A Bernie Sanders Narrative for Seniors

Peter Dorman at EconoSpeak - 2 days ago

What follows is some unsolicited advice for the Sanders campaign. Politico has an important piece on the downside of the extraordinary age bias in Sanders’ support. Like a teeter totter, the large advantage Sanders enjoys among younger voters is counterbalanced by his dismal showing among the older crowd. The article reviews voting breakdowns from the 2016 campaign and current poll results, and it shows that Sanders is not just behind among seniors, but way, way behind. His political strengths guarantee he will survive the winnowing of the twenty-odd 2020 pretenders, but sheer ar... more »

Why Israel Won't Win Its Next War

A Political Junkie at Viable Opposition - 1 day ago

A recent piece by veteran and award-winning Israeli military correspondent Ron Ben Yishai on the Hebrew language version of Ynet provides us with fascinating insight into the current situation facing Israel's military. The logic behind Ben Yishai's opinions are rather stunning given Israel's current situation with its neighbours in Palestine, Syria and Lebanon. Here are some quotes from a translated version of the article entitled "Why do we not win the next war?" which opens with the observation that "Israel will not be defeated in the next war, but it will not win": "*Whether it ... more »

Why Jason Kenney Can't Bring Back The 'Alberta Advantage'

By Thomas A. Lukaszuk***

The province's bygone boom times were based on oil royalties, and little else.

“A chicken in every pot and a car in every garage,” promised Republican U.S. Presidential candidate Herbert Hoover during the Great Depression. He was keenly aware that Americans remembered the plenty of pre-Depression life and that they wanted it to return. He ran on a plan to turn around America’s economy, winning him the 1928 election. Famously, he was unable to make good on his promise and lead the country out of crisis.

Further north and nearly a century later, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney promised voters much the same. He knew Albertans longed to return to a time of budget surpluses, zero debt, no PST, “Ralph Bucks,” stratospheric wages and low unemployment. He ran on a platform to renew what was once known as the province’s “Alberta Advantage,” and won.

Albertans, in their desperation to have the good, old days restored, bought into his promise without fully analyzing whether the conditions that fostered the province’s prior prosperity could ever be brought back by one politician in a single government term.

Kenney argued that Alberta has a spending problem, not a revenue problem. Determined to eliminate the deficit by cutting spending, while further reducing the Alberta treasury’s revenue through eliminating the carbon tax and lowering corporate taxes, Kenney insisted that these measures, combined with reducing “red tape,” would restore investors’ confidence, create jobs and re-establish Alberta’s economic dominance in Canada.

In reality, Alberta residents and the province’s businesses have enjoyed among the lowest level of taxation in Canada, high investment confidence and, due to the legacy of regulatory reviews by the Klein and Stelmach administrations, businesses were never burdened with unnecessary bureaucratic barriers.

And Kenney knows it. He is hoping that his “trickle down” policies will be justified, if and when that fabled Alberta Advantage kicks in once again.

The truth behind the Alberta Advantage
So, what was really behind the elusive Alberta Advantage that every premier since Klein has hoped to rediscover?

Coined by Alberta Premier Ralph Klein, “Alberta Advantage” was a slogan intended to capture the Alberta Progressive Conservative government’s new austerity. Their message, a beacon, signalled to the world that Alberta was open to investment, eliminating deficits, paying off debt and cutting corporate taxes, and was prepared to privatize many government services. If that wasn’t loud enough, premier Klein put up a highway sign on the road to Edmonton saying “Think Differently.” It implied that his government knew which policy levers to pull to supercharge the economy, and that their political acumen was the driving force behind the Alberta Advantage.

The reality? The reality was a lot different.

None of these policy initiatives, however, were truly at the heart of the Alberta Advantage we all remember.

To be sure, Klein’s government implemented some courageous policy decisions. It privatized liquor stores and registry offices, and although the moves were controversial, they have passed the test of time. Klein implemented charitable gaming, equally objectionable at the time, giving rise to a vibrant volunteer sector. The Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) program was innovative in Canada in that era. Getting Alberta’s financial house in order by eliminating the deficit and paying down debt were also prudent, even though one can question whether the speed with which this was achieved and the infrastructure debt it created was well considered.

None of these policy initiatives, however, were truly at the heart of the Alberta Advantage we all remember — they were merely made possible because another phenomenon, to a large extent external to government policies, was at play.

Royalty revenue from non-renewable resources was the secret that allowed Klein’s government to implement many of his innovative policies, keep taxes low, avoid PST, eliminate the deficit and pay off debt. These royalties, not policy, singularly constituted what we know as the Alberta Advantage.

Risky business
In the 1970s, Alberta politicians and industry leaders had a vision that led to establishment of the Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority. It took decades of strategic policy development and implementation, as well as government and private sector investment, to develop Alberta’s energy industry. It paid off.

Before Klein became premier in December 1992, the Alberta government’s treasury collected more than $2 billion annually in royalties from non-renewable resources (natural gas, oil, coal, etc.). By 2001, growing gas and oil commodity prices and increased volume of production spurred the Alberta government’s take on to $10.6 billion. In 2005, it topped at $14.3 billion.

Alberta’s debt repayment plan was ahead of schedule. Soon, surpluses became a problem. While other provinces and the federal government were experiencing financial pressures, the optics of Alberta being awash in cash were not good. Ironically, staunch fiscal conservatives in Cabinet and Caucus argued that Albertans, like the residents of Alaska in the U.S., should have the surplus distributed among us in the form of a dividend. These fiscal hawks (many of whom later migrated to the more conservative Wildrose Party, supported by Kenney) argued that surplus is an indicator of overtaxation, and that money doesn’t belong to the government (hence, it must be reimbursed to taxpayers rather than saved).

During a September 2005 PC Caucus meeting in Cold Lake, after Alberta’s deficits and debt were proclaimed to be eliminated, Premier Klein spontaneously announced a $400 Prosperity Bonus (“Ralph Bucks”) for every tax-paying Albertan. Albertans certainly felt the Alberta Advantage while spending their bonus in the already superheated economy.

Never to return
In Alberta’s euphoria, the risks of linking the province’s operating budget, and the Alberta Advantage, to a single source of royalty revenue from a volatile commodity were disregarded. Reports highlighting this structural problem in Alberta’s budget collected dust. Governments of the day failed to apply what they learned stimulating the growth of the oil and gas industries to other sectors, which could have lessened the province’s dependence on energy. The prevailing wisdom was the sun will not set upon Alberta’s empire, so long as we’re pumping oil.

Today, the Alberta government’s royalties from non-renewable resources sit at a considerably smaller $5 billion, and the prospects of any sudden improvement are slim.

There are no secret policy levers in the premier’s office that can increase world energy prices, on which filling our coffers and recreating the Alberta Advantage are dependent, no matter how much Albertans want to trust Premier Kenney. Building the oil industry takes slow, purposeful policy — not trickle-down economics and aimless hopes of luring an industry to invest in Alberta.

Kenney’s time would be better spent dusting off old reports and shifting his policies toward fostering an Alberta Advantage 2.0, and building an economy that isn’t founded on non-renewable resources.

***Thomas A. Lukaszuk Former PC Cabinet Minister whom Kenney told to Shut Up when Kenney was a Federal Cabinet Minister of Intergovermental affairs and Luckaszuk was Vice Premier

75TH D-DAY COMMEMORATION JUNE 6 1944-2019

D-Day veteran, 99, gets standing ovation from crowd including Queen and Trump as he remembers ‘terrifying’ WW2
A HEROIC D-Day veteran was today honoured with a standing ovation as he told the story of his WW2 bravery 75 years on. John Jenkins, 99, gave a moving ...

Normandy landings: Photos from D-Day and the Battle of Normandy



D-Day 75th anniversary: The key facts and figures from history's largest seaborne invasion
The Allied forces landing operation in Normandy on June 6, 1944, is easily the largest air, sea, and land invasion in history. They set sail in 6,939 vessels — an ...

The London Free Press
Londoners reflect on D-Day's significance on 75th anniversary
Thursday marks the anniversary of the largest amphibious assault in the history of human warfare. On June 6, 1944, known as D-Day, Allied troops landed on ...



CNBC International TV
Full interview: Former US Secretary of State John Kerry speaks at the 75th anniversary of D-Day



5 legendary speeches delivered on D-Day's blood-stained battlefields and beyond over 75 years
Thursday marks the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion— one of the biggest moments in World War II and a turning point in the fight against Nazi Germany.

Global News
D-Day by the hour: A timeline of Operation Overlord in Normandy
Allied forces used code words and decoys to successfully hide the largest invasion in history, which turned the tide of the Second World War.

75TH ANNIVERSARY OF D-DAY

Trudeau: D-Day fighters died 'for you and me' 


When the tide turned: Canadians hold massive D-Day event at Juno Beach
Three-quarters of a century ago today, Fred Turnbull was sitting in a landing craft plowing through the grey, choppy surf towards the shell-raked Normandy coast.

D-Day 75th anniversary ceremony from Halifax Citadel | LIVE

INCLUDING MIC MAC CELEBRATION OF FIRST NATIONS VETERANS

WITH A CHILLING TALE OF A NAZI MASSACRE OF CANADIANS INCLUDING

FIRST NATIONS MEMBERS

ALSO THE GOV GENERAL RECOGNIZED HER LIVING ON THE IROQUOIS 

 FIRST NATIONS LAND AND BROUGHT GREETINGS IN IROQUOIS!!!!

D-Day Tributes Bring Thousands Of Canadians Together On Juno Beach
COURSEULLES-SUR-MER, France — Thousands of Canadians will gather Thursday on a stretch of beach on the coast of Normandy in France to ...

How D-Day unfolded: A step-by-step visual guide
It's been 75 years since Allied forces invaded the Normandy beaches, bringing Nazi Germany a step closer to its final defeat. Here's how it happened.


Canadians gather at Juno Beach on 75th anniversary of D-Day
Thousands of Canadians will gather on a stretch of beach on the coast of Normandy in France on Thursday to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day, one ...

XTINCTION REBELLION

Extinction Rebellion: Strategy and Tactics

Phil at All That Is Solid ... - 21 hours ago

In this episode of Politics Theory Other, Alex interviews Roger Hallam, the principal theorist of Extinction Rebellion. Roger is asked about XR's mass arrest tactics, the movement's attitude toward the police, and a number of other positions taken in his recently published manifesto, *Common Sense for the 21st Century.* Once again, new left media is done on a shoe string, so if you have a few quid to spare (or, indeed, a multimillionaire with an Engelsian bent), please support Politics Theory Other here.

Tariffs and Monetary Policy: Moral Hazard and Rent Seeking

rosserjb@jmu.edu at EconoSpeak - 13 hours ago

President Trump's threat to impose tariffs on Mexico over immigration has pushed Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell to say that if the tariffs lead to economic growth slowing, the Fed will cut interest rates. While the bump may be about to end, this announcement was followed by a solid global surge of stock markets on June 4 followed by smaller increases the next day. This sets up a moral hazard situation for Trump where if he behaves irresponsibly on trade policy (with even GOP senators basically freaking out), the Fed might bail him out with interest rate cuts. How is rent seekin... more »

WW3.0

John Bolton - A Force for Global Insecurity

A Political Junkie at Viable Opposition - 3 hours ago

With United States National Security Advisor John Bolton offering his warrior-like take on nations like Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Syria, Libya, Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba and others, I thought that a look back in time was in order. Back in the Bush II era, you may recall that George W. Bush and his right-hand man, Richard Cheney, appointed the moustachioed war hawk to represent the United States at the United Nations. The long-time critic of the UN who made the comment in 1994 that if the the 38 story United Nations building lost ten stories, it wouldn't make a bit of differ... more »

MEXICO BORDER STORIES

UPI.COM
Border apprehensions surge by 45% amid education cuts for migrant children

The U.S. experienced a surge of apprehensions at the Southwest border in the month of May, detaining more than 144,000 people as the Trump administration announced cuts to programs for unaccompanied migrant children.

HEALTH STORIES

TEN CASES IS 'TROUBLING' 1000 IS AN EPIDEMIC 
The number of measles cases in the United States surpassed 1,000 Wednesday, a milestone Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar called "troubling."


UPI.COM

U.S. measles cases surpass 1,000

The number of measles cases in the United States surpassed 1,000 Wednesday, a milestone Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar called "troubling."

UPI.COM

HHS halts federal research using human fetal tissue
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that federal sciences will no longer be allowed to use human fetal tissue to carry out research, a move anti-abortion organizations hailed as a victory.

ALSO SEE TRUMP HALTS FETAL TISSUE RESEARCH