Equalization

Canadian Premiers met last week and predictably they spent the entire time clamoring for more money. Instead of concentrating on the opening up of inter-provincial trade or reducing Ottawa’s centralist approach the socialist Premiers whined for more money from the nanny state. They want non-renewable resources included in the revenues for the calculation of transfer payments. IE Quebec and the usual suspects want Alberta’s oil money. Alberta responded with the usual intellectually defunct response of “Stay away from our money.”

Why does Alberta cower behind empty threats? Explain yourself Klein. Socialism is a complete failure. Regardless of what our public education has taught us Socialism has failed everywhere in the world it has been tried. It has only caused famines, wars, shortages and stagnation. Transferring money from the oil workers of Alberta to the dairy farmers of Quebec is economically ludicrous in 21 century. Wealth redistribution hurts the average person. Stealing form productive ventures to subsidize failing ones only succeeds in lowering our overall standard of living.

Freedom of association and open boarders make wealth transfers regressive and completely unnecessary. Any individual is free to decide where he lives, where he works and how he provides for his or her life in this country. If the oil runs out I’ll go and mill lumber. Why should some individuals have to subsidize others? For the superficial reason of—they don’t want to move? Because migration is against their rights? An individual has the right to decide where they live but they also have the responsibility to deal with the consequences of this choice.

And this is all too predictable. The only way socialism can expand its wealth—which is what Quebec, the Maritimes and Saskatchewan are logically trying to accomplish—is by stealing more. How did Soviet Russia gain more wealth? By conquering more countries and looting their productive recourses. See Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania. Certain provinces are trying to loot successful business interests through the peaceful process of legislation to prop up their failing ever redundant bureaucracies. Free states earnestly increase their wealth through increasing their production capacities.

Should we have subsidized horse shoe makers when the automobile was invented? Should the state have supported ice salesmen when the first refrigerator appeared left them without work? It is a shame that many Canadians are duped by this Keynesian nonsense. Public education has created hordes of listless, apathetic and unquestioning drones. Stealing from citizens to support state aims is immoral in age where we have the earned means to increase our liberties and freedoms.