WHIPPED: Just a more obvious flaw in our democracy.

Sean Holman is shopping around his documentary WHIPPED, The secret world of party discipline.

I saw it in Toronto (June 22/13) and stayed for the panel Q&A that followed.

Mr. Holman is a passionate well meaning individual with a clear idea of how our Democracies in Canada should operate. He used his journalistic training and nine years of experience covering the Legislature in Victoria B.C. to produce this documentary. It's very well done, as far as it goes. Mr. Holman will be on The Current (CBC) this Wednesday, and the documentary may be viewed on CPAC at some point.

Though the entire documentary is set in British Columbia, the concept of whipping and the party whip are common to all Westminster style legislatures in Canada and around the world (in Britain there is a bit more freedom). By way of contradiction, Canada has two exceptions: Northwest Territories and Nunavut, no parties, no whips.

During the Q&A, Mr. Holman pointed out he has no bias as to whether whipping is a good or bad thing, which I found disingenuous. Why bother making the documentary? Going to the trouble of making an exposé uncovering a "secret world," seems to me to be taking a side.

Mr. Holman, the Q&A panel, and the sponsor of the showing, all had an obvious bias. In fact I found the representative from the sponsor, Duff Conacher, somewhat biased toward the new Federal Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, but maybe that's just me.

By the end of the evening it was obvious that whipping occurs in most of Canada's legislatures and is not necessarily in the best interests of Canadians as voiced by the panel. Wherever it happens, MP's, MPP's, MLA's, MNA's whatever, all the elected representatives of the various legislatures, vote along party lines because they are coerced (whipped) into doing so. The coercion takes the form of ostracism from the party caucus, or having the possibility of advancement within the government or party hierarchy blocked if the party line is not toed. The general belief voiced by the panel and the audience at this viewing was, legislators should be able to vote their conscience or at least vote in the best interests of their constituents without coercion.

Sounds reasonable, wouldn't you say?

Of course this begs the questions what are the best interests of constituents on any given Bill presented by a government in a legislature, and how would a legislator know this? I suspect that most of the people present for the viewing would be satisfied and resigned to accept Churchill's famous comment that: “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.” But I wonder is that the best we can do? I prefer this Churchill quote: "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." My view is, that practiced as it is now, democracy is overrated.

For example, in the most recent Ontario election only 49.2% of qualified voters bothered to vote, and the elected Liberal minority government attracted 37.62% of those that cast ballots, or just 18.5% of qualified voters. What kind of democracy is that? It was not quite a majority mob that formed this government, but a small cobbled together bunch of special interest groups that are dependent on the spend-thrift ways of the governing party. Clearly in Ontario at least, government is not really democratic at all, along with being apparently unlimited in its reach. Maybe the whole idea of being whipped is mere small potatoes? But its nice to know that the advocates of our democracy (at this viewing) can spot this flaw. There may be hope.

A Facebook comment from my Party colleague Jim McIntosh, sums up the situation that legislators are faced with very nicely: "[I]t isn't clear to me that your representative knows what is in your best interest, let alone what is in the best interest of all his constituents, or even the ones who voted for him. Typically any Bill he must vote on may help some constituents and hurt others. That is why the (Ontario) Libertarian Party advocates that the force of government only be used to protect life liberty and property of residents."

So maybe Sean Holman's next documentary should be about limiting the size and scope of government rather than unleashing legislators. That would really be in the best interests of all Canadians.

A Postscript: Just to be clear, as leader of a political party (Ontario Libertarians), if we had elected representatives in the Ontario Legislature, I would require those MPP's to vote along party lines. We advocate limited government and would expect those members of our Caucus to vote against any Bill that reduces choice or increases the power of government. However, in the present context, I would hope that any libertarian members of any other party make their position known to their Caucus and either vote against or abstain from Bills that reduce the liberty of citizens.

        

If you see something, say something....but don't worry its just the government.

By now, unless you live under a rock, you have heard or read about Edward Snowden. Just as likely, you have formed an opinion, he is either a traitor, a hero, or you aren't certain/don't care. That's the way people are lining up. Predictably the neocons think he is a traitor, the libertarians believe he is a hero, and most people don't give a rat's ass.

Edward Snowden is also either very brave, very naive, or possibly something more sinister that we aren't privy too yet. He has given up a healthy six figure salary at the age of 29, with a comfortable job while living in one of the most beautiful places on earth. Who would do that? Well, we don't know the whole story yet, but its got the makings of a book, or maybe a screenplay/movie eventually.

Is anyone surprised by Snowden's revelation?

I wasn't, it just confirms my belief that if something is possible, it's likely being done. My trust of government, let's say is non-existent, but you have probably gathered that by now.

I was on a family trip at the time that the NSA/PRISM story broke open, travelling to the New York City metropolitan area, the megalopolis that ranges between New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.

Ten years ago, on a similar trip I was impressed by the number of magnetic "ribbons" attached to the all sorts of motor vehicles, flags flying on front porches, and yellow ribbons tied to trees. America was at war in Iraq and at war against terror. Today those magnetic ribbons are less obvious, faded with time, and far fewer flags fly on homes, people are tiring of the never ending war. Who can blame them?

Visiting rest stops on the Interstate highways I saw signs on the rest stop doorways - "If you see something, say something," followed by a phone number - a snitch-line. The whole thing is positively Orwellian or worse.

In fact that metaphor is probably lost on an entire generation or two who are now rapidly catching up, the proof being that Orwell's 1984 is a hit again. I wonder what the Google stats on Orwell are like these days?

We here in Canada must think ourselves lucky not to be spied on by all these acronyms. Not so fast folks, it's happening here too. Have you ever heard of Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC)? Neither have I until this past week, now its all over the web. Watch what you say, and to whom you say it.

Edward Snowden has done us all a favour, he said something. The Hollywood movies that depict government agencies spying on everyone are no longer fiction, maybe Shia LaBeouf was right.          

Political Gang Warfare

Whenever unpopular political decisions need to be made its best to overwhelm opponents, thats another rule of politics. Also, make sure you get some bipartisan support and the sheeple will think this is the ONLY way.

Take a look at that logo, any clue what it means?

It's the logo of the Greater Toronto Civic Action Alliance. In any political fight, another rule is: make sure your public face gives no clue to what you are really about. So, just looking at the name, its impossible to discern what these people are being active about. And the logo, well it's a freaking mystery.

Here is what its about. An agency of the Ontario government called METROLINX, has been tasked to build and run  an integrated a transit system in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area, the GTHA. All they need is $50 billion over 25 years - $2 billion per year, or about 1.6% of Ontario's current budget, chicken feed in government lingo.

Oh, the 32, what's it about? Well, currently the average commute time in the GTHA is 82 minutes per day, among the longest in North America. The Metrolinx experts say that will rise to 109 minutes in 25 years, but if you spend $50 billion, you will shave off 32 minutes, down to just 77 minutes. Yes, just 5 minutes less than we have now. Whoop-dee-doo!

Another part of the gang of political elites involved in railroading this idea through can be found here. That is their press release from the other day, explaining the "investment" strategy. Here is their video, which features some of the political elites and shows everyone just how bipartisan and diverse they are.

I hope after that you are ready to fork over the money. It should only cost the average family of four with two cars about $20,000 in fees and taxes over the next twenty years or so. You don't need the money anyway. Remember, in 2038 you will be saving 32 minutes off your commute, if you can afford a car by then.   

The Big Move Tax Grab

One of the first rules of politics is to try to minimize or at least obfuscate unpopular events or decisions.

Today, an agency of the Ontario government - Metrolinx - came out with their bag of "revenue tools" - taxes by any other name, to pay for a massive 25 year plan that will cost $50 Billion (at least).

So this could become one of the largest single tax grabs in Ontario, since Dalton McGuinty said he would not raise taxes, but instead created the Health Premium, a new "tax" in the 2004 budget.

What I find interesting and funny is this, in the week or so before the Metrolinx revenue tools announcement, the two most consistent opponents of these revenue tools - the Ford brothers Rob and Doug - were attacked by two of the largest newspapers in the country, and accused of various drug offences: smoking crack and pushing dope. Not only did those allegations create local headlines with daily ramifications, but Toronto politics became a joke on North American late night TV shows. So, I'll ask, is there a connection? Is this a smoke screen (pun intended) for Metrolinx?    

Metrolinx is supposed to alleviate the gridlock in the Greater Toronto - Hamilton Region. The average commute time in the area is now 82 minutes. When (and if) the plan gets done, that commute time will be 77 minutes - 5 minutes saved! Of course, the CEO of Metrolinx says that if it isn't done, his crystal ball says the average commute will be 109 minutes. Could it possibly be 108 or maybe 100 minutes? How can this guy predict what things will be like in 2038? Maybe we'll get those flying cars I've been waiting for. But with even more taxes piled up onto poor Ontario, who will be able to afford a flying car?

Political Scandals

The mayor of my hometown, the largest city in Canada, is alleged to be in a video where he is smoking a crack pipe. Neither the video (which only a very few have witnessed) nor the owners of the video can now be found. The mayor's brother, an elected councilman of that city, is accused of pushing dope in the 1980's, but none of the ten or so people who were accusers would step forward and make the charge.

Several Senators in Ottawa (not the hockey players) have been accused of being less than forthright (lying) about their principal residence and as a result they received large sums of public money, which they now must repay. Two of them were once prominent respected journalists and the scandal has reached into the office of the Prime Minister of Canada.

Former Ontario Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty accepts the blame for moving two Gas Power Stations in order to save two Liberal political seats in the 2011 election. He didn’t know it would cost in excess of $600 million – which the province had to borrow. He resigned and closed the Ontario Legislature for four months to let things cool off.

If you “Google” the phrase “political scandal,” you would get about 257 million results – even more than the phrase “political corruption.”

Political scandals seem to be what politics is about. Maybe that had something to do with the fact that less than half the eligible voters of Ontario bothered to vote in the 2011 Election.

Apple Computer has been accused of dodging taxes for years, another type of scandal.

William Watson, in a column in the Financial Post has a great suggestion on how to reduce scandals here, I recommend it.

Cheesed off yet?

I'm fairly certain it was not my blog posting of Sept. 26, 2012 that prompted the Canadian Dairy Commission, a legal and government approved cartel in Canada, to lower their mozzarella prices.

Back then I wrote about "Why American Pizza tastes better." My theory was it's because of the cheese, mozzarella prices in the United States are about half what they are in Canada, so American pizza makers are more generous with their cheese. More cheese, tastier and less pricey pizza, it's not rocket science.

About four-fifths of the price of Canadian pizza is because of the cheese. Who knew?

That blog post also pointed out that members of the Niagara Regional Police Department (no less) were caught smuggling cheese across the border. Yes, cheese, mozzarella cheese, not drugs!

Yesterday, Terence Corcoran in the National Post wrote about this dramatic price drop. He pointed out that the price of a kilo block of mozzarella cheese at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (not that far from Niagara) is about $4.20. In the Niagara area of Ontario (and the rest of the country) it's $8.50 a kilo!

After you've exclaimed WTF!, your next question is why, isn't it? Now you're asking the right question, unfortunately the answer requires you to wade through some government gobbledygook on Supply Management. Good luck with that.

The short answer is, you remember supply and demand, where demand usually determines the price of a scare commodity? Well, in this case dairy farmers and the government are in cahoots controlling the supply and setting a quota for the production of all milk products while at the same time, screwing over all consumers in the country. Milk products are probably one of the most common items in the kitchens of the country - so this is a big screw over.

Corcoran's article is worth the read, even funny in spots, he pulls no punches. The National Post saw fit to make this topic (by Chris Selley) their editorial today here.

Oh, by the way, the price drop of mozzarella cheese in Canada, all the way down to $7.80 a kilo, whoop-dee-do.

Bitcoin Bubble?

The exponential rise and sharp drop in the value of the "virtual" currency Bitcoin has made it into the mainstream media this past week. Even the CBC, official voice of the statist media in Canada, had a reasonably (for CBC) unbiased story here.
The value of a Bitcoin has been extremely volatile of late, possibly because of the European monetary crisis and the little wrinkle that Cyprus created.
This commentary in Forbes magazine addresses the volatility. Of course, there has also been considerable volatility in gold lately, but I'm not going to pretend I know why. I think like gold, Bitcoin is not going anywhere, it definitely serves a purpose and has a niche like the Forbes article suggests.
Will Bitcoin become a widely accepted and used currency, something you might use to pay for your dry-cleaning? Who knows?
Below is an interesting interview with an Austrian School business professor that my daughter posted here.

The rise of the Bitcoin: At what point should we take this seriously?

As one of the world’s first online currencies gains momentum and headline counts, Dr. George Bragues, Acting Vice-Provost and Program Head of Business at the University of Guelph-Humber, offers his thoughts on the viability of virtual mining.

We know that these coins are ‘created’ through a series of complicated computer programs through a sort of digital mining process. How does money emerge spontaneously?

This speaks to the idea that there was no great person who consciously decided, let’s have money. Throughout history, money has emerged spontaneously, through an unplanned process. It started when people first specialized in a trade, or made something that they could then use to trade for something else they needed. And eventually, without any central authority’s designation, people came to converge on a class of objects, like precious metals, that everyone was willing to accept in exchanges.

Whatever object that’s agreed on as currency ultimately needs to have a few key features for it to work. It needs to be divisible, it can’t be perishable, it needs to be portable, and it needs to be relatively scarce so that it doesn’t lose value. The Bitcoin ultimately has these key features.

Despite Bitcoin currency having been developed a few years ago, it’s become a sensation in recent weeks as the exchange prices have surged and plummeted, with fingers pointing toward the financial instability in Cyprus as government there has been interfering with peoples’ savings. What’s the significance of this?

The Cyprus situation basically raises questions about the integrity and safety of the fiat currencies of the world. It suggests that if you have all this money in dollars or euros or pounds stashed in banks somewhere – that if and when these banks get into trouble, you could suffer a big financial hit. So against this backdrop lies a demand for another form of currency that would not be subjected to this problem. And that’s the Bitcoin.

The Bitcoin is not managed by a central bank, like the euro or the US dollar. Its supply is also limited to 21 million, with about 11 million currently in circulation. This essentially replicates a gold or commodity-type of money – meaning, the supply is limited by its availability. And just as gold needs to be mined, so, too, does the Bitcoin. The main difference obviously being that with gold, the mining is a physical process, whereas mining a Bitcoin is intellectual where you have evermore complex mathematical problems that need to be solved.

The supply of this currency – instead of being managed by central authority that could potentially lead to Cyprus-like problems – is left to a market process, where people will mine it to the extent that they see profit in it. There’s already been commentary among respectable analysts that Bitcoin currency should be a part of your financial portfolio.

It’s been recently reported that the Winklevoss twins – infamous in their battle against Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg – have been building up their stock of Bitcoins, adding to the idea that this currency seems to have surpassed the experiment phase and is now accepted by professional investors. Yet it seems despite all the hype, the big question remains: Should this currency be taken seriously?

Perhaps not too seriously. I hate to use the cop out line, ‘only time will tell’, but at this point I find it very intriguing. In order for it to be taken more seriously, we need to see that it can embody the characteristics of a true spontaneously-emerged money. Which means first and foremost, it needs to be more widely accepted.

We need to reach a point where the dry cleaner says, ‘that’ll be three Bitcoins, please’, and we’ll pull out our phones with our Bitcoin app – and ultimately walk away with our dry cleaning. That’s theoretically possible – we’re probably already there from a technology standpoint. But for now, it’s really more of an investment vehicle. In order for it to be really taken seriously, it will need to become a consumer goods vehicle as well.

Are virtual currencies here to stay?

For e-commerce purposes, I think virtual currencies are here to stay; they’ve already proven the test of time. But for them to go into the physical world? Wow. I think governments would have a real problem with that. I think we have to recognize that it’s no accident governments today control the money supply. The major reason for this is because it allows them to influence the economy in politically preferred directions. So to have a virtual currency getting accepted out there would mean a loss of control on the part of the government over a key lever over the economy.

The Bitcoin’s decentralized nature would ultimately be the big problem governments would have; and given what’s going on in the world, the same reason why people seem to be liking it. All that to say – I haven’t mined for any.

University of Guelph Humber Business Program

Home Opener 2013 recalls 1977 weather

Yesterday (April 2, 2013), was Opening Day for the Toronto Blue Jays. Lots of hype, it seems the Jays are going to make a run of it this year in the AL East and I wish them luck.

I remember the first home opener, April 7, 1977 - a generation and a half ago. In true Canadian fashion it snowed, the picture here shows a whitening of the field before the game at Exhibition Stadium 36 years ago. The snowed was "squeeged away" during the opening ceremonies.

I mention this because it snowed yesterday too, it was cold and windy, not unusual for early April. Around here that snow is called an off-lake (Lake Huron - likely) snow squall. It whitened the ground, but the strong April sun melted it in just hours - no squeegees required. It didn't make any difference in last nights ball game - the Blue Jays now have the option of playing their games under a roof in a climate controlled stadium, and the roof was closed.

My point is the weather hasn't changed much in 36 years, April is still April, and sometimes it snows.

An article in Forbes Magazine this week, made me think about the weather outside my window. The author of the Forbes article and I are roughly the same vintage. I'm not sure if he is a baseball fan, but we seem to share many memories and a point of view.

He wonders where global warming is because its was the late '70's when the doomsayers (he calls them "warmmongers") first broke into the news headlines trying to save the planet. Here is a quote from his article:

"Climate panic, after all, is fear of dramatic, life-altering climate changes, not about tenths of a degree. We are told that we must “take action right now before it’s Too Late!” That doesn’t mean: before it’s too late to avoid a Spring that comes a week earlier or summer heat records of 103 degrees instead of 102. It was to fend off utter disaster that we needed the Kyoto Treaty, carbon taxes, and Priuses."

Yes, I know weather isn't climate, but I also know that since the climate panic was ignited the political and economic repercussions have had much, much greater impact on humanity (on each of us in Ontario) than either climate change or weather. It's a good article, he asks the right questions.

Oh, the Blue Jays lost last night 4 to 1 to the Indians of Cleveland - where it also snowed. Only 161 games left to try and make the playoffs. Go Jays!

Supply and Dental Demand

Maybe the graphic is a bit over the top, but give it time. A story on the front page of the National Post last week - "Too many dentists, too few mouths" highlights an interesting development. The supply of dentists across Canada exceeds the demand. As the article suggests patients will have "more purchasing power than ever." Thats how supply and demand works.

It seems Dental schools are graduating more dentists than ever and "price wars and discount offers" have started in "hyper-competitive markets like Toronto." Good news if you have bad teeth - or just teeth in general.

“Over the next few years, these numbers (dentists and hygienists) will grow. This means that competition within the profession will become more intense and individual dentists are going to try to find ways to attract and retain patients.”

What a shock for those young people - they're going to have to compete for patients on price and quality.

In Ontario, every single health practitioner is regulated in minute detail, right down to who may use what instruments and into which human orifice the instruments can be inserted.

Dentists, however, must also be business people. They fend for themselves mostly, they are self-employed. So when it comes to billing, overhead expenses, and ultimately trying to make a good living they are on their own. Many people have dental plans through employment, and that is a great help to dentists as well as their clientele. Of course thats what the issue is about in the Post story, too many dentists. By-the-way, the private group insurance plans are no doubt pleased that dental prices may come down, or at least not rise because of this competition. Strangely, in Ontario, dental care is not considered vital to one's health, and is NOT covered under the "universal healthcare" plan called OHIP.

While dentists and dental schools have some leeway, physicians are regulated to death. Every physician in Ontario is effectively, by law, an employee of the provincial government through OHIP. All their bills are paid by OHIP through agreements with the Ontario Medical Association. And every physician is granted the right to practice by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO). CPSO and the provincial government together play a role in how many physicians are graduated each year. The supply of physicians is controlled, the prices they are paid are controlled - so it's no wonder that Ontario (and all the other provinces) have shortages of physicians, long line ups at emergency wards, and among the longest wait times for medical care in the world.

Have you ever had to wait for dental work? I once broke a tooth on a Saturday morning, it was repaired by 1 pm that same day without a lengthy wait in a waiting room and I was able to enjoy a dinner meal. One quick phone-call was all that was required.

So lets dream for a moment, lets pretend that medical school graduates were NOT regulated in numbers, so that those who wished to be a physician and had the grades and the money, could enter medical schools. Lets pretend that physicians could be part of OHIP, and they could also accept patients privately if they wished, even charge them the OHIP fee (for residents of Ontario) and more (or less for non-residents). In other words, imagine if the government did not set the price or control the supply of physicians. Don't you think that might be a move in the right direction toward better service? Like my dental experience above.

A tiny move like that, a simple start, could change the whole supply-demand thing for physicians. It's your health.     

Let's Break the BS

An organization called "Let's Break the Gridlock" is advertising in various media with a series of ads inviting people to be part of "The Big Move." This is a $50 BILLION idea to fix the transit and traffic problems in the Greater Toronto Region (GTA). Traffic gridlock problems in the GTA ranks among the worst on the planet. 

Here is what the Beat the Gridlock groups says on Facebook:

"The Toronto Region’s transportation network has failed to keep up with our population growth, putting economic growth, prosperity and quality of life at risk. We must act."

The fix, ie. "we must act," involves new "revenue tools" which is code for new taxes and fees given to various levels of government and to government transit monopolies, on top of what people are paying now.

In other words they want people to give more money to the very same governmental organizations that have been responsible for failing to keep up with growth in the GTA for the past six decades and "putting economic growth, prosperity and quality of life at risk."

This is nothing more than a propaganda campaign to soften-up the population so people won't mind, in fact will be eager to support the need for less economic freedom. This is a classic example of the Stockholm Syndrome. Voters and citizens are being held hostage to solutions proposed by the hostage takers. Soon they will be clamouring to tax me some more!

I will be the last person to say that there is a simple fix for this. There is not. Given the entanglements that have happened, the failed opportunities to build an adequate infrastructure of roads and highways for the largest city in Canada, and the single-minded solution that ONLY concerted government action can solve this problem, no it's not going to be simple. What I do know is, that there is a better solution and it's likely one that involves less government action not more.