The study may be a bit dry, but I cannot emphasize the results enough. In plain English, I’ve proven capitalism, free markets, and a smaller state correlates with higher economic growth.
We may philosophically or logically understand this, but rarely do we have the charts and the data to conveniently prove it, especially when we’re debating those on the left. Of course, not that charts, data, reality, truth, or empiricism work on leftist religious zealots, but this simple chart will at least force them to resort to their “I don’t believe the figures” or “correlation is not causation” type of cowardly, retreating tactics.
Well that’s great except for one problem: the Left doesn’t want higher economic growth. The entire “green” ideology is nothing but a battering ram designed to destroy the Western way of life in favour of some dimly understood utopian fantasy that involves far fewer people, and far more windmills.
I would like to point out that higher economic growth isn’t everything. A lot of the measures of economic ic growth could be argued to represent more negative than positive impact to the average Joe.
Want economic growth? Fire 90% of the civil servants! People will not notice ANY change in “service”, and the monies can be put towards gubermint pension and reducing the debt. win-win
The Liberal left HATES Freedom!
Steve McDonald is right. The left don’t want economic growth, especially not from the private sector. They want us all to be impoverished peasants, dependent on the government.
Those who say “higher economic growth isn’t everything” should go live in North Korea or Cuba and see how they like a lack of economic growth.
You’re not far off in that assessment.
I taught for several years at a certain post-secondary institution. I’m sure that if every third or fourth person there was fired, few would have noticed. There would have been no change in the quality of the service and I doubt that anyone’s work load would have been affected.
OK, I exaggerated a bit about the quality of the service. When many of the institution’s janitors were canned, they were replaced by contractors and there were certain corners that always remained grubby. I doubt any of the students ever noticed.
When the main cafeteria was renovated, the whole operation there changed and was largely replaced by franchised fast-food outlets. Many of the original staff were given the boot and the work was done, instead, by part-timers. I suppose all that was done to make the students “comfortable”, many of whom grew up at mallrats who frittered away their time in food courts.
Really? So it’s all in for maximum economic growth or go to north Korea? Really?
In the real world, some policies which would slow economic growth are accepted as beneficial. Sustained yield in forestry is one. How about we ban temporary foreign workers? It would slow development sure, but we would not import third world wages and work ethics either. Chinese built and run mines in Canada? No thanks.
Those against economic growth usually fall into two categories: 1)Those with high-paying gov’t jobs who have no fear of layoffs and where a downturn in the economy means nothing in regard to their paycheques 2)Those who aren’t working and really have no interest in gaining meaningful employment. Big government will provide.
You can usually tell where these types live by the orange signs in their front yards.
Of course, the leftists that make such pronouncements are themselves well-off. They don’t have to worry about where their next meal comes from or if they have a roof over their heads.
Think of them as left-wing robber barons. If you don’t believe it, consider how the Castro family not only controls most of the Cuban economy, it’s prospered handsomely after the revolution.
So much for communists despising wealth and supporting the class struggle.
I remember several years ago(pre Brad)when Kate put up a map of producing oil fields in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
It looked like the oil stopped at the border.
The most stark revelation of free enterprise(Alberta) vs Big Govt(Sask NDP) since I read J Paul Getty’s autobiography at age 13.
His “if I gave all my money away today, by tomorrow, some would be left with nothing and some would be very rich” meme ruined me for today’s Canada.
That and a brain.
Sadly, it appears that Alberta and Saskatchewan map may be reappearing in reverse.
Surely you’ve heard of the Rahn curve: capinv.com/images/perspectives/2q2015/rahn-curve.png?
And the decades of research that have looked precisely at this question of government spending and economic growth: scholar.google.ca/scholar?as_vis=1&q=Government+Size+and+Growth&hl=en&as_sdt=1,5?
The Left believes that wealth and the economy is a fixed pie.
They don’t believe in the concept of economic growth.
They believe it is a zero-sum game.
If someone has a bigger piece of the pie, they stole it from someone who is needier.
That is why they believe in social justice and government redistribution.
They will never be convinced otherwise. It is their paradigm, their world view.
Any numbers charts or pronouncements to the contrary are simply ignored.
The key is to find a way to change the paradigm of each individual Leftist.
You have to change their world view and show them it is not a fixed pie or zero-sum game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkXI-MNSb8Q
why is it that all levels of government municipal provincial federal, school boards and countless other parasites at the trough all run significant deficits. Do they not have the ability to plan and balance budgets or are simply putting the wrong people in charge.
It’s because social programs have ramping costs and none of them, even if they had the wisdom, have the stones to cut any programs.
Thus they are forced to continue paying for programs that grow ever costlier while their revenues recede due to higher unemployment and the general economic downturn.
“Sadly, it appears that Alberta and Saskatchewan map may be reappearing in reverse.”
You need a reality check. The S/E Sask. Oil Country is in shut down..Producing Wells “Shut-IN” since Nov 2015. The wealth lost to Rights-holders is huge…wake the F*** up before the crows get you
“The S/E Sask. Oil Country is in shut down.”
Apparently our intrepid prime minister has not been made aware of this fact. The EI debacle is totally unacceptable but, as we all know, Saskatchewan elected only 1 Liberal in October therefore any favours from Ottawa will be few and far between. So where is Mr. Goodale when the people of southeast Saskatchewan are being overlooked? He appears to be doing what he does best …. sitting in the House nodding his head like the bobblehead on a car dash.
At least we have a premier who will do his level best to get Trudeau to smarten up. Unfortunately that herculean task is akin to teaching a hamster to play the piano.
This was the dream of Maurice Strong all along.