Re: Liberal government promises extra $62B for military over next 20 years (June 7)
Canada's official development assistance was down by 4.4 per cent in 2016 compared with the previous year, and International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau says the government has no immediate plans to increase international aid spending.
"Canada is really committed to improve the lives of the poorest," she said, "and we have poor people in Canada, too, so these are very difficult decisions to make."
Now, after pressure from Donald Trump and NATO allies, the federal government has decided to budget an additional $62 billion to build a bigger military. When it comes to fighting poverty, money is always scarce and tough decisions must be made. But when funding the military industrial complex is concerned, big bucks are always available.
The squeaky fighter jet gets the grease.
Copyright F.P. Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership Jun 9, 2017
Footnotes:
1. Ottawa has no plans to bump up foreign aid, minister says, Michelle Zilio, Apr. 11, 2017
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-has-no-plans-to-bump-up-foreign-aid-in-the-short-term-minister-says/article34677287/
2. William Mitchell is Professor in Economics and Director of the Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE), University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia
http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=35747
"Statements such as the ‘nation cannot afford the cost of some program’ are never made when the military goes crazy and launches millions of dollars of missiles to be blasted off in the dark of the night. But when it comes to public health systems or the nutritional requirements of our children, the neo-liberals have their calculators out toting up the dollars.
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When we ask whether the nation can afford a policy initiative, we should ignore the $x and consider what real resources are available and the potential benefits. The available real resources constitute the fiscal space. The fiscal space should then always be related to the purposes to which we aspire, and the destination we wish to reach.
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The national government is never revenue constrained because it is the monopoly issuer of the currency. So it can buy whatever real resources that are for sale in the currency it issues.
Which means that if the nation determines through the political process to drop bombs and leave sick people sick then it can financially accomplish that goal without issue.
But it also means that if the political force is to have a first-class health system and the real resources are available to accomplish that task then the government can always make that happen."
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Modern Monetary Theory in Canada
http://mmtincanada.jimdo.com/
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