July 29, 2010 by FauxCapitalist
On July 12, 2010, Dr. Stan Monteith featured a discussion on illegal immigration and mentioned Canada’s temporary worker program for agricultural workers from Mexico and Latin America, like the system the U.S. had back in the 1960s.
Minimum wage is now $10.25 an hour in Canada’s largest province, Ontario, where most of the workers work, and with a 96 cent Canadian dollar, vis-a-vis the USD, it doesn’t seem to put their farmers at an economic disadvantage.
Previously, I wrote about Australia’s minimum wage of $15 an hour, which is more than double the U.S. federal minimum wage, and that didn’t stop the conservative Heritage Foundation from ranking Australia as more economically free than the U.S. Both countries even compared very closely on the metrics that are most relevant to business freedom and wages.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Canada, United States, Mexico, Ontario, The Heritage Foundation, Australia, minimum wage, Dr. Stan Monteith, uncompetitive, temporary worker | Leave a Comment »
July 29, 2010 by FauxCapitalist
In this 2009 debate with 2004 Libertarian Party presidential candidate Michael Badnarik, Stefan Molyneux, an advocate of voluntaryism, made a statement that I find very worthy of further examination.
Namely, that the most free societies produce such prosperity that they become the most tyrannical. His argument is that immense political and economic freedom bring extraordinary economic prosperity, and the corresponding wealth generated is used to control government and use it as a tool for profit and a weapon against political enemies.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 2009, 2004, Michael Badnarik, economic prosperity, Stefan Molyneux, presidential candidate, debate, Libertarian Party, political freedom, voluntaryism | 1 Comment »
July 27, 2010 by FauxCapitalist
In a little town in Quebec, Canada, a gold mining company is just one property away from developing Canada’s largest open-pit gold mine.
From the July 22, 2010 episode of CBC’s The Current:
“Ken Massé is literally sitting on a gold mine. And he refuses to budge. Massé is the last thing in the way of Osisko Mining Corporation’s plan to develop Canada’s largest open-pit gold mine in tiny Malarctic, Quebec. All of Massé’s neighbours have sold out to the mining company, or have been relocated. But Massé won’t give up his childhood home without a fight.“
What strikes me most about this case is the possibility of the taking of private property for private use, without the owner’s consent.
Unlike the U.S. Constitution, Canada’s constitution doesn’t require just compensation for the taking of private property for public use. Even worse, it doesn’t require any compensation, which even the communist Chinese Constitution requires.
Here, we’re talking about the taking of private property for private use, without the owner’s consent — something that the U.S. Constitution implicitly prohibits, but which, unfortunately, has been permitted with cases like Kelo v. New London.
The CEO of Osisko disclosed that they had sought an expropriation order of the property, which is understandable from the perspective of a publicly-traded corporation whose primary responsibility, both in law and dominant business culture, is to maximize shareholder’s wealth (as the Board and executives best see fit).
However, from the perspective of higher principle, as I believe is embodied in the U.S. constitutional requirement for just compensation, Canada’s lack of such a provision, both in law and practice, I believe, will lead to its long-term decline in the economic prosperity it currently enjoys.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Canada, market value, U.S. Constitution, just compensation, Canadian Constitution, CBC, law, The Current, gold mine, Quebec, July 22 2010, Chinese Constitution, Osisko Mining Corporation, 1791, public use, private use, TSE:OSK, economic prosperity, business culture, consent, publicly-traded corporation | Leave a Comment »
July 25, 2010 by FauxCapitalist
I came across this May 28, 2008 article by Gary North on LewRockwell.com, where he claims gold coins produced by U.S. and Canada aren’t money.
“This is what monetary policy is in the United States and Canada. Both nations produce gold coins. They are not really coins. They are not counted in the money supply. But they look like coins. People can buy them.“
That’s an interesting claim — considering they are legal tender! (as the U.S. and Canadian Mint state)
On July 19, I wrote about Gary North’s claim that 21 years is a “medium term” investment in order to justify gold’s embarrassing performance from 1980-2001.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged American Eagle gold coins, Canada, Canada Maple Leaf gold coins, Canadian Mint, Gary North, investment, legal tender, LewRockwell.com, May 28 2008, money, U.S. Mint, United States | 1 Comment »
