Reject the
TPP – Build a Nation.
Dear
Mr. Trudeau, House of Commons Standing Committee on International
Trade and all Canadians:
I
write in regards to the TPP and the Rule of Law.
Topics:
The
TPP and The Rule of Law
The
Basics – Why the TPP is Bad on Any Level
Regulatory
Corruption and the TPP
Food
Healthcare
The Old
Market Economy, the New Market Economy and How to Spur Innovation
and create Wealth Creation
The TPP and
the Rule of Law:
The
application of the Rule of Law and the principles of Fundamental
justice must be the ultimate considerations when signing any
agreement that would affect such a wide range of our aspects of life
as the TPP currently does. Before you delve into my abbreviated list
of reasons for opposition to the TPP I would like you to consider the
following firstly the very first words in our Canadian Constitution
**********************************************************************************
CONSTITUTION
ACT, 1982 (80)
PART I
CANADIAN
CHARTER OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
Whereas Canada is founded upon
principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law:
**********************************************************************************
Let us now before we move forward
consider the principles and purposes of the law and the rule of Law.
Keep in mind, the Law, and the 'Rule of Law' in a Democratic, fair,
and just society are like a Tree trunk that stands tall and strong so
as to be able to best support the branches it proffers. The Roots of
the tree reach into the Earth, the Earth is the people and the
environment, the Roots are the Judiciary that is mandated with
upholding the Law, they bridge the gap between the Law and the
people.
If the Roots rot and no longer serve
their purpose they can no longer support the Tree which is the Law.
The purpose of the Tree is to sustain life, the Tree supports an
ecosystem within, under and all around its branches. Without a
healthy tree with strong roots in the Earth, the Earth will become
barren, desolate and dry. Consider the Branches of the Tree trunk
that is the Law or the Rule of Law.
The Branches represent a few different
things, the Branches are the regulatory systems whose purpose is to
protect the public and the intent and spirit of the Law. On the other
hand they also represent our case law which builds upon previous
precedent as the Judiciary has some freedom in establishing the
boundaries of the law on an individual basis. This is not so that the
Judiciary or the Law may choose to arbitrarily favour one man over
the other, this is so that a judge may better assure that the
fundamentals of justice are adhered to when making a ruling on Civil
and Criminal matters that could have a wide range of consequences
including prison and punitive damages. I think the Alberta Supreme
Court summed it up best in this exert from the Alberta Securities
Commission v. Beaudette.
Let us return to the Tree and the Law,
if the Branches of a Tree become overgrown and forget their purpose
they begin to harm the Tree and an ecosystem rather then shelter and
sustain it.
Often branches grow so far away from
the trunk of the Tree that is the Law that they need to be pruned and
clipped in order to ensure the Tree maintains balance and life.
Sometimes a Tree does not get pruned or clipped, the Branches become
unruly and forget their purpose. They stretch out far farther then is
healthy for them and soon they snap in the wind or perhaps they begin
to pull the whole tree down. This begins to make the ecosystem
underneath it vulnerable and soon the wind carries away the dirt and
begins to expose the Roots of the Tree. This leads the Roots of the
Tree to begin to rot. More Branches forget their purpose and extend
far beyond the original intent before they too snap because now the
rotting Roots are beginning to affect the entire tree, the Tree is
starting to no longer be able to serve its purpose and will soon die.
In order to ensure the health of the ecosystem that the Tree used to
protect the Tree must now be burned by a fire in order to allow for
new growth and a new Tree or the Tree must simply be dug up and
replaced with a new healthy Tree.
Right now you the Provincial and
National public officials and bureaucrats who guide the future of our
nation represent the Roots and Branches of this Tree, unfortunately
too many of you have forgotten your purposes and allowed these
Branches to grow to a magnitude that is no longer healthy for the
Tree and the ecosystem it harbours. The Roots of the Tree are rotten,
signing an agreement such as the TPP is evidence that the Branches
have forgotten their purpose and no longer work in the best interest
of the Tree or the Earth they are supposed to protect. Will you trim
the Branches and ensure they continue to grow in a manner that is in
the best interest of everyone? Or will you allow the Branches to
serve themselves and thus begin the sequence of self-destruction and
decay.
The Basics – Why the TPP is bad
on any Level:
The TPP will destroy this nation as we
know it, this is not a right wing or left wing question, its not
about the jobs as they would have you believe. Its simply about
limiting your right to clean air, water, food etc so that a handful
of the worlds Corporate powers may control these resources and act
with impunity as they pillage not only our country but our planet.
This agreement is so dangerous to our
national sovereignty that it will ensure our Federal Government is
powerless to stand up for the rights of its citizens in the future.
The TPP enshrines foreign corporations rights over-top of that of our
people. The TPP has a negative impact in so many areas I can only
touch on a few to stay brief with these being very critical.
Opposition to the TPP is so widespread
that it is beyond comprehensible that it got this far, no wonder the
Harper govt and the Corporate powers moving to sign this 'agreement'
into law were so deceptive regarding the subject. Is the TPP bad for
Canada? There are many studies that conclude yes it is bad, don't
simply take my word for it see the Huffington Posts take among many
others.
It is not my intent to delve into the
numerous studies commenced on the subject or the ins and outs of all
the legal jargon that is used to disguise the truth of the issue,
truth be told I really shouldn't need to. What should be clear to any
layperson capable of reading and writing at a Middle School level is
that to give immunity to Corporations for crimes and regulatory
offences committed against citizens and governments is clear treason
and contrary to the interests of almost everyone in Canada as well as
the rest of the planet.
There is a type of sense that seems to
be very rare these days 'endangered' perhaps, this type of sense is
often referred to as “common” sense. This will be a simple look
at what is a purposefully obfuscated, convoluted and complex
agreement. The old saying bull*%@& baffles brains still applies
and unfortunately it is human nature to smile and nod when one does
not understand something fully so that one does not risk being
thought of as dumb. In businesses there is a simple rule about
investing, contracts, and agreements, if you do not understand it
don't do it. That said there are enough aspects that can be clearly
understood without a Law degree or simply the willingness to spend
hundreds of hours reading legal text, I will expand on some of those
now that rare 'common' sense to sort out the issues facing us
regarding the TPP.
Before we go further let me be clear I
am not against capitalism or business, I am however opposed to laws
that clearly block the Corporations that created the laws from
prosecution for a wide range of crimes. I am against Corporations
creating the laws. Canada has the resources and talent to be far
stronger economically then it currently is, however unfortunately
numerous politicians and bureaucrats have been busy selling our
interests behind our back to these corporations for a quick buck
instead of building a nation and a future for our children. These
Corporate Laws will only further this behaviour.
While I am not necessarily against
'Free Trade' their are several concerning aspects of this deal that
reach far beyond free trade. The TPP is a 'Free-Trade' agreement that
will destroy the sovereignty of our nation by demanding that certain
Corporate powers (but not others) will be exempt from prosecution
under the law. The TPP cannot be called a 'Free-Trade' agreement when
it severely limits the rights of Canadians to protect their
intellectual property rights, their patents, and their copy-writes.
The TPP even sets limits on the
profits 'allowed' by Canadian industries in certain sectors, how this
can be called a Free Trade agreement is truly baffling.
Our regulators and courts systems are
fairly corrupt as it is, if we hand over Supreme Court powers to a
tribunal made up of advisors and lawyers that represent the circle of
Corporations that control the TPP and let them judge themselves we
will see the end of the Rule of Law and Justice not just in Canada
but in all the Nations under the TPP. What happened to the original
concept of 'free-market' and 'free-trade'? Why are we letting these
Corporations hold us hostage with the threat of losing jobs, jobs
which most likely be nothing more then jobs at Home Depot or
McDonald's.
Lets not forget that Canada holds
resources that EVERY nation on earth dearly needs, we do not need to
feel pressured into joining this deal simply so we wont be “left
out”. The flow of capital to Canada wont dry up if we don't sign
this deal, we hold all the chips!
In a real democratic society that
operates under the rule of law with a free-marketplace Corporations
would not be propped up and protected from prosecution for their
crimes simply because they are deemed to big to fail. Corporations
who lost billions of dollars as a result of their foolish business
practices would not see politicians making excuses for these
Corporations and handing them billions in bailouts. These
corporations would be allowed to fail and new ones would emerge, this
is why a nation should have an innovative dynamic economy in which
all market participants are equal under the law just as any one else
would be.
Just as in nature new growth will
replace the old, new businesses will emerge and help provide the jobs
that are needed to keep the country working. This is the natural
process of a Free Market. Yes it will suck if one of these big
companies fails and yes a lot of people could be without a job for
some time however this does not mean we should let them hold us
hostage and give them cash incentives (bail-outs) just to stay
another five years in Canada. If we were good stewards of our money
like Norway and its sovereign wealth funds established with revenue
from the oil and gas industry we would not have to fear the loss of
jobs as much as we currently do.
http://www.ibtimes.com/norways-sovereign-wealth-fund-top-15-around-world-1402003
We would have money to fall back on in
the hard times, many will tell you this is Socialism that borders on
Communism and cry foul.
They are either fearful or greedy and
should be ignored, it is only prudent that the rulers of a wise
nations government whatever type that may be should invest in a fund
that builds sovereign wealth and uses it for the good of the people
of the nation. Such wealth funds would ensure that Canada has all the
money it needs to pay for the costs of healthcare, education,
infrastructure, in addition they would provide a financial padding
that could enable them to ensure that a sudden prolonged massive drop
in the oil sector is simply another wave roll with. It is good to see
that parties on both sides of the political spectrum in Norway have
risen above their petty quarrels when it comes to building the
sovereign wealth fund in order to do what is best for the future
generations in that nation and lay out sound investment policies. I
wonder if we could ever do the same here?
Let us not forget that the original
purpose of a Corporation including the reason it is immortal is so
that their would be a vehicle that could help grow peoples economic
well-being for the good of future generations. Corporations exist to
serve people, people do not exist to serve corporations however the
role has been reversed by the greedy.
The TPP is not a Free-Trade agreement,
it is a Corporate Constitution that is designed to over-ride our
current Canadian Constitution with the rights to make a profit over
and above the well-being of human life being enshrined in law. The
common mantra is 'jobs' and that these corporations are to big to
fail and so vital to our life that we must do everything in our power
to prop them up whether it be the Financial Industry bail-outs we saw
in 2008 or the current push for the TPP that would give these
corporations ultimate power. As far as Canada and Canadians are
concerned the TPP does nothing for OUR CANADIAN corporations, it
actually limits their rights to make a profit beyond a set amount and
on the technology and innovation side it takes away and/or limits
Canadians rights to hold patents and intellectual property including
musical copy-writes while ensuring the foreign (US) Corporations
involved in the TPP retain the loins share of the rights.
Let me be clear I am not against
capitalism or business, I am however opposed to laws that clearly
block the Corporations that created the laws from prosecution for a
wide range of crimes.
Regulatory
Corruption and the TPP:
Under
the TPP our Provincial and National Regulatory bodies who are
responsible for ensuring the well-being of the public and the
integrity of market for Canadians in a wide variety of segments would
have their operations completely compromised to such a degree that
they would no longer function as mandated. My own personal experience
with an 'independent' Government agency that is a private corporation
mandated with ensuring the integrity of the Financial Markets should
be enough of a lesson on the dangers of allowing Regulators to police
themselves. You can see the details of my story here at
While
some may say this issue is completely unrelated to the implementation
of the TPP I strongly disagree. Under the TPP we will hand Regulatory
rights to wide swaths of industry segments over to a Court run by
Corporations, a Court where Tribunal members who are appointed by
said Corporations are supposed to make a 'fair' and 'unbiased'
decision in regards to cases involving these Corporations. To make
matters worse, this kangaroo court is not even going to be available
to citizens or government officials, including, judges, police
officers, and crown prosecutors. The few large Corporations that were
behind the very secretive drafting of the TPP will simply exist
outside the rule of law, answerable to no one but themselves and
their peers. The absurd thing is that this is even being considered!
Let
me explain the dangers of Self-Regulatory Organizations (SRO's) and
how giving up our constitutional rights in the name of job security
will not bring about the secure future that is promised if we sign
this deal.
I am
a young entrepreneur and I have fought a corrupted financial
regulatory agency for three years that is supposed to ensure the
integrity of the financial markets, this regulatory agency has powers
equivalent to Provincial Supreme Court in addition to the right to
police itself on Criminal matters.
To
make matter worse this Regulatory agency is Self-Funded or as they
put it funded by industry participants, it does not receive any
public taxpayer funding. The problem with this is that it creates a
conflict of interest, in order to get funded this agency must create
regulations that you break in order for it to levy a fine and fund
itself. This Regulatory agency commits criminal acts against citizens
regularly as it supposedly maintains market integrity with lies and
deception, by law it is not immune from prosecution however we have
allowed it to police itself and so it has judged itself above the law
and above reproach.
The
result has been a disaster and is causing a massive drain on the
Canadian economy. To be as simple as possible, our regulators are
kept an arms length from the Governments to allow them to escape
culpability. They are considered Self-Regulating and they have taken
advantage of their position in order to enrich themselves and their
friends at the expense of the Canadian public.
All
of our Provincial Securities Commissions exhibit the type of
Corruption normally associated with third-world countries and banana
republics. In addition numerous other SRO's and various regulatory
agencies are rife with corruption. If we give Regulatory control
completely over to private interests they WILL abuse that power,
anyone who tells you otherwise is either a fool or lying. By
definition the purpose of the concept of the “Rule of Law” to
which our nation supposedly subscribes is to ensure conflict of
interest is negated and that a fair and just society operates in a
manner in which the interests of all citizens are considered equal.
The TPP is none of this.
For
some evidence on the massive amount of Regulatory corruption in
Canada you can see the following links. The top link is to the
Banking Ombudsman and is in regards to the public release of
numerous documentation regarding the Corruption of 13 of Canada's
Financial Regulatory Commissions.
http://albertaventure.com/2005/06/dont-asc-dont-tell/
http://unpublishedottawa.com/letter/64996/funny-thing-happened-way-ottawa
These
are just a handful of sites that display a fraction of the evidence
in regards to regulatory abuse. This will only become worse under the
TPP with Corporate Regulators and their Corporations no longer bound
to adhere to the rule of law. We do not exist to serve corporations,
they exist to serve us do not forget that.
Food:
The TPP severely limits our protection
of all industries including the Food and Beverage industry. Canada
enjoys some of the highest consumer protection laws especially in
regards to the critical aspect of food. Under the TPP these will be
stripped away so we can be fed unlabelled poison.
In addition local farmers and
agricultural producers will suffer as we are flooded with cheap but
deregulated/unregulated food. This aspect should be untouchable,
there should not be any deregulation of the Food and Beverage
industry. Regulations are supposed to protect life, not profits.
Under the TPP GMOs' will be sold to Canadians without any labelling
Whatever your stance on GMOs is I think it is fair to say that
Canadians and human beings in general have a right to know what they
are eating. The Glysophate contained in most GMOs is a poison that
causes damage to the neurological systems of living beings.
Personally I believe GMO are very dangerous and should be banned in
Canada, if they are not banned then at the very least they should be
labelled just as additives and preservatives are.
Healthcare:
Under the TPP companies like Turing
Pharmaceuticals in the US who recently announced a %5000 percent
price hike on an age old AIDS drug they recently purchased would have
legal protection from our governments highest courts to protect their
profits. Under the TPP it is possible generic competitors are banned
ensuring only the wealthy and privileged have access to the drug at
its high prices. Turing Pharmaceuticals did recant its price hike
recently in light of mass protest but then decided it would only take
%50 off of its massive %5000 price hike!
In Canada our healthcare system would
simply be completely drained by our own governments agreement being
legally forced to pay high prices for certain drugs. How sick are you
off watching dug commercials who's side effects often include things
as serious as death, heart attacks and strokes etc. The list of side
effects is often worse then the symptom they claim to treat and
success rates are not in line with the risk presented. Often there
are viable alternative in the natural world but since you cant patent
them to make a killer profit they are shunned by big Pharma.
Notice they always talk treatment
never a cure. Do they really need more legal protection?! The
Healthcare system has become a business where finding a way for
Corporations to make profit has taken precedent over human life and
actually curing any disease. In a healthy, free and democratic
society the healthcare system should be sustained by taxes not by
being a self funded centre of revenue such as we are currently
moving to. The lie is that privatization will be more efficient and
maximize dollar value, the truth is it means that as a society we
have accepted that our worth is based on how much money we make which
is another lie. I do not believe that these are the values we hold
has a nation regardless of where you come from or what you believe,
whether you are a Conservative, Liberal, New Democrat, Green or
simply don't care about these issues they still impact your life (or
lack their of) in a profound way. Lets make our healthcare system
about just that HEALTH, not the fiscal bottom line. In a strong
nation advances in other sectors will cover the funding of R&D in
Healthcare because industry funding has one intent and that is to
secure new lines of profits with good margins while the purpose of
healthcare may conflict with this goal as the purpose of healthcare
is to sustain and nurture life, not put a price on it. There will be
many times when research and development into different aspects of
medicine may not be fiscally sound in the traditional sense of
economic policies that are suited to the mandate of a corporation in
the medical industry.
While I am not saying that
Pharmaceutical companies and companies that provide research and
other aspects of healthcare cannot exist and make money however there
must be a medium that divides the Corporations goals from that of the
Healthcare system so they do not become intertwined. In the
Regulatory system we have forgotten that Corporations cannot be
Regulators because by definition their purpose is entirely different
and they remain in a constant conflict of interest when you allow a
Corporation to also be a Regulator. The same can be said for our
Healthcare system, we have forgotten the original purpose and our
Healthcare system is compromised because we have allowed its values
to become that of the a Corporation.
Think about this, just as our Western
'free and democratic' society values the separation of church and
state so too must we value the separation of corporation and state.
Failure to keep the mandates and roles of these entities separated
and clearly defined so that there is no merging of the two will
eventually result in the destruction of both parties. In our case the
nation will be destroyed first before the corporations destroy
themselves with their greed. This is what happens when we forget
Separation of Church and State
must go Hand in Hand with Separation of State and Corporation!
The Old Market Economy, the New
Market Economy And How To Spur Innovation and Wealth Creation:
We have the talent, and the resources
lets build a real future for our children not a life relegated to
Home Depot jobs, McDonald's and Wal-Mart wages and a hollowed out
economy where we as citizens are simply free to choose between Pepsi
and Coke and call it Democracy. Small business and entrepreneurs are
the backbone of any strong and diversified economy including ours,
the TPP despite the fact that it is supposedly a “free trade”
agreement is certainly not a fair trade. The TPP would ensure the
playing field is not level and heavily weighted in the direction of
the hand-full of Multi-National Corporate Conglomerates who schemed
up this new Corporate Constitution in the first place.
Canada's entrepreneurs and small
businesses would simply get the scraps that are left. If they were so
bold as to reach for more they could be severely punished by
Corporate controlled regulators who are above the law and the rule of
law and simply exist to serve themselves.
In today's economic environment there
are seemingly two drivers to growth and Canada if managed properly
can succeed at both. The first of these two drivers is simply the
standard old economic industries and sectors that produce tangible
goods such as the automotive industry, the mining industry, the
agriculture industry etc. We will call this the Old Market Economy.
These industries have certain limits on them in that are decided by a
wide array of factors however supply and demand are certainly the top
two that come immediately to mind.
No doubt new technology factors into
the old economy equation as it pushes change, as such the two
economies will always be linked in some manner however there are
significant differences between the two and I will elaborate. The old
economy has limits and boundaries, that means that sometimes no
matter what we do in regards to building an industrial/economic
sector that sector is simply limited by outside constraints beyond
our control. For example we continually try to prop up the auto
industry which is a dinosaur who's time in current form has passed
due to external forces such as the drive to reduce dependency on
fossil fuels and pursue better alternatives to energy production. We
give away billions to save jobs, while the intent may be good this
type of short sighted thinking will only set us back and may cause
the nation as a whole to miss out or be late in the course of
developing new technologies and accessing new resources as time and
money is spent in the wrong direction.
This would put a nation at a definite
strategic disadvantage in relation to its peers and as it continues
the cycle of propping up old businesses whose time to die has come
while ignoring or simply giving leftovers to the true innovators of
an economy. The entrepreneurs and small businesses that must remain
healthy in order to ensure the health and wealth of a nation.
A nation that has a healthy economy
where small businesses and entrepreneurs thrive and have equal rights
under the law and support from local levels of government in the form
of infrastructure and resources will never have to worry if its
businesses become what has been deemed to 'big to fail'.
When one of these massive Corporations
does fail in a healthy economy where innovation and small business
are key drivers, the void left by such a collapse will quickly be
filled with a multitude of local dynamic businesses and entrepreneurs
ready to expand and take the next step in building a business.
This is part of the purpose of a so
called 'free-market' economy, however today's versions of a
free-market economy are nothing but.
There is a reason these Corporate
behemoths become such giants that are in danger of failing beyond the
obvious shady dealings on Wall Street such as Enron and World Comm
scandals etc.
Businesses exist to serve the
populace, when they forget that just as the Branches on the Tree
forget their purpose they become weak and vulnerable.
Many of these corporations whom you
are considering allowing to by law become our corporate masters have
forgotten their purpose. And while the goal of capitalism is
certainly about making money these businesses have forgotten that
when they no longer serve the populace, aka the consumers and simply
serve themselves they no longer are able to sell their products.
If a business does not serve its
purpose and produce and sell products that a consumer wants it will
simply fail as it should. To legislate into law protection from
prosecution of the law for crimes they may have committed because
they are deemed to big to fail is like propping up a massive dead
tree with more deadwood simply because you do not want to loose the
tree and are afraid it will fall on you.
What should be done is the tree must
be cut down and rooted and replaced by a new tree or soon not only
will the old tree fall on you all the other supports you used to prop
it up will fall back on you as well.
To allow a corporation to sell
products containing poison due to lowered regulatory standards simply
because such a product can be a great boost to the corporations
profit margins is criminal. No matter the deception eventually people
will see the truth because the truth never changes, bends or breaks.
When people see the truth about such
an issue and no longer purchase a product from the corporation in
question it is the fault of the corporation for following such
foolish business practice.
Our old economy businesses are being
propped up and draining valuable resources from the nation, the TPP
will only increase these actions as these businesses who have run
anything from foolish to simply criminal enterprises will now sue the
nation for profits it somehow thinks it has earned the right to own
simply by existing.
One of my biggest concerns about the
TPP aside from the destruction of the Rule of Law, the protection of
our healthcare, food and water sources is the complete destruction of
any incentives that would spawn innovation, especially innovation in
the new market economy. I have described the old economy and how it
relates to the new economy and how they will always be intertwined.
In the new economy economic value and wealth are not built upon
physical resources but upon ideas and the implementation of them in
the digital world. The old market resources are still needed to build
new market projects and applications however the nature of the new
market economy is such that there is simply no limit to the economic
value that one can create. In addition to being able to create wealth
seemingly from thin air through application of new market
technologies and ideas these projects and new market companies can
also bring about major changes in a wide variety of aspects for the
betterment of the society in which we live.
The potential for economic gains for
our nation from the new market economy are quite literally infinite,
the only limits are the limits we put on it, both morally, legally
and in our imaginations.
For a nation such as Canada the
opportunities should be endless. Canada is blessed to have at least
some of almost every resource in known world. Most of these including
water, precious metals, rare earth elements, timber, oil and gas, etc
exist in such abundance that we are in the top 5 in every category
world wide, in addition much of Canada may still yield new resources
as new technologies and new exploration in previously unexplored
remote regions opens up new finds.
The reason I remind you of Canada's
natural wealth is so that you may understand how we can apply that
wealth to the new market economy. If properly developed and
distributed in a more equal manner the natural wealth of our nation
should push us to developing technologies that would be the envy of
the world, we could cure diseases and not worry about the profit
margins of pharmaceutical companies because as we move forward we
open new markets that replace the old markets. We could be going
beyond the stars instead of fighting over scraps.
New Market businesses that are allowed
to innovate in a fair and balanced economic playing field will
inevitably become economic drivers for the nation that has nurtured
them.
What I am suggesting is not socialism
or communism, I am not suggesting the state become involved in a mass
redistribution of wealth in order to balance the field as it were.
(Although major fines against certain regular abusers should be
levied, after the are victims paid back their losses, Corporate
wrongdoers should be forced to pay a premium on their crimes with the
excess funds being diverted into a nation building fund that develops
projects that will spur economic growth and development.)
I will state this however, pure
capitalism and a free-market can never truly exist without collapsing
on itself. In order to survive a 'free' market actually needs rules
and regulations so that it will not self destruct. Just as a fair and
democratic society needs the principles of the rule of law to ensure
its own health and integrity so does a 'free' market in any
Capitalist society need regulations and laws that apply to all
equally. The concept of a 'free-market' and entities that polices
themselves as the current tendency has become actually becomes the
opposite of what a 'free-market' should be.
If the principles of the fundamentals
of justice and the rule of law are adhered to in upholding a
free-market in a free and democratic society there would not be a
need to redistribute wealth as there currently is. The wealth would
naturally be distributed in a fashion that was more equitable for
everyone by the sheer nature of a having a healthy and well balanced
free market economy.
There are three major aspects of
Governance in Canada that are all slowly being privatized under the
premise that these things should for some reason or another be paying
for themselves in the style of running a businesses. These aspects
are our Healthcare system, our Education system, and our Regulatory
systems. While certain aspects of the principles of a Democratic
Government are certainly the same as building and running a business
their are some key factors that differentiate between the two and the
premise they should pay for themselves is wrong.
A government is responsible to the
people and its purpose is to ensure the people which it governs have
equal access to a wide range of rights that we have all for the most
part agreed are unquestionably bestowed to any person regardless of
beliefs, race, social status, wealth etc.
While a wise government will certainly
understand its duty to build an infrastructure and develop its
resources in tandem with its citizens it in and of itself should not
be thought of nor run as a business.
The original purpose of taxes was to
pay the costs of the services that a government should provide
(Healthcare, Education, Police, Infrastructure, Regulators etc.)
services that cannot pay for themselves without compromising their
original purpose. There is nothing wrong with Crown Corporations such
as a hydro corp for example making a profit, however there must be
checks and balances to ensure that the Crown Corp acts in a fair and
just manner and is not gauging citizens. Where the Crown Corp should
be looking at making its extra revenue is through export of excess
power internationally so that it may help contribute the the
financial well being of a nation. The excess funds will help cover
the costs associated with sectors such as healthcare and education
which should not be simply viewed as sources of revenue and ran like
a business but should be operated as services vital to the health of
a nation.
In a healthy fair and democratic
society where small businesses and entrepreneurs flourish alongside
healthy prosperous corporate players who have not forgot their
purpose the revenue from taxation would easily pay the costs needed
for most of these basic services. In some cases such as building and
developing infrastructure where corporate players, citizens and the
state are all benefactors there may very well still be a way to work
public-private sector partnerships that would in the best interest of
the public, the state and the private corporation involved.
Unfortunately that wont be possible under the TPP where all the
public and the state are second class citizens and corporations are
the first class citizens making the rules. Any public-private
partnerships under the TPP risk simply becoming huge legal
liabilities to the state and the public given the scope of the TPP.
What a wise nation should do to
subsidize the cost of paying for education, healthcare and ensure
that it is able to have competitive tax rates is use sovereign wealth
funds to invest not just in old market economy businesses, but in
innovative new market economy businesses who use old market resources
in a revolutionary manner creating new markets that do not yet exist.
Thus you drive up demand for products in both economies. New market
economy businesses may literally have no limit and the creation of
just one behemoth such as Black Berry can spawn a whole ecosystem to
the benefit of the nation that would be far beyond what the TPP could
give us by signing its supposedly 'free' trade agreement.
The TPP is so invasive and one sided
that it would ensure that our New Market economy is crushed as our
businesses are no longer able to protect their intellectual property
rights, patents etc. With out a New Market economy Canada will become
a Banana Republic selling its wares half price because it never sold
high when it had the chance.
Who cares if we get a deal to sell
strawberries in China and save our Auto industry, the automotive
industry is dying for reasons beyond our control and the margin on
strawberries that have to be shipped to China is so low its
laughable. Pay our local farmers what there products are worth,
enough to sustain them. Then we can focus on building other aspects
of our industry to protect from the inevitable loss of the auto
industry or modernize and evolve it. To say the TPP is a give and
take deal and we have to give some to get some is ridiculous, we are
giving away the rights to resources with margins far beyond the
margins in the sectors we stand to gain anything on. Trading the
right to sell strawberries in China or wherever else will NEVER make
up for permanently giving up our Legal rights to protect our
intellectual property, and develop and patent new technologies in the
new market economy which has vast untapped potential. Why cut it off
to sell a few things cheap right now?
Instead of signing the TPP and
destroying the future of our nation we should look at alternative
nation building projects that would generate wealth for all for a
long time to come without giving up any of our legal rights or the
protections we enjoy as a nation that supposedly values the sanctity
of life.
I have a company Ghosted Tech which I
begrudgingly moved to Delaware to protect it and my intellectual
property rights due to the disaster that is our current regulatory
regime.
This project could certainly be used
as a nation building tool, there are many aspects to it however I
will outline a few. Part of the purpose of the Ghosted Tech (TM)
project is to build an entire economic ecosystem that would
facilitate trade and could be both self contained and/or interact and
work seamlessly with our current financial system whether credit,
debit, cash, bitcoin etc.
Without getting into the complete
details imagine if you could pay part of your taxes in Air Miles.
Imagine you could pay a fine with Safeway points.
An economic ecosystem that would allow
such actions would also facilitate an increase in trade and
productivity. Ghosted Tech would like to return the value of Barter
to our economics in a way that combine it with new market
technologies and ensures the average citizen has ways of unlocking
value they have stored that do not currently exist. This would boost
the entire nation, such an application has universal value and appeal
and would free up capital that could be spent in other more
meaningful manners.
Depending on the circumstances I am
prepared to give my project to Canada or lend it or however you want
to work out its use so that it may be used as a tool to revolutionize
trade and increase the well-being of Canadians. This project would
ensure will help bridge the gap between the old market economy and
the new market economy by helping provide capitalization and
liquidity in the markets by allowing currently untapped stores of
value to become liquid commodities. In a fair and democratic society
such an application would have widespread use and appeal on a number
of levels far beyond what I have discussed here. Those interested in
the Ghosted Tech project and how we can use it to build our nation
may contact me for more info.
I urge you to drop the TPP so we can
begin to rebuild a broken nation.
Sincerely
Christopher Burke
