The Berlin Wall came down 32 years ago this November, ushering in a new era of freedom and opportunity. But judging from the results of a recent local election, it looks as if socialism is trying to stage something of a comeback in Germany’s capital city.
In a referendum that coincided with Sunday’s general elections in Germany, a majority of Berliners approved a measure to have apartments forcibly seized from landlords. The move would socialize nearly a quarter of a million flats, costing the city between $34 billion and $46 billion.
Supporters of the referendum believe this will help control rent hikes, but they’re forgetting a couple of things. One, living costs are rising not necessarily because of greedy property owners, but because construction of new housing has not kept pace with surging demand. Kicking out the landlords does nothing to address this persistent problem.
And two, inflation is hitting all sectors right now, not just rental property. Germany’s annual rate of inflation hit a 13-year high in August (one of the reasons many of its citizens have been loading up on gold). So why stop at apartments? Why not socialize food? Clothes? Automobiles?
Pretty soon, Berliners could find themselves back behind the Iron Curtain.
Around the world, socialist-minded lawmakers and politicians celebrated the referendum’s passage. In a tweet, Canadian Member of Parliament (MP) Don Davies called the measure “a creative and bold way to deliver affordable housing.”
Mick Barry expresses his approval of German voters and the human right to housing
Twitter: @DonDavies
Mick Barry, an Irish lawmaker representing Cork, tweeted: “Time to take on the corporate landlords here too.”
Mick Barry expresses his approval of German voters and the human right to housing
Twitter: @MickBarryTD
Meanwhile, a candidate for Los Angeles City Controller floated the idea of similarly seizing property owned by “private real estate companies/developers.”
Kenneth Mejia expresses his approval of German voters and the human right to housing
Twitter: @kennethmejiaLA
I’ll admit, ours would be a perfect world indeed if everyone had a comfortable place to live rent-free. But as Margaret Thatcher said, “The trouble with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.”
Angela Merkel Crystallized Germany as an Economic Powerhouse
It isn’t just Berlin. Germany as a whole is set to shift left after the country’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) narrowly won the biggest share of votes on Sunday, with finance minister and former Hamburg mayor Olaf Scholz expected to succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor.
I predict Merkel will be remembered fondly, in Germany and elsewhere, for many decades to come. After 16 years as chancellor, she’s leaving office with a higher approval rating than any other world leader.
Like Margaret Thatcher, she reined in government spending, kept bureaucracy in check and oversaw a period of strong economic growth. A former research scientist, Merkel deftly navigated Germany through a number of crises, including the 2007-2008 recession, helping to crystallize her country’s role as not just Europe’s largest economy but also its de facto leader. On her watch, Germany’s GDP per capita growth topped that of all other G7 countries.
Germany’s economy has beaten all other G7 countries over the past 15 consecutive years
USGI, World Bank
But the time has come to look beyond Merkel, and if I’m being honest, Berlin’s socialist referendum makes me slightly uneasy.
I know nothing about Olaf Scholz, the presumed chancellor-in-waiting, other than he’s a member of the SPD, a party that has its roots in Marxism. Among his campaign pledges are to increase housing—which I believe will do more to quell rent hikes than socializing rental property ever could—expand renewable energy and raise the minimum wage.
Can We Reverse Course?
Germany’s flirtation with socialism is part of a troubling trend that’s hitting the world’s biggest economies, from Justin Trudeau in Canada to Alexandria “Tax the Rich” Ocasio-Cortez in the U.S.
Although the People’s Republic of China has always been socialist, President Xi Jinping has lately taken aim at Western-style capitalism in a bid to revive Chairman Mao’s Marxist vision. According to reporting by the Wall Street Journal, Xi seeks to build a China “in which the party does more to steer flows of money, sets tighter parameters for entrepreneurs and investors… and exercises even more control over the economy than now.”
Like Berliners who seems to have forgotten the struggles living under Soviet rule, President Xi seems to have forgotten that it was Deng Xiaoping’s decision in 1978 to liberate parts of China’s economy that helped the country undergo some of the fastest growth the world has ever known.
Announcement! I will be in Dubai on October 12 for the AIM Summit. If you’ll be in the area then, make sure to catch my panel on mining Bitcoin with sustainable energy: www.aimsummit.com.
Frank Holmes attending AIM Summit in Dubai.
U.S. Global Investors
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FREDERICTON – New Brunswick‘s finance minister says the province recorded a surplus of $500.8 million for the fiscal year that ended in March.
Ernie Steeves says the amount — more than 10 times higher than the province’s original $40.3-million budget projection for the 2023-24 fiscal year — was largely the result of a strong economy and population growth.
The report of a big surplus comes as the province prepares for an election campaign, which will officially start on Thursday and end with a vote on Oct. 21.
Steeves says growth of the surplus was fed by revenue from the Harmonized Sales Tax and federal money, especially for health-care funding.
Progressive Conservative Premier Blaine Higgs has promised to reduce the HST by two percentage points to 13 per cent if the party is elected to govern next month.
Meanwhile, the province’s net debt, according to the audited consolidated financial statements, has dropped from $12.3 billion in 2022-23 to $11.8 billion in the most recent fiscal year.
Liberal critic René Legacy says having a stronger balance sheet does not eliminate issues in health care, housing and education.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
OTTAWA – Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says the government is making some changes to mortgage rules to help more Canadians to purchase their first home.
She says the changes will come into force in December and better reflect the housing market.
The price cap for insured mortgages will be boosted for the first time since 2012, moving to $1.5 million from $1 million, to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.
The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.
On Aug. 1 eligibility for the 30-year amortization was changed to include first-time buyers purchasing a newly-built home.
Justice Minister Arif Virani is also releasing drafts for a bill of rights for renters as well as one for homebuyers, both of which the government promised five months ago.
Virani says the government intends to work with provinces to prevent practices like renovictions, where landowners evict tenants and make minimal renovations and then seek higher rents.
The government touts today’s announced measures as the “boldest mortgage reforms in decades,” and it comes after a year of criticism over high housing costs.
The Liberals have been slumping in the polls for months, including among younger adults who say not being able to afford a house is one of their key concerns.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales rose 1.4 per cent to $71 billion in July, helped by higher sales in the petroleum and coal and chemical product subsectors.
The increase followed a 1.7 per cent decrease in June.
The agency says sales in the petroleum and coal product subsector gained 6.7 per cent to total $8.6 billion in July as most refineries sold more, helped by higher prices and demand.
Chemical product sales rose 5.3 per cent to $5.6 billion in July, boosted by increased sales of pharmaceutical and medicine products.
Sales of wood products fell 4.8 per cent for the month to $2.9 billion, the lowest level since May 2023.
In constant dollar terms, overall manufacturing sales rose 0.9 per cent in July.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
