Gravelbourg & District Tribune

I can’t help but think the province is going down the path of slow destruction. I’m referring to the sale of ICS to the Quebec pension fund. Isn’t this like someone selling a cow in order to buy some milk? The privatization of alcohol sales cost the province over $15 million yearly. And just imagine the money the government would have if we actually owned the potash mines.

 

This probably would not happen in the Scandinavian countries. They understand that certain elements of society must remain in the hands of the government in order to provide fair and reasonably priced services. Similar to the Chinese economy that has half under government control with the other half a free wheeling open market economy. Countries that sell off critical infrastructure needed to provide services such as water, sewer and roads etc. attract billionaires because the public utilities are a licence to make money. Monopolies means paying higher prices.

 

Our capitalist system tells us that only western style neoliberal governments with ‘free economies’ will produce and nurture billionaires. There is some truth to that since the United States has 989. The richest is Elon Musk. The next country with the most billionaires is a communist anti-capitalist centrally controlled economy. China. They have 539. This goes against every economic theory they shoved down our throats for the last 50 years. Wasn’t communism supposed to stifle entrepreneurial initiative? It was suppose to stifle creativity.

 

It would appear to me that the Chinese model isn’t so bad after all. It isn’t perfect. But just the same they produce most of the manufactured goods in the world and they do it better than anyone else. Their tech sector is superior to ours and they are electrifying the world and helping reduce our carbon footprint. We can’t say the same about North America.

 

• • •

Why don’t celebrities worry about the heat? They have a lot of fans.

 

Which runs faster, hot or cold? Hot. Everyone can catch a cold.