its own way and it is better to let them each solve their problems based on their values rather than taking a one size fits all approach. Monkey loves to fight doesn't care much for labour unions and believes they have outlived their usefulness. They should have the right to exist, but monkey loves to fight would never vote in favour of unionization if there was a union drive at his firm and would support any decertification efforts if his workplace was unionized. Monkey loves to fight has worked at both union and non-union firms and has not found pay or working conditions any worse at non-union ones, but at least didn't have to fund all their socialist causes. Monkey loves to fight believes the environment is an important issues to deal with, but market mechanisms can work just as effectively as government regulation and more importantly population reduction is the best solution to helping the environment. Low birth rates are not something we should fear, they are in fact exactly the best solution for solving our environmental woes. Population reduction through government action however should not be done (i.e. China's one child policy) but neither should governments adopt policies that encourage population growth.
These are just a summary of monkey loves to fight views, but you will see more as the issues emerge.
Monkey loves to fight is a classical liberal who believes in the idea of as much as freedom as possible and only government where necessary. Monkey loves to fight supports the free market and believes that while some government intervention is necessary, we have far more than necessary and government should only intervene when necessary. We need fewer and smarter regulations, lower income and corporate taxes to promote economic growth, balanced budgets, and less government spending. Just as individuals have learned how to manage their money properly, governments need to do the same and spend where necessary and based on what we have, not to try and pander to every special interest group who is wanting a hand out and not to buy votes from every potential voter. Monkey loves to fight believes in a smaller and more efficient public sector. Crown corporations should be privatized if they can be done better by the private sector (i.e. Provincial Liquor stores, VIA Rail, public Auto Insurance companies in some provinces, Electricity and gas companies in some instances although not all) and that government should not be in the business of running businesses. Government should also eliminate all subsidies. The market and consumers are far better at choosing winners and losers than governments are. British Columbia back in 2001 eliminated government subsidies and yet it has done just as well as most other provinces and it has not led to massive takeover by foreign companies, in fact BC has less foreign owned companies than Ontario which does subsidize many firms. All activist and political interest groups should have their funding slashed. Monkey loves to fight doesn't care about how noble they think their cause is, if their cause has enough support they will get the support through donations from the public. Unlike socialists, we believe values are something each individual has and we respect that people have different values and that there is no right or wrong, just different opinions. Forcing people to subsidize viewpoints they disagree with goes against the grain of this. Monkey loves to fight supports free trade and open investment policies so long as the playing field is level. When other countries adopt protectionist measures, Canada should not hesitate to retaliate and do so to the fullest extent, but when other countries open their markets, we should too as we can compete. We are not a weak country that is incapable of competing against others, we are an extremely strong country with plenty of resources and talent who can compete against anyone and win.
Monkey loves to fight believes in social programs to help the disadvantaged, but our social programs should be a hand up, not a hand out. They should be there to help those who cannot help themselves, not to foster dependency on the government. He is opposed to a government run childcare program, while supports universal health care, but believes those who wish to purchase private health care should be able to do so, as long as the public system continues to exist. This is the case in every other industrialized country save the United States (which doesn't have a universal health care system) and Canada (which prohibits a parallel private system). In education we have a public school system, yet there is no law prohibiting parents from sending their children to private school, so there is no reason why it cannot work with health care. Monkey loves to fight supports are more centralized but smaller government. In today's globalized world, giving more power to the provinces is neither financially responsible nor does it make sense. In fact it weakens our competiveness. In some areas such as labour mobility for professionals, environmental standards, the European Union (which is not even a country) is more centralized than Canada, so surely if 27 countries with vastly different cultures can work together on issues they have in common, 10 provinces where despite our differences, we are far more similiar than countries in Europe are, we should be able to do the same.
Monkey loves to fight is a social liberal who believes individuals should be free to live their life as they want so long as it doesn't harm others. He supports same sex marriage, the right to choose, legalization of marijuana, legalization of prostitution, and euthanasia. He supports immigration that is beneficial to our country, but believes we should refuse those (save refugees in dire consequences) who do not have skills that can contribute to our economy. He also believes those who come here illegally should be deported, while continuing to welcome those who come here legally and making it easier in terms of time and paper work. We should welcome diversity of cultures, but at the same time recognize the common values that bond us together as Canadians regardless of where we come from or our ancestors came from. Monkey loves to fight does not support regionalism or one identifying primarily with their ancestry over where they currently live. We are all unique individuals, but we are also all Canadians. Monkey loves to fight believes in individual rights not group rights. Dividing people by groups however it may be only serves to further divide us and is arbitrary. There are more differences within any group (be it gender, income, ethnicity etc.) than there are between groups. Giving preference to historically disadvantaged groups (i.e. affirmative action) only helps divide us and lead to more resentment, treating each person based on their ability and characteristics is all that should matter and any characteristic that is beyond one's control should be irrelevant. Monkey loves to fight believes in a foreign policy that puts national interest first and selectively engages with the rest of the world. Problems are best solved at a local, not global level and so Canada should avoid intervening in global issues unless absolutely necessary. We should not be involved in foreign wars such as Iraq and Afghanistan, but we should also limit the role of international organizations such as NATO and the UN to only problems that cannot be solved at a national level. Taking a more isolationist approach, is not being against others, it is simply recognizing each country and culture is unique in its own way and it is better to let them each solve their problems based on their values rather than taking a one size fits all approach. Monkey loves to fight doesn't care much for labour unions and believes they have outlived their usefulness. They should have the right to exist, but monkey loves to fight would never vote in favour of unionization if there was a union drive at his firm and would support any decertification efforts if his workplace was unionized. Monkey loves to fight has worked at both union and non-union firms and has not found pay or working conditions any worse at non-union ones, but at least didn't have to fund all their socialist causes. Monkey loves to fight believes the environment is an important issues to deal with, but market mechanisms can work just as effectively as government regulation and more importantly population reduction is the best solution to helping the environment. Low birth rates are not something we should fear, they are in fact exactly the best solution for solving our environmental woes. Population reduction through government action however should not be done (i.e. China's one child policy) but neither should governments adopt policies that encourage population growth.
These are just a summary of monkey loves to fight views, but you will see more as the issues emerge.
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