It's interesting that Michael Wolff, author of Fire and Fury about President Donald Trump, should have copied the title of a miniature war-game about the American Civil War first published in 1990 by Quantum Publishing and authored by Dave Waxtel. Now one wouldn’t want to accuse Mr. Wolff of plagiarism, but it does suggest that there was less than due diligence in rushing to print with this publication without checking to see if the title was already in the public realm. A more fitting title for this new 2018 best seller might surely have been a bit of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Mr. Wolff surely fits the role of he who ‘struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.’ Nonetheless, what a wonderfully entertaining beginning to the new year.
Still, we need to take serious notice that the President’s apparent raging unpredictability may well have triggered serious discussions about two of the world’s more chronic stalemates that have cost the U.S.A. trillions of dollars – Israel/Palestine and North Korea. He may even get his Mexican Wall in a trade-off for a more humane immigration policy. Above everything else President Trump’s measure of success is ‘making a deal’. Our prime minister’s current strategy of wanting NAFTA to be a socially determinant document will carry a cost – what are we willing to trade to get it?
Canada’s principal problem will continue to be out of control provincial and federal government spending albeit it is chronically boring. We have begun 2018 with the premier of Ontario leading the charge in piling on more costs on small and independent business owners and family farms. An immediate increase of 22 per cent in the minimum wage this year is to be offset, in part, by a reduction of one per cent in corporate taxes for small businesses (oh wow!). Let’s not forget that this vote seeking wage increase and will ‘trickle up’ to the 1.33 million Ontarians who work in the Province of Ontario’s public sector, which has wages totalling more than $74 billion. The provincial government cost will be covered by borrowing. And in case, dear reader, that you may wonder what direct effect this might have on our tax dollar, Ontario received $1.4 billion in equalization payments for 2017-18 fiscal year – that’s Alberta tax dollars. Truly, Ontario continues as a national and international leader in government fiscal management. Its provincial debt is twice that of California. As the Financial Post reported in 2015, Ontario is the world’s most indebted sub-sovereign borrower. Alberta will not be long outdone however. We will see a continuing catch up toward Ontario’s lead on a per capita basis this coming year. On the federal front this tax burden is additional to the new money grab by the federal government as it has decided that successful small corporations are tax evaders.
The Aga Khan Foundation seeks innovative approaches to generic problems in health, education, rural development, environment and the strengthening of civil society.
How about a federal-provincial conference with the Foundation? On an island.
