Second Thoughts on Old Age Security

Feb 20, 2012 by Jason

In 1960 the English version of Wilhelm Ropke’s ‘A Humane Economy’ was published. In that book he shared the following account to demonstrate the effect that the welfare state has on personal saving, or rather dissaving. In conversing with the manager of a local mining operation Ropke learned the following about one of the older mine workers:

“The old man had put aside a tidy sum for his and his wife’s old age, but suddenly he decided to blow it all on a luxury television set and other things. Surprised, the manager asked why he had suddenly changed his mind and was spending all his savings; the old miner replied that the welfare state was now taking care of him anyways and there was no reason why he should deny himself the immediate enjoyment of what he had set aside for his old age.”

If we consider the facts from the last 40 years or so, it seems that many in Canada have adopted the attitude of this miner living in 1960’s Germany – “why save for tomorrow when I can enjoy my earnings today…for the state will make sure I won’t be destitute in my old age.”

Government intervention and rising house prices

Feb 4, 2012 by Jason

Last Wednesday (Jan.25th) an article was published in the Regina Leader Post discussing the issue of unaffordable housing in Saskatchewan.   The article pointed out that house prices, when measured as ratio of household earnings vs. the price of home, have increased significantly in the last 5...

Private Choices, Public Funds

Jan 30, 2012 by Jason

The belief that abortion is a private decision between a woman and her physician is a key argument in the pro-abortion position. However, this argument somehow has to be reconciled with the fact that in Canada we have a public healthcare system.

In Canada, the decision to abort is a private decision, but the actual procedure is performed with public funds using, for the most part, public facilities. In the cases where abortions are performed in private clinics, the abortion is usually still paid for by public funds.

Aboriginal fatherlessness and the role of government

Jan 13, 2012 by Jason

One of the opinion pieces in today’s (Jan. 13/2012) Leader Post was on the topic of fatherlessness amongst the Saskatchewanaboriginal community. It is essentially a review of a recent CBC documentary (Blind Spot), with added commentary by the author of the op-ed.

The key ideas in this article are:

1) That this is an issue that has been ignored for way too long (“Why hasn’t someone done something on this question sooner?”)

2) This issue is a result of bad decisions made by governments in the past (“[the] problem…began immediately after Indians were moved to reserves that stripped males of their role as providers and protectors and one that was exacerbated by nearly a hundred years of residential schools.”), and

3) To solve this problem, there needs to be more action taken by the government (“Even more thought-provoking, however, is how oblivious governments have been. While wasting millions upon millions over the years on other programs, Ball asks why we haven seen a program for First Nations fathers”)

With regards to the first idea, it seems to me that the author must not be aware of the many warnings that social conservatives have been giving for the last 5o years regarding the breakdown of the family. These warnings are applicable to all families – aboriginal and non-aboriginal.

It seems that when it is social conservatives making these warnings, the reaction from left-leaning individuals is to ignore them. But when a reporter from the CBC makes a documentary on the issue, enlisting a UVic professor with “first of its kind in the country” research, only then does this become an important enough issue that we all need to pay attention to.

There is an old saying that states, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Social conservatives have been promoting prevention for decades by defending the institution of the family. The ‘enlightened left have ignored these warnings, with the results being now having to pay the pound of cure.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – Part I

Jan 6, 2012 by Jason

When the American colonies declared independence from Great Britain, they did so by drafting what became known as ‘The Declaration of Independence’. Part of this declaration included the following statement:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

To some there is an almost knee-jerk reaction to dismiss anything associated with America , An extreme example of this can be seen in a 2009 statement by an investigator from the Canadian Human Rights Commission who stated that “Freedom of speech is an American concept, so I don’t give it any value.” So although the Declaration of Independence is considered one of America’s founding documents, it contains principles that are universal in scope.

Government – Santa Claus for Adults

Dec 27, 2011 by Jason

For many children, and even their parents, the idea of Santa Claus helps make Christmas even more special than it already is. For children, there is an excitement associated with finding a surprise gift left by Santa and having one’s stocking filled with goodies from this mysterious visitor. For the parents, there is often an anticipation that comes with playing Santa and sneaking about the house late Christmas Eve to get these gifts ready for the next day.

However, there eventually comes a time when children learn the truth about Santa. With this event there is usually a period of disappointment experienced. Children are disappointed by the knowledge that there will no longer be any gifts from this beloved stranger. And parents experience varying degrees of disappointment from no longer being able to pretend to be Santa.

The interesting thing is that, even after the idea of Santa has long been put to rest for most people, there are many who appear to substitute for Santa an entity that really does exist…government. It is almost as if they believe that government is a Santa Claus for adults. Instead of asking for toys, games, and candy, adults ask government for things such as free health care, free education, free childcare.