Quo Vadis Canada?

It's federal election time again, and in just a short time, the electorate – amongst them over 1.3 million are still unemployed, and probably just as many working in low-paid temp jobs without benefits – is eager to figure out as to, whether or not:

• Canada is technically once more in a recession? Or, has it ever come out of the previous one, since 2008?
• The incumbent government – with its fixation on "austerity", "balancing the budget", keeping "corporate taxes low", promising to "reduce small business tax by 2% to induce jobs creation", urging the workforce to "become competitive" vis-a-vis low-wage-paying countries, "stay the course" policies, and outright refusal to participate in a "coalition government" – deserves to be reelected?
• Any of the opposition party leaders – while viciously fighting each other in public, showing less and less disagreements with the incumbent government's econo-fiscal/monetary policies, and seemingly are not capable of presenting a salient, timely economic renewal program – is really ready to become the next Prime Minister? All considering, the question should be perhaps: Whether or not, it would make any difference, which party forms the next government?

Then those who rely on the media for enlightenment, might be very disappointed because, for some reason(s), there are no substantive issues/questions raised, as to the real "state of things", such as:

• Do governments and ordinary citizens have an expenditure/spending, or revenue/income problem?
• BTOs – big-time operators – claim, but can't prove that the problem is an expenditure/spending one, and to address the same they demand that:
• Governments, at all levels, purge their expenditures, implement more strict austerity programs, and repay their debts;
• Ordinary citizens must learn to live within their means, become self-reliant, no matter what, because an insolvency on a massive scale could further jeopardize the country's delicate econo-fiscal standing.
• Others "in-the-know" argue though that, it's not an expenditure/spending but a revenue/income problem. And in evidence they refer to the province's/country's:
• Massive Social Burdens – caused by severe shortage of jobs –  manifested by the subsequent, ever-growing and urgent demands for longer El terms, and for adequate Welfare Benefits;
• Unfair Income Distribution System, especially in view of the facts that:
• Nearly 50% of Taxpayers receive less than $40,000 gross annual income, that leaves very limited purchasing/taxpaying power in the hands of the latter category of this country's consumers;
• Corporations though, in spite of the long recession – according to media reports – have managed to stockpile over $620 billion "dead money", and invested "trillions of dollars in the stock market" since 2008, instead of this country's economy;
• Corporate executives have been for quite some time accorded astronomical remuneration and stock-options, even as their respective companies drowned in red ink;
• Corporate and Personal Income Tax
• Reduction Program for the well-to-do;
• Collection Method has been cited as failing to collect more than $24 billion in unpaid taxes.
• Are former Bank Executives, and their genre, the best qualified advisory source, when governments are in need of comprehensive solutions for this provinces'/country's age-old socio-econo-enviro-fiscal problems?
• "Well-meaning" citizens may side with the notion that, after all bankers, due to their close connections to the rest of the powerful elite – are perhaps best suited for the task;
• Critics however intensely disagree with the former view, and are very much concerned, about these executives':
• Intrinsic allegiance to corporations/stockholders/investors;
• Spiteful demeanour toward employees/labour; and 
• Readiness to sacrifice the public interest.
• Do Employees/Labour – the single largest unrepresented segment of society – along with members of the opposition parties, and citizens "in-the-know" have the right to be part of the econo-political decision-making process, as co-equals?
• In Canada, they don't. The entire econo-political ruling class prefers to keep at a distance from their employees/labour/citizens, members of the opposition and particularly the citizens "in-the know". That is to say that:
• Employees/Labour – true to "19" century conventions" – should have no say in running a company. Even though, that technically, they are the ones, who do the actual work, based on target figures, issued by company executives. Figures, that are translated and developed into plans and worked out in details, by employees.
• Opposition party members – albeit, frequently representing the majority of the electorate – are treated by the governing party as losers, nobodies and as such are excluded from the decision-making process; 
• Citizens "in-the-know" – the "one in a million" types – are prevented by the multilevel "gatekeepers" of the establishment, from offering realistic/veritable solutions/models for many of this province's/country's long-neglected socio-econo-enviro-fiscal problems. Corporate lobbyists in contrast have a free access/pass to the system.
• In Europe and in a few other places, it's an entirely different story. There, the respective countries' constitution guarantees co-equal participation rights, both in the economic and political system, namely:
• Employees/Labour are represented by their own elected union members to the companies' board of directors. And as board of directors are part of the decision-making process, as co-equals cum veto-power;
• Opposition parties – according to truly "democratic principles" – are even part of the coalition government, and as cabinet ministers are also participants of the econo-enviro-fiscal and political policy-making procedure;
• Ordinary citizens even have their say via referenda. Thereby, they too can directly influence the policy-making process. As a result, citizens of the aforementioned group of countries enjoy a comparatively high standard of living.

In contrast, in Canada – supposedly the best country in the world – a large segment of the public is struggling, just to barely survive, and wondering, where is this country heading? 

But, at the same time, hoping that the age-old mentality – adopted by a self-appointed elite – may be characterized by a Roman mawkish maxim of "Odi profanum est vulgus", in the near future will be replaced by a law of "No one shall be left behind."

In this context, considering this province's/country's undeserved, ill-fated state of affairs, one would expect that, – in order to put substance into this latest chapter of the federal election campaign, some might say, political gamesmanship – at least one notable, "Independent Thinker" would publicly call on all "prime ministerial candidates" to pay attention to the following pro forma, "Public Wish List" or a facsimile, and urge them, if elected to pledge to:

1. Form a Coalition Government, to represent at the minimum 67% of the electorate. After all, shouldn't in fact a truly democratic government serve the interests of the vast majority of its citizenry?
2. Establish an Economic Counsel, in the image of the Supreme Court, with:
• The Authority to Transform the country's inefficient, disaster-prone, and import-based "free-market economy" – that leaves behind a large segments of society – to a stable, "Social Market Economy" that benefits the entire Canadian public;
• The Responsibility to counsel/guide/oversee the latter described economy. This 9-member Counsel should be assembled of:
• Three Members representing Corporations/Business/Employers; 
• Three Members representing Government; and
• Three Members representing Employees/Labour cum veto-power – just as in some democratically well-advanced countries permitted so. 
3. Replace the Competition-based Management Model with a Cooperation-based Model. After all competition has a built-in unpredictability factor with a potential for creating havoc and ill-fated international consequences. However, a cooperative model is verifiably the most efficient, stable, even lucrative and all-around win-win choice. 
4. Build an Exploitation-free Continental Economy geared to serve the North American Marketplace and all of its Consumers equitably. An all-inclusive and self-sufficient economy that is capable of:
• Producing long-lasting and reasonable quality of products, as opposed to the current import-based economy that dumps inferior merchandise, that in turn becomes throwaways – just few weeks after its one year warranty expired – and eventually ends up as overburden to the already unmanageable mountains of trash in every community and beyond;
• Providing steady jobs, paying livable wages/salaries, sufficient tax-base and there-from adequate social/welfare and retirement benefits for all. 
5. Accede to the Ford Principle. A proven theory that is based on Henry Ford's discovery, i.e. every employee has two parallel functions in life, in any type of socio-econo-political order:
• One is that, he/she is a worker; and
• The other is, that he/she is also a consumer.
  Translation: A low-wage earning employee is inevitably relegated to a consumer of very limited buying/taxpaying power, which is the veritable cause of this country's and many others' econo-fiscal failures. And to test his theory, the automaker in 1914 raised his workers' wage from $1-a-day to $5-a-day. As a result, Ford Motors' ordinary employees just within a year were able to "own" a $650 car and within few years also became "home owners". A status that is institutionally denied, these days to millions of low-income families in Canada, by irrationally keeping wages low, and thereby artificially reducing the market by half.
6. Invite Inventive Elements of Society, capable of developing new approaches/solutions for this country's most neglected, unnecessary, damaging and costly socio-econo-enviro-fiscal problems.
   It must be noted though that the Canadian establishment, at least for over the past six decades hasn't been exactly sympathetic, let alone altruistic to independent innovators/ inventors – in terms of at the minimum giving an audition, and/or willing to provide technical, fiscal and marketing assistance – who have the innate capacity to develop highly valuable products and tangible proposals, according to innumerable accounts.
   In contrast, multi-billion dollar corporations have been unnecessarily showered with multi-million dollar grants and benefits by all levels of government with very little, if any to show for in return.
   It is estimated that once, the econo-fiscal-political establishment recognizes the immense value of this ignored human resource and decides to tap into the same, via a proper forum and methodology, the ensuing policy could generate hundreds of billions of dollars per year worth of activities and hundreds of thousands of jobs across the land. Not to speak of the consequential government revenue potential.
7. Reduce the Daily/Weekly/Yearly Working Hours, to provide full-time employment, without any loss of income, potentially for everyone and, thereby resolve the entire country's crucial unemployment problem – as it had been repeatedly and verifiably suggested –  but might have been rejected by overly-cautious policy advisors on the ground that it would increase the much dreaded "pay-roll tax". A totally baseless assertion that could easily be neutralized by proportionately adjusting the latter form of tax rate that, at one point, in the future may even be rendered an unnecessary source of government revenue. 
8. Remind Corporations that by continuing to outsource jobs, suppress wages, eliminate benefits and generate huge profit margins in the process:
• For demographic reasons, (i.e. the rapidly shrinking purchasing power), in the foreseeable future could lead to implosion of the entire "free-market and private enterprise system" – according to lengthy research, validated by in-depth analyses, and supported by academics; 
• Could provoke a backlash, in the form of a surge of Cooperative Enterprise System, wherein "society owns and operates" a chain of vital production/distribution sectors, and thereby creating an equitable and harmonized economy. 
9. Call an International Economic Conference – with the participation of representatives of corporations/business/employers, government, labour/employees – for discussing and resolving the current crisis, for as the present format of worldwide, and integrated economic system, that is according to many observers, sustained by low-wage earning labour, does not prove to work efficiently and equitably.
   Basically, because on both ends of the economic spectrum has been disproportionately benefiting the operators of the system. And without intervention, the situation could lead to economic feudalism, creating uncontrollable socio-econo-fiscal and political tensions, the world around, with unpredictable consequences.
10. Urge this Country's:
• Political Party Leaders and their advisory staff to take note of, and eventually espouse the following scholarly works:
• "The Great Divide: Unequal Societies and What We Can Do About Them" – by Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz
• "The Economic Problem" – by Professor Dr. Robert L. Heilbroner.
• "The Entrepreneurial State" – by Economist Mariana Mazzacuto
• Media to lift the over a decade old prohibition on accepting op-ed page articles, written by independent/non-ideological serious thinkers and problem-solvers. In doing so, the public would once again learn the verifiable truth about the unbiased version of the "state of things", such as whether or not:
• Austerity programs, balancing budgets, keeping corporate taxes low, or even eliminating taxes altogether, enticing and showering corporations with all sorts of privileges/benefits, grants to create a "business-friendly environment" are justifiable policies just to retain the status quo, in this country?
  Or, as more and more suggest: It is only to gain corporate endorsement?
• Governments have any authority to prevent corporations from:
• Exporting manufacturing jobs to foreign countries and selling those products back to this country's consumers?
  And if governments don't have the authority, why don't they apply tariffs, payable by those "cut and run" manufacturers?
• Price gouging, especially in the area of lifesaving medicines?
• Ignoring the minimum wage law and pay $75-a-week salary to interns?
• Maintaining the 400:1 income Scale is really essential for preventing the 'defection' of top corporate executives to the competition?
  And, what if they defect?
  Or is it just to sanction the "nouveau riche" to an aristocratic status?
• Reducing Wages and eliminating social benefits, to make the Canadian workforce competitive worldwide is realistic, let alone feasible? And to what end?
• Raising the minimum wage to a range of $14 - $15 per hour is unaffordable, and would lead to huge job losses?
  Why opponents of raising the minimum wage are not required to mathematically verify their claims?
• FTAs are essential/realistic elements to the Canadian economy?
  Has anyone ever come up with a demonstrable, proven theory and a costs/benefits analyses to justify such tenet?
  Or was the image of the extractable astronomical profit margin convincing enough to approve such venture, regardless of the damage to the public interests?

Summary

All considering, it becomes evident that if the gist of the latter "Public Wish List" – a composite of many cogent/edited/formatted personal views – were implemented by the next coalition government, Canada could be reformed and become a truly democratic, effective, stable, prosperous equitable country, the envy of the world.

Misconstrued Problems Beget Misconstrued Solutions

One would expect that – after about seven years of experimentation with its Quantitative Easing/Austerity Programs, Budgetary/Staff Cuts, Spend/Save Directives, Corporate/Personal Tax Lowering, Deregulatory, Fiscal/Monetary Policies, and Warnings of "Don't Spend Beyond Your Means" – the policy and decision-makers would by now have learned what it takes to put in place an all-inclusive, efficient and thriving economy coast-to-coast; the envy of the world. Yet, the province and country still have not even fully recuperated from the ills of the 2007/2008 recession, and the system very much appears to be in a holding pattern.

Some critics suggest that the authorities are making flimsy excuses – faulting the lack of domestic, consumer/entrepreneurial confidence, strong/falling dollar, high labour costs, global socio-econo-fiscal and political uncertainty, collapsing oil prices, and claims that the entire world is in decline – for their failure to deliver the goods.

Others lay the blame on the prevailing adversarial, roundabout style, exclusionary, unwilling to listen, ideologically divisive and polarizing system of governance, where time and time again, policies cancel out long and hard fought social-economic progress.

The usually cautious, silent media outlets have recently begun paying attention to the plight of the economy and are ready to admit that the "economy is shaky and the future is uncertain". But, in an era of "the culture of fear", even the most daring analysts and journalists are reluctant, or perhaps unable, to spell out the deep-rooted causes of the problem, let alone to offer solutions.

In contrast, several veteran and non-dogmatic problem solvers have been quietly focusing on:

• finding the real reasons for this province's/country's "lack of success" in resolving its economic problems – on the one hand; and
• developing more veritable and realistic solutions for these issues, while frantically seeking out "legitimate ways" of presenting them directly to the decision-makers – on the other hand.

The results of their findings may be summarized as follows:

Misconstrued problems always beget misconstrued solutions.

The Misconstrued Problem: The Canadian market has been traditionally regarded by the policy and decision-makers as being too small for the country's population of approximately 35 million people.

The Misconstrued Solution: The country should become an exporter and take a hint from the frequently flaunted TV ad, "Others have no problem selling to you, why can't you sell to them?"

Reasons for Failing to Resolve the Economic Problem

In-depth analyses of the economic problem in Canada, conducted by a team of largely foreign educated and experienced researchers and problem solvers, has long ago identified the major causative elements, symptoms, facts, convictions and policies related to the point at issue, that is:

• Free-market theoreticians and economists, with just a few exceptions, have not been paying close enough attention to important issues pertaining to the subject of microeconomics – a branch of economics that monitors the data related to commodities and the actions/reactions of companies and consumers.
  While a few of them might have paid attention, however using average "Income Statistics", the  devastating effects of the low income earners' lack of purchasing power on the economy could have not been noticed. Only by resorting to, and analyzing the Income Class Statistics data, the crux of this province's/country's socio-econo-fiscal problems could be realized and resolved.
  (Then again, there is a strict protocol that these professionals have to also consider! Yes?)
  Otherwise, the vast majority of economists' real concern is rooted in macroeconomics, which in essence deals with the GDP, export and import, spending and savings, and investment related factors.
• The Regime has abandoned its leadership and control role, and instead has adopted an accommodating function. As such, it has become an enabler – some would say servant – to the Entrepreneurial Class, allowing the latter to run the free market economy at its whim.
• The Canadian Market can only be considered small because about 50% of the "active workforce" receives less than $40,000 real annual gross income. Such a meager income does not provide sufficient purchasing power to enter the marketplace, not even as an extremely frugal consumer – at least not without several already overloaded credit cards.
• The effects of this "bread-and-butter" reality are being played out, right now, at the marketplace as over 130 major department stores, along with many other corporate entities, are in the process of "throwing in the towel". Their collective exit further exacerbates the government revenue shortage and the under-employment/unemployment crises.
• This province and country simply does not have what it takes to become a successful and highly competitive exporter. It lacks all the essentials: an effective innovative culture; the capacity to develop and produce unique products in demand; a proficient, dedicated and focused management; an appropriate techno-structure; and plenty of venture capital.
• Exporting crude oil, LNG, unprocessed minerals, forestry, and IT products and services for socio-econo-fiscal and technological reasons is clearly impractical and untenable, due to international insecurity and world market conditions, let alone the collapse of the oil price.
• The Importer sector (a.k.a. "Market Society") – having hit the jackpot by hooking up with a host of very low wage paying countries in order to improve its bottom line, in the course of providing this country with consumer goods, products and supplies – cannot be expected to voluntarily abandon its "lucky strike". Especially, since due to the huge wage/profit margin differentials, having gained over 600 billion in "dead money" throughout the past six years alone, clearly no amount of executive and corporate income tax reduction and/or incentives would be attractive enough for the sector to voluntarily reverse the deindustrialization and outsourcing process, and to rebuild an all-inclusive economy in Ontario and Canada that benefits all.
• The Small Business sector – showcased by politicians as the country's "job-creator" – has been given such a title that it cannot afford. While Big-Business, due to the benefits of the "economies of large-scale production/merchandising" is capable of making billions of dollars yearly, the small business sector, in contrast, due to its low volume of inventory turnaround, extreme competition and low profit-margin, cannot pay livable wages, provide benefits and live up to such image. Hence the reliance on the small business sector is hopelessly false; at least without being aided by "big-business" – presently an unlikely possibility. But it doesn't necessarily mean that such problem has no remedy.
• The over 50 FTAs (Free Trade Agreements) in place, have not provided the much propagated benefits to the hundreds of thousands of under-employed and unemployed masses. Let alone to the vast number of the "over 50" crowd that the current culture considers unemployable. In fact, a few of these FTAs are clearly undercutting local efforts to offer direct, bilateral deals to foreign manufacturers that might be inclined to set up plants in Ontario or elsewhere in Canada right now, in order to gain easier access to the North American market.
• The prevailing system of governance – in the view of many – cannot be seriously considered democratic just because it allows "free elections", unless it is validated by two thirds of the entire electorate and allows input from all segments of society.
• The political establishment – with a lengthy history of unwillingness and inability to proficiently deal with major problems of public concern – throughout the decades has become more and more reluctant to meet with, listen to and/or accept validated policy proposals from independent researchers and problem solvers. Thus providing – one might suggest – a ground for tort.
• Public opinion, conducted by pollsters and reported by the mainstream media, creates an impression that many buy into the notion that the economy is too complex of an issue, and as such, had better be left to the "entrepreneurial class" to deal with, and damn those who can prove it otherwise. Hence, there's nothing to worry about despite the under-employment/unemployment, affordable housing shortage and the poverty crises; people just have to get used to tightening their belts more and more; never mind the needless suffering.

Changes Required to Resolve All Ontario's/Canada's Major Problems

Having listed above some of the reasons for failing to resolve the economic problem, the next step is to define the changes required to enable Ontario and Canada to resolve its major problems.

1. Considering the fact that the electorate is greatly divided, and that the prevailing system of governance is antagonistically ideologically based, and that:
• just about every decade, governments trade places, drawing questionable plurality from one end of the political spectrum to the other in the process. Nevertheless, neither of the choices seem to eventually represent the interests of all segments of society; a critical distinction that sets apart a democratic system from a totalitarian one; and that
• the opposition parties' MPPs and MPs are treated as "nobodies" by the governing party. As such, they have practically no power to influence the decision-making process, even though the opposition parties collectively represent the majority of the electorate (Therefore – one might argue – they may as well be dismissed).
2. The latter innate disparity within the system should be corrected by replacing the current, basically "single-party" model with a "coalition" system of government, in case election results don't produce a two thirds majority for any of the political parties.
   (Note well: the Legislative Assembly/Parliament should have a different set of rules of behaviour from those of a battleground.)
3. In view of the dire state and perspective of the economy, and the fact that the system is essentially in a six year plus "holding pattern", one would hope and expect that the Premier of Ontario, as the CEO of the largest province in Canada, would:
• On the home front:
• Call a conference – under the auspices of OES (Ontario Economic Summit) – and invite prominent business and labour leaders and policy advisors for a trilateral conference, as equal partners, to present and discuss their all-inclusive/self-reliant and secure plans/models for resolving Ontario's long neglected, structural economic problems. After all – contrary to some odd beliefs – the truth is that the prerequisite of a prosperous entrepreneurial activity is a product of proficient management and workforce, both working together in harmony for the benefit of all involved elements.
• Issue a directive to Cabinet Ministers and policy advisors to lift the unprecedented embargo in place against the few highly skilled, independent and experienced socio-economic problem solvers, who are best qualified to present veritable solutions and models for many of Ontario's aforementioned long unresolved problems.
• On the international front, in partnership with the Premier of Québec and other concerned, like-minded civic leaders would:
• contact the leadership of OECD and the IMF and urge them to call an international conference – with Business, Government, and Labour leaders' participation – aimed at discussing and ultimately formulating an all-inclusive "fair and efficient" global economic system, hemisphere by hemisphere, continents by continent, country by country.
  A system that allows all countries to formulate their own, "exploitation free" economic model, according to their needs. In this context, countries should have the freedom of choosing between either a system based on self-supporting principles, or join with several like-minded neighbouring countries, thereby leveraging their efforts and maximizing the results of their cooperative work for the benefits of all their citizenry.
• Initiate discrete conversations with a number of billionaires and remind this ever-growing group that there is a veritable, direct and causative correlation between their unprecedented success and the failure of the econo-political system, in trying to satisfy the needs of the public, and in maintaining or modernizing the infrastructure, both locally and country-wide.
  This systemic failure is rooted in the age-old income distribution formula, whereby about 50% of the active workforce have been, for decades, receiving less than $40,000 real gross annual income. That in turn has created serious reductions in consumption, employment and in government revenue; let alone the considerable increase in the need for social services and benefits.
  However, by increasing the participation or contribution rate of the wealthy in the econo-fiscal productive process, the benefits of the "multiplier/accelerator" effects on the economy would provide a sizable revenue in return, along with a countrywide and a worldwide socio-econo-fiscal stability.

Comprehensive Solution

In order to bring about a comprehensive solution for the problematic economy, a multifaceted "trilateral plan of action" that is cooperatively formulated by government, business and labour is urgently needed, whereby all aspects of the underlying causalities of the calamity should be directly addressed. Hence, by correcting the unjust income and wage scale; poverty, the affordable housing shortage, and the under employment/unemployment crises would also be automatically eliminated. Beyond that, a sufficient amount of tax revenue would be generated and could pay for the reconstruction and modernization of the crumbling infrastructure of this country.

So, why is the system in a holding pattern? Whose assent is required to put the stamp on these highly realistic and even profitable solutions for the socio-econo-enviro-fiscal problems of this province and country? – One might ask.

Summary

Since, throughout the past decade, it has become more and more evident that the governing system has been lacking either the will and/or the capacity to deal with Ontario's and Canada's structural socio-econo-enviro-fiscal and political problems, in the preceding paragraphs it was necessary to remind the decision-makers of the facts that, within this province and country there is a largely ignored/blocked pool of talents in the form of veteran, foreign educated, socio-econo-fiscal researchers and problem solvers who have the capacity to provide veritable solutions.

In the words of a handful of government officials and experts, these "one in a million" problem solvers are entitled to be listened to if the country as a whole wants to survive.

Food for Thought

• "When Aristotle (the Athenian philosopher, in the fourth century BC) examined the economic process, he differentiated between "economics" and economic activity that had as its motive and end not use, but profit" – The Economic Problem by Dr. Robert L Heilbroner, Professor of Economics.
• "The G20, following the lead of OECD, has now accepted that income inequality impedes growth" – Columnist Thomas Walkom, February 11, 2015.
• "There is a growing recognition across the political spectrum, including among some business owners, that the current minimum wage is too low and that higher pay may speed up economic growth." – Editorial, The L. A. Times.
• "Watch what you say in your living room. Samsung's Smart TV could be listening. The potential for TVs to eavesdrop is revealed in Samsung's privacy policy available on its website." – The Associated Press, February 11, 2015.
• "We are tired of hearing people tell us that you have a say, when in fact we do not. We have been silenced, ignored or kept in dark throughout every step of this process." – Connor Young, 4th year student, Wilfrid Laurier University, February 26, 2015.
• "I believe our institution is in trouble. We are being taken into a new Dark Ages." – Associate Prof. Gary Potter, WL University, February 26, 2015.
• List of Socio-Econo-Fiscal Articles – The Buerger Alliance