A famous author once wrote that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
Our federal minister of agriculture, Lyle Vanclief, appears to not have taken that dictum to heart. He has repeatedly stated that the federal government has limited resources with which to assist distressed farmers.
His tight money policy was tried once before, in the 1930s. Evidently, he is not aware that under Section 91 of the Constitution, the federal government has full powers of interest-free money creation via the Bank of Canada. It would be a simple act to have the nation’s bank issue cheques to distressed farmers on an account created for that purpose. This is called creating new money.
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Naturally, there are limits to how much new money could be created and payments should be made on the basis of lost production in order to maintain an equilibrium of the money supply within the local economy.
However, it would be much preferable to the $50 per acre take-it-or-leave-it offer from the provincial government. Money that was largely extracted from the tax base therefore ensuring that the economy of the entire province takes a direct hit causing bitterness between urban and rural dwellers and also amongst farmers from other areas of the country. …
Why would this be such a difficult process to initiate? You can bet that if this was a bank collapse, politicians from all over would be lining up with chequebooks in hand, racing to the rescue.
Economics 101 tells us that three things are required for a successful economy: materials, manpower and money. Mother Nature created the materials and manpower, man creates the money. Why is Mr. Vanclief abrogating his duties as a servant of the people by refusing to provide the funding that keeps our economy going?…
The Great Depression was mainly due to tight money policies of several central bank, however it looks like Mr. Vanclief
isn’t interested in the lessons of history and is intent on repeating the same old mistakes.
– Brion Pollon,
Candidate for Manitoba Party,
Clanwilliam, Man.
