I found a book at the library written by Professor Evelyn L. Forget who teaches at the University of Manitoba.
It is entitled "Basic Income for Canadians..... From the Covid-19 emergency to Financial Security for All" .
I thought it would be a good idea to feed my internal debate about the drawbacks and merits of a Universal Basic Income program being utilized in my beloved country. Is it possible? Would it be wise???
I finally meandered over to Chapter 9, which is titled "Can We Afford a Basic Income?"
I would like to quote the last sentence of the first paragraph verbatim
" If governments are prepared to pay the interest on the debt, they can refinance it forever".
And that was her thought process. Canada will just borrow and borrow and borrow and not worry about interest rates or debt repayment until we are forced to. She believes that, unlike a personal household, it is "normal" for governments to carry debt into infinity.
And so ended my curiosity into Universal Basic Income. The perspective of the author on government debt was so deeply warped and unrealistic. It alarmed me further, when I noted that Professor Forget has actually been granted the status of
"Officer of the Order of Canada"...which is a great honor.
What began as a gentle walk into the idealogy of U.B.I. and it's possible pros and cons, morphed into an unpleasant
"drowning in debt" feeling, when the author began to discuss how such a "progressive" idea might be funded.
So, just to put things into perspective, I am not usually surprised by bureaucratic mumbo jumbo. But oy, the author declares that we have nothing to worry about, because we can just keep borrowing as a country to pay our citizens to exist. It must be noted that this book was published before the epic rise in Canada's interest rates that have choked ALL debt holders, including our own federal government. Professor Evelyn Forget wrongly assumed that interest rates would stay low forever. Professor Forget wrote this book from the perspective that government debt is some kind of lame tame duck we can carry forever.
The national debt of Canada is a disgrace. It is a testament of a lack of wisdom and discipline. It is a picture of a man using a credit card that doesn't belong to him...running around spending billions. How did we as a country allow this to occur???Are we all asleep at the wheel?
According to my studies (i apologize for not having the proper citations for this paragraph)... the national debt of Canada has doubled since the reign of the Liberal government. Doubled! The number of government employees has increased by 20% over the past 9 years. More personnel...indicate a much heavier payroll for taxpayers to carry.
I wonder if Professor Forget would take back some of these careless notions that she put forward in chapter 9. Debt is not a tame lame duck. Generations to come will have to come to terms with the damage done by undisciplined politicians and bureaucrats fed by emotion instead of common sense.
If you are curious as to what our current national debt here in Canada is take a gander at debtclock.ca .
As of today Oct 5,2024, our national debt stands at 1.2 Trillion Canadian dollars.
Dear Lord. Help us face this. Notice that I say "we", not playing the blame game. We as a country are in this boat together. We are building the future of the country with every decision we make. We can fix it together if we choose to do so.
Dear God, help us as a country to not spend before we earn. Help our leaders to understand right from wrong and to learn how to steer our country well.
I thank you God for all the many blessings that are here, right now all across Canada. I thank you for the strength and resilience of Canadians from coast to coast. I thank you for the great intelligence and wisdom that exists in Canada. Help us create a wise path for our country for this generation and the generations to come, in Jesus' name. amen.
If you are looking for a thought provoking book, you may wish to read Professor Forget's book "Basic Income for Canadians". But be prepared to be startled by it's illusions.
Peace,
Carla.
