Sometimes I think entertainment pundits forget why we go to the movies. We go as a form of escape discovering hilarity, empathy and thrill in the misadventures of fictional characters. Those cerebral critics seem to believe that if a story line is overly contrived with outlandish happenstance, then entertainment value is somehow compromised. On the contrary, A Girl Most Likely has quirky freshness where the writer injects obscure creativity in the character of Ralph, some positivity amongst family dysfunction, and the occasional scene only accommodating to abnormal characters. Funny dialogue abounds with law enforcement after rear ending of a Porsche by bedeviled protagonist Imogene (Kristen Wiig). Sex is normalized without an F bomb dropped even once. A reptilian shell encapsulates in more ways than one. Weirdness becomes triumphant. The elite become lame. What’s not to “like”.
Three Prominent Doomsayers
As part of my financial education, I took a course called “macroeconomics”. The discipline was certainly more interesting than its cousin “microeconomics” because macroeconomics dealt with topics such as the money supply in association with fractional reserve banking, central banks, interest rate policy, inflation, gross domestic product, international trade, and government fiscal policy. To this day I recall one moment sitting in class when my professor referenced the financial transaction evident when a new dollar bill is created. The banking elite make reference to “open market operations”. In Canada, if the “Bank of Canada” feels compelled to stimulate the economy, it does so by purchasing government denominated securities (treasury bills, bonds) in the open market. Consequently, the seller deposits its cheque thereby increasing the capacity for the seller’s bank to lend against the increase in its “reserves”. Money becomes available to a qualified debtor. The scariest part of this transaction is skimmed over by academics. Where did the Bank of Canada get the money to purchase these securities on the open market? You guessed it – the Bank of Canada pulled it from its printing press. What compliance formula did the Bank of Canada need to adhere prior to firing up the press? Well, none. That’s right, none. It used to be the case prior to 1928 in Canada that new money could only be created with a proportionate increase in gold reserves (gold standard). In 1991, the Canadian government enacted legislation abolishing any responsibility of Chartered Banks to hold cash reserves. Hence; in the event of a sudden loss of confidence in the Canadian dollar, a wide swing in inflation / deflation, a material reduction in a debtor’s ability to repay loans, those first patrons to the ATM win.
Modern economic theory has aligned to the sentiment of D.H. Robertson from Cambridge University who in 1948 stated, “The value of a yellow metal, originally chosen as money because it tickled the fancy of savages, is clearly a chancy and irrelevant thing on which to base the value of our money and the stability of our industrial system.” Today, three particular economic doomsayers, namely Jim Rickards, Peter Schiff, and Martin Armstrong have gone on record to refute the sentiment of Mr. Robertson in lieu of our current monetary system’s weakness.
Canadian Bail Out of Softwood Lumber
When you first embarked upon your career, you may have stumbled, adjusted, retooled, and re-evaluated. Then you found your path. If you are a highly capitalized business in Canada burdened with plant and equipment and a claim that jobs will be lost in the face of market forces, you get teary eyed and whine to governments for bail outs. This is becoming endemic to the Canadian corporate psyche. If you have business operations in Quebec – then governments not only wipe your tears with oodles of cash but roll out the red carpet in a direct line to the treasury.
Your governments get themselves into trouble because they cannot balance a cheque book. Then they think in order to keep the funds flowing, they’ll need to “invest” in the plumbing that keeps the cash flowing. They’ve got it wrong. Capitalism is the driver of economic success. Taxpayers expect services related to the common good and not targeted bail outs for losers irrespective of international trade agreements and barriers.
In a capitalist environment while facing international trade pressure, manufacturers curtail production until the environment once again turns friendly. Those involved in the industry have every opportunity during a down turn in a land fostering freedom to redirect their energies just like every other Canadian is expected to do during times of career / job pressure.
I expect more of my governments handling my tax money and I bet you do too.
Boorish U.S. President
While mainstream media rhetorically and tepidly asks the question, “Did President Trump push aside a world leader?”, I’ll simply express the obvious having watched the clip. President Trump pushed aside the President of Montenegro in an effort position himself in what he thought was a more favorable position amongst a crowd for whatever reason was circulating in his self centered mind. Will he apologize? You and I know he’s not big on apologies. Will the incident be shrugged off by Europeans having been witnesses to the tumult en masse via social media? On the surface – yes but I suspect there will be a metaphorical impact which will linger as supplemental subconscious residue.
Growing Indifference Toward Infractions
I think it’s high time that attention is drawn to petty civil infractions. This morning I’m sitting at a stop light when some imbecile ahead drops a tissue from his driver side window onto the pavement. In Cincinnati a child lies unconscious from a bullying incident inside a school entrance. Whether it’s spitting on the sidewalk, short cutting through private property, irresponsible driving habits, untimely texting, or impatient outbursts with service agents, incidents of intemperance and aberration are reducing our quality of life. With every act of social selfishness and disdain for the public’s interest, we reduce ourselves to beings absent from moral consciousness. Ultimately social fabric is weakened when the perception of fellow man loses appeal. As bylaws go unenforced, apathy pervades and a frustration builds in the ideologue engulfed in quizzical awe of mankind’s mediocrity.
The City of Calgary will no longer incarcerate for by law enforcements. Politicians focused on income tax receipts are blind to the potential for revenue from civil fines. With municipal budgets overly honed on police pickup trucks and pension plans, our officers neglect to monitor our traffic intersections. Photo radar targets the inconsequential, while drivers engage in crosswalk incursions. Self centered unionized civil servants maybe working hard at defining their retirement but maybe less so at preserving a quality of life deserving among high tax paying citizens.
My recommendation for public officials is to get serious about convicting criminals irrespective of the severity of a crime while enacting strict monetary penalties namely the garnishment of wages. The legal profession must do its part in processing cases in manner of time that represents common sense and affordability. The long term effect of failing to administer justice is the degradation of a nation.