The tariff dividend thing is exactly the wrong direction to go. The point of having a government is that there are useful things it can do with money, that citizens cannot--things that answer our COLLECTIVE needs. In a time like this there is all the more need for government to be pursuing important projects that help the whole society, not just bribing us with our own money.
There are tons of needs. More infrastructure--rail, electric grid, internet just to start. A public pharmaceutical company like we used to have until Mulroney sold it off. Housing, lots of housing. If the government spent a whole bunch of money just building housing, the knock-on effect of lowered home prices would save us all way more money than just putting that money directly into our pockets so landlords would have that much more leeway to take it back out of them by increasing the rent or home price. The list goes on. Now that free trade is a dead letter, shouldn't we be re-establishing the Canadian Wheat Board? Harper killed it, the results have been disastrous for farmers, but putting it back would have violated our free trade deals . . . well they're toast now, even the WTO is moribund, so let's put it back, expand it even.
The correct phrase is "brass tacks" not “brass tax”. It's an idiom that means to focus on the most important facts or practical details of a situation. Which is what I believe you meant.
Worth mentioning that the NDP did present a dozen or so private member bills in the last session targeting price-gouging, price-fixing, and greedflation that the Lib-Cons either voted down or sent to committee for endless delays. Agree that Singh needs WAY better speech writers though!
Brilliant analysis that asks some critical questions I have not seen raised anywhere else. History proves that major economic shocks are usually followed with profiteering by corporations when consumers are least prepared to regroup and think about why they’re paying more on certain items that were otherwise untouched by whatever shocked the system (think natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina, wars, pandemics, etc.). You’re thinking critically on multiple levels. Well done.
Excellent points and analysis. How do we stop the profiteering? What all this "Team Canada" patriotism is saying to me is that we could stop all this capitalist bullshiit any time our politicians have the political will to do it.
We should all call it out. As with Covid, I expect producers to jack prices on Canadians and blame the tarrifs. We'll call it out. At this time it is really important to unify Canadians. Anyone profiteering is working against the good of the Canadian people and undermining our ability to stay and defy U.S. interests.
I would love to see the start of a basic income in the form of a tariff dividend for all Canadians.
Although the rhetoric says we’re all in this together, you know it will be the precariat that will be shouldering the burden.
Measures of hardship will be up, but on a descending line as they make their way through increasing income brackets.
The tariff dividend thing is exactly the wrong direction to go. The point of having a government is that there are useful things it can do with money, that citizens cannot--things that answer our COLLECTIVE needs. In a time like this there is all the more need for government to be pursuing important projects that help the whole society, not just bribing us with our own money.
There are tons of needs. More infrastructure--rail, electric grid, internet just to start. A public pharmaceutical company like we used to have until Mulroney sold it off. Housing, lots of housing. If the government spent a whole bunch of money just building housing, the knock-on effect of lowered home prices would save us all way more money than just putting that money directly into our pockets so landlords would have that much more leeway to take it back out of them by increasing the rent or home price. The list goes on. Now that free trade is a dead letter, shouldn't we be re-establishing the Canadian Wheat Board? Harper killed it, the results have been disastrous for farmers, but putting it back would have violated our free trade deals . . . well they're toast now, even the WTO is moribund, so let's put it back, expand it even.
https://substack.com/@matthewgreenndp/note/p-156704977?r=1ii73h&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
That is the question I have been asking.
Will prices on Canadian goods see a corresponding rise with tariffs, or will there be controls?
Surely corporations will benefit if their products are less expensive than American goods.
Or will greed take over as they capitalize on the problem?
The correct phrase is "brass tacks" not “brass tax”. It's an idiom that means to focus on the most important facts or practical details of a situation. Which is what I believe you meant.
Worth mentioning that the NDP did present a dozen or so private member bills in the last session targeting price-gouging, price-fixing, and greedflation that the Lib-Cons either voted down or sent to committee for endless delays. Agree that Singh needs WAY better speech writers though!
Brilliant analysis that asks some critical questions I have not seen raised anywhere else. History proves that major economic shocks are usually followed with profiteering by corporations when consumers are least prepared to regroup and think about why they’re paying more on certain items that were otherwise untouched by whatever shocked the system (think natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina, wars, pandemics, etc.). You’re thinking critically on multiple levels. Well done.
Excellent points and analysis. How do we stop the profiteering? What all this "Team Canada" patriotism is saying to me is that we could stop all this capitalist bullshiit any time our politicians have the political will to do it.
We should all call it out. As with Covid, I expect producers to jack prices on Canadians and blame the tarrifs. We'll call it out. At this time it is really important to unify Canadians. Anyone profiteering is working against the good of the Canadian people and undermining our ability to stay and defy U.S. interests.
Funny and serious working together. Thanks for “brass tax” and the I-need-that slap re almost eating JT’s complete sentences…., up.
Good call, comrade. Maybe DeepSeek has a better boilerplate script to hold pols accountable