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