Pursuing Truth, Goodness, and Beauty
“We’re going to build socialism here. For a country with such a small population there is no alternative.” “The state has an active role to play in ensuring that there is equilibrium between the constituent parts of the economy, the consumers and the producers.” “Since neither individuals themselves, nor the economic system…
Why is it that Canadians are apathetic when it comes to responding to the ills of big government? We accept the unbridled increases in government spending, increases in programs and services, and the unexplainable antics of our politicians and bureaucrats. Without question, we accept taxes; we accept increased taxation and the imposition of new taxes….
It’s budget week with federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty poised on Tuesday afternoon to deliver another financial statement on the country’s fortunes (and its debts). It is time for Canadians to reflect, ever so briefly, on our Nation’s economy and our government’s interventionist actions in an attempt to improve our lot. For us at By…
We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. – Winston Churchill Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else. – Frederic Bastiat Democracy must…
Liberty don’t work near as good in practice as it does in speeches. Nobody wants his cause near as bad as he wants to talk about his cause. Common sense is not an issue in politics; it’s an affliction. If you’re riding ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to…
Truly, the whacky world of political gamesmanship and bureaucratic quagmire has become more complex and tiresome. To make any headway in advancing an issue or taking a stand in Ottawa requires patience, a thick skin and a trusty side-kick to discern whether any progress is to be had. This will be especially true through 2014….
Here’s sound counsel for our politicians today: The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed, lest Rome will become bankrupt. People must again learn to work instead of living…
There was a chemistry professor in a large college that had some exchange students in the class. One day while the class was in the lab, the professor noticed one young man, an exchange student, who kept rubbing his back and stretching as if his back hurt. The professor asked the young man what was the…
Reporting of Canadian political news has become very superficial. Today’s columnists and pundits are not reporting facts but rather providing their observations and opinions. In this way, political reporting has become a jocular exercise. Canadians hear only who is carrying the ball at any one time and how much ground was gained or lost on…
By George Journal editor Chris George will, on occasion, “scratch his itch” and post a commentary or a news article on Canadian politics. These posts are delivered from many different perspectives. The common thread for the articles tagged politics, however, is that they are insightful to both politicos and those many armchair critics who like…
With the House of Commons back in Session, By George Journal thought it helpful to provide our Members of Parliament with some fundamentals on appropriate conduct – daring to hope that their actions may be more productive (and civil) than in the past Sessions of Parliament. Law is a necessary evil. Pass as few laws as…
Here’s the story. Can you imagine running a country with these numbers? U.S. Tax Revenue: $2,170,000,000,000 Federal Budget: $3,820,000,000,000 New Debt: $ 1,650,000,000,000 National Debt: $16,271,000,000,000 Recent Budget Cut: $ 38,500,000,000 It this hard to factor? Well, remove a total of eight zeros and pretend it’s a household budget. Annual Family Income: $21,700 Money Family…
Our Canadian Parliament resumed yesterday and, in the weeks ahead, Members of Parliament will begin their job of moving legislation through the House of Commons. MPs are back at it in Ottawa, on the Hill, and working with bureaucrats to caretake our Nation’s business. When a group or company needs to interact with the…
The Throne Speech yesterday stated the Canadian Federal Government will be getting serious about curbing its out-of-control spending habits. (That’s good. It’s about time!) It is a fact that, today, we have the largest federal bureaucracy that we have ever had. And to maintain the bulging size of government and its programs, the government…
Today marks the anniversary of the death of Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first Prime Minister. By George celebrates this great man, lamenting his political acumen and leadership, the skills of which our Nation has seldom seen since. Sir John A. ‘s life work was the building of the Canadian nation. Without this man’s…
As we try to fathom the pass-the-buck, what-more-can-I-get-from-the-system shenanigans of our Canadian politicians, here’s a lament to a past era and a long-since-gone breed of politician: a tribute to Harry Truman. Harry Truman was a different kind of President. He probably made as many, or more important decisions regarding our nation’s history as any…
“Government does not tax to get the money it needs; government always finds a need for the money it gets.” – Ronald Reagan “The real goal should be reduced government spending, rather than balanced budgets achieved by ever-rising tax rates to cover ever-rising spending.” – Thomas Sowell “Deficits mean future tax increases, pure and simple….
Let’s review our nagging, on-going dialogue about big government and the call for accountability with our governments’ spending practices. Here’s an equation that Canadians should know well enough, especially after having just completed their income tax filing this week. Big Government* = Ever-Increasing Taxes (* – synonymous with out-of-control-spending, mismanaged budgets and…
WARNING: What follows is another axe-grinding session regarding one of our greatest irritants: big government and our politicians’ inabilities to control spending and cut into the ever-growing, bloated bureaucracy. The last few weeks have brought into focus, once again, how our Canadian elected officials have learned little from the fiscal mismanagement of many of the…