Free Enterprise

Oxfam Report on the Wealthiest

Of course the Oxfam report is written from the perspective of inequity without reference to the direct benefits bestowed upon society as a result of products and services deployed into the market by such individuals of immense financial success.  Certainly, Mr. Bloomberg and Mr. Gates weren’t always as philanthropic as they are today.  However; with time and with some contemplation of their position within society individuals in the class of these gentlemen come to learn about their larger role serving mankind.  How does one measure efficiency gains realized by the technology created by Mr. Bloomberg or productivity power generated by accounting clerks deploying Microsoft Excel?  Capital markets have always put a price on new products and services and the price has always included the risk undertaken by entrepreneurs to create something from nothing.  Without the financial reward offered in order to undertake a risk, life as we know it would lack industrial progress and an improved quality of life for the masses.

Governments’ role is not to redistribute wealth.  Governments’ role is to administer the rule of law, protect citizens from military incursion, and collect taxes for the purpose of paying for resources that serve citizens collectively such as roads and hospitals, and jails.  Some governments are more liberal and determine that there are many more resources that its people need to rely on collectively and hence more tax receipts are needed to serve this agenda.  Some governments bring particular progressive ideals which don’t necessarily align with the populous’ appetite for increased taxes.

At the heart of the capitalist model is payment for the delivery of products and services.  Those who deliver get paid.  Those who don’t, don’t.  The market establishes pricing and particular providers may demand higher pay in the context of the nature of their product or service.  Hence; inherent within the capitalist model is competition.  Those less successful providers may be motivated by the system to change industries or change tactics in order to improve results.  There should be no reward for failure but the incentive to find victory.

Those members of our society whose contributions are not directly associated with the capitalist models and hence have a lower income may qualify from government programs, family support, and receipts from charitable foundations.

The backdrop of the release of this new research from Oxfam is a reminder that the capitalist model is under siege and there is an increased propensity of interest groups to want everything from their governments while contributing little of themselves.

Politics

Joe Scarborough and Media Critics

Joe Scarborough has responded on the record to criticism that he’s cozying up to Trump while apparently representing the journalism industry. You see – he used to be a lawyer before running for Congress and to my knowledge he has no formal education in journalism. MSNBC has engineered programming around his Washington experience and unlucky but charming Mika Brzezinki co-hosts without the privilege of a co-hosting platform. Joe loves the spotlight and the sound of his own voice.  Consequently, Mika is tested to get her chances at the early morning week day time slot.  Joe’s incessant interrupting of whoever makes this the most annoying of Washington diatribes. Fortunately for the program, stalwart intellects appear as tidy side shows defusing bombastic irrational jibberish from its host.

Now, Joe feels compelled to defend his appearance with Trump on the evening of December 31st just when the big party was getting started. Trump in his wisdom wanted to meet Mika and Joe at the party to talk shop and now in a state of indignation having likely never taken formal curricula in journalistic independence, Joe is seething at his critics. Ironically the criticism is being fueled from the most professional of journalistic tools.  You guessed it – twitter.  There is no list long enough Joe of guilt ridden Washington yesteryear journalists whom you can cite in your exculpatory defense.

Lifes Lessons

Calgary Economic Sob Stories

The headline may spawn furor among some and affirmative surprise among others.  I’m going to spell out one particular fact for those wooed by the press’ coverage of Calgary’s laid off white collar oil and gas workers.  These proud people have been paid more than everyone else in every other sector possessing similar non-industry specific skill sets.  Hence; one might rationalize that a cyclical premium was built into their higher salaries.  Guess what?  That down cycle came during 2015 and 2016.  If you worked in this sector and were laid off and drove a Mercedes, I bet you forgot to prognosticate the possibility of a downturn when salivating over the chrome wheels, glitzy dashboard, and heated seats at the dealership.  Perhaps, you own a house in Mount Royal while similarly hard working individuals with no less of an aptitude for learning work in the transportation industry and live in Martindale.  You see, workers in other sectors empathize with your plight but they have also been witness to announcements of your extravagance and penchant for lavish Christmas parties and Stampede functions.  They’ve occasionally heard you reference working in “oil and gas” in what could be perceived as an elitist manner.  Of course, you’ve espoused capitalist sentiment from a right winged political philosophy but now you’ve been afforded special consideration from the Employment Insurance fund whereby small business owners may be faced with the consequential increased payroll costs associated.  We want to see you get back to work if you haven’t changed sectors by now.  We want to see you win and hopefully carry yourselves with a modicum of humility having gone through a reality check.

Philosophy

Pleasant Surprise From The Press

Evidence of lethargy in journalism was witnessed in the latest U.S. election campaign.  The Washington establishment was either ambivalent or oblivious to the plight of marginalized factory workers in the rust belt States.  Lest it be said that the sentiment surrounding these shut down towns may have deserved more journalistic attention.  Lately it seems a road rage incident will make front page news but a decade doubling of violence rates in Canadian prisons is muted due to some perceived notion that an editorialist may believe Canadians’ tolerance for the statistic to be acceptable.  What Donald Trump has espoused as bias in the media may more aptly be described as mere arrogance.

When the news should be reported at face value with a semblance of organized hierarchy in terms of relevance, I’m afraid that the media has lost its way in the context of a populous deemed impressionable by commercial interests and media promulgated opinion. I don’t know how many times I’ve responded responsibly via comment over at editorials published by a Postmedia only to see my comment nixed seemingly because my opinion differed from that of the author.  On the one hand they provide a commenting platform for readers and on the other they overtly breach their industry creed of “freedom of expression”.

However; yesterday while running an errand, I stumble upon a coin box filled with editions of the Epoch Times.  Pleasantly, I’ve garnered a favourable first impression and renewed hope that independent journalism is not yet down for the count.  Society does transform but not necessarily positively with adherence to a group which conveniently has access to your mind.

Uncategorized

On Line Mainstream News Brief User Guide

Let’s start with the worst.  MSNBC apparently thinks you are illiterate and hence is only providing videos for you to watch.  I suppose it’s all in an effort to get you connected with Lawrence O’Donnell and Rachel Maddow and tilted to the left.

Postmedia (Calgary Herald and Vancouver Sun among others) have finally figured out that you are deleting your cookies in an effort to circumvent their effort to get you to subscribe.  Now they just throw up a subscription box overlay preventing you from viewing an article.  The Globe and Mail is now doing the same thing. For some reason, Postmedia’s National Post still seems reasonably accessible.  This is their right and it is also your right to determine if you pay enough already through your monthly internet access and viewership of their advertisements.  Although their subscription rates are palatable, where does the nickel and diming stop? Does the whole internet universe deserve access to your email address? Should you decide to treat yourself to one subscription, would you then be denying yourself access to alternate editorials with differing opinions….thereby narrowing your lens of seeing the world?

The Washington Post and NY Times also eventually want your subscription dollar as does the LA Times and Boston Globe.  The Calgary Sun will get you a $0.99 rate but “conditions will apply”.  You may be as unenthused as I about researching the qualifiers and exclusions.

As for CNN, if you are looking for links on topics such as the top ten photos famous people don’t want you to see, this is the news site for you.

In lieu of the above, in Canada I find ctvnews.ca and your taxpayer subsidized cbc.ca the places which best cut through the crap without even the occasional spam box thrust upon your inquisitive eyes.  Reuters remains user friendly but surprisingly their content is leaner than what we would expect from such a large news organization.

Subject to edit based on future experience with aforesaid  and / or other on line news outlets.